From 1st March 2009 EC marking for floorings compulsory

08/01/2008

Defining minimum requirements for wood flooring production: this is the first objective of the Uni En 14342:2005 standard,dedicated to the “evaluation of conformity and wood floorings marking”.

The EU standard is subsidiary from 1^st March 2006, but it will come into force from 1^st March 2009, and not from 1^st March 2008 as it was supposed to be. This means that, as of 1^st March 2009, EC marking, compulsory for product introduction on the market, will be added only to wooden flooring meeting all requirements.

“Wood in construction: added value in constructions” is a meeting held in Bari, organized by Ance (Italian association of construction companies) and Aippl, focused on regulatory and performance issues regarding the construction industry.

Wooden flooring requirements to be declared for EC marking are: fire reaction, formaldehyde emission, pentachlorophenol release, bending resistance, slipperiness, thermal conductivity and durability.

Liability is a very important topic: those companies declaring flooring conformity to EU regulation for EC marking shoulder all burdens regarding declared products features, homogeneity and performance control, information for installation, use and maintenance according to accompanying documents.

Both producers and installers are involved. The latter are involved indirectly because they must keep performance features declared in EC marking, unaltered during the product installation process. EC marking regards wooden flooring, parquets and veneer coatings for floors.