NATURinFORM receives general building inspectorate approval for a patio deck made of wood composite material.
Planning security for NATURinFORM customers. The specialist for wood composite systems “Made in Germany” has received general building inspectorate approval (no. Z-10.9-484) for its POPULAR massive patio deck. The German Institute for Construction Technology in Berlin (Deutsches Institut fu?r Bautechnik – DIBt) has granted approval for the first time to a wood composite patio deck (also called WPC) without the approval referring to a connected covering.
“We are very pleased with the approval from the DIBt because this means that our patio deck can be laid as a load-bearing floor in outdoor areas without any restrictions – even in public buildings. For our customers, this means a great deal of planning security, and it expands the application areas to balconies, roof terraces, loggias, stairs, and stair landings without any extra measures to protect against falling through,” announces Horst Walther, managing director of NATURinFORM. “For us, it is also proof of our excellent product quality.”
The assessment of the DIBt concerns the applicability of the approved article according to the requirements of the building inspectorate and is valid for all German states. Upon the approval for POPULAR massive, the tested deck covering is considered a regulated building product according to state building regulations. A separate approval for the private or public sector is thus no longer necessary. The reason for this is that unlike ground-level patios, balconies and patios with a height of 60 centimeters and up are usually considered “elevated” by state building regulations and therefore have to be planned and executed as load-bearing constructions. In this case, only building products with building inspectorate approval may be used, or time-consuming and expensive individual approvals have to be carried out.
“With POPULAR massive as a regulated and approved building product, you – whether an architect, builder, or worker – are therefore on the safe side and have a clear advantage in the scheduled implementation of projects with load-bearing constructions in outdoor areas,” according to Horst Walther.
POPULAR massive – the classic from NATURinFORM
The POPULAR massive is, as the name says, a massive deck that has provided a relaxed, leisurely atmosphere on numerous patios and balconies for many years. The fact that it can now also be used as a regulated building product following approval will certainly increase its popularity even more. The patio deck made of an environmentally friendly wood polymer composite material is approx. 25 millimeters high and 138 millimeters wide (system width approx. 146 mm). For the surface, there is a choice of a finely striated or a widely striated side; both are brushed for more grip and slip resistance and thus achieve the high slip resistance levels of R12 and R13 according to TÜV Rheinland. With brown, gray, and anthracite, the color pallet is classic; the profiles are available in lengths of 4 and 6 meters.
Use and processing according to the approval
According to the general building inspectorate approval with the number Z-10.9-484, the POPULAR massive patio deck can be used as a load-bearing floor for roof terraces, arcades, loggias, balconies, exit
platforms, and similar as well as for stairs and stair landings in residential and office buildings in accordance with the standard DIN EN 1991-1-1/NA1, table 6.1DE, category Z, T1 and T2. They are laid as multi-span beams (at least two-span beams) and installed so that they are visible and replaceable at all times. The installation must be done according to the specifications in the approval. The decks must be screwed together with the underlying wooden construction. The minimum support width and the minimum number of screws must also be observed according to the information of the DIBt.
High quality and sustainability guaranteed
NATURinFORM is a German company that has been well-known for its high-quality and weather-resistant wood composite products for 20 years and manufactures exclusively in Germany. As with all NATURinFORM products, POPULAR massive consists of an innovative, sturdy wood composite material that is made of wood fiber from German forests and an environmentally friendly, homogeneous polymer in a ratio of 70 to 30. The company applies high standards to both the quality of its materials as well as the sustainability of its products. For example, only PEFC-certified wood from ecologically managed forests is processed. It goes without saying that the used polymers are also environmentally friendly. Sustainability furthermore characterizes the maintenance of the profiles: The innovative material does not require any additional care, such as painting or oiling during its long useful life. Therefore, no chemical substances containing solvents are used here either.
Environmental product declarations (EPDs) created in accordance with international standards are also available for all patio decks and facade profiles from NATURinFORM. Every product is continuously subjected to quality checks and stress tests in order to ensure a consistently flawless and first-class wood material quality. Due to the use of sustainable raw materials, all products are also completely recyclable and can be returned to the manufacturer after use, where they are returned to the processing chain again.
Download: Press release
