What you need to know: BBA approval for steel lintels

Reliable product testing and certification is vital to help customers ensure the products they are using are compliant with all current regulations and legislation. While a manufacturer may provide details of the product’s performance based on its own testing, third party certification will confirm that it achieves the required standard – and provide added assurance to customers.

The British Board of Agrément (BBA) offers independent testing and certification of building systems and materials. Its Product Approval & Certification (PAC) team rigorously tests the products submitted for approval against a range of standards and criteria. Choosing a product that carries BBA certification gives specifiers and contractors confidence that the materials that are being installed meet all the required standards.

Although the primary consideration when selecting a lintel is the structural loading, its positon in the fabric of a building means that it must also meet a number of other standards. This includes thermal transmittance, fire performance and weather resistance.

If not chosen correctly, lintels can represent a significant source of heat loss from the building. For example, in a typical 4 bedroom house, with a floor area of 57m², the amount of heat lost through a standard lintel can account for as much as 6% of the overall heat loss through the fabric of the building. Choosing a BBA certified product will confirm that it meets the linear thermal transmittance values detailed in Approved Document L for England and Wales as well as the corresponding regulations for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Similarly, loadbearing elements must have sufficient fire resistance to prevent premature collapse of the building. This ensures safe evacuation and reduces the risk to the fire service crews tackling the fire. BBA testing will confirm that it meets the standards set out in the Building Regulations.

Catnic has long recognised the value that independent testing and certification such as BBA has for customers. Catnic lintels have consistently been BBA approved since 1974 when its products were first tested by the Agrément Board, later known as the BBA