Accreditation – Choosing the right certificate for you

Accreditation is all about confidence, trusting that what you specify and buy, will still work years later. As more and more traditional building components are manufactured “off-site”, then there is a greater need for builders to ensure that these components are up to set standards.

Stormking have been setting these standards for their “off-site” building products for nearly 10 years. Stormking currently hold BBA certificates for their GRP dormer roofs, GRP brick effect smartstack chimneys, brick slip GRP smartstack chimneys and GRP bay window roofs, is working closely to BBA’s high standards and testing criteria and has maintained these standards over the years.

The British Board of Agrément or BBA for short is the UK’s major authority offering approval and certification services to manufacturers and installers supplying to the construction industry. BBA approval is recognised by building control, architects and industry insurers like the NHBC.

Agrément Certificates are recognised throughout the UK by architects, engineers and building control personnel and complement manufacturers’ own technical data with the BBA’s impartial and unbiased information on the performance of the product.

If work is to be inspected by building control, the NHBC or any other industry professionals, the use of approved products should avoid any problems with compliance with Building Regulation or other issues

By selecting BBA approved products is a sure way to avoid problems at a number stages in the building process and queries about the performance of key products such as GRP products in critical positions on the house. Specifiers can be sure that BBA approved products will meet the criteria set out in the relevant Agrément Certificates as manufacturers are subject to surveillance and Certificate Review to ensure the approved specification is always being met by the manufacturer.

This is not the same as test certificates you may be presented with by some manufacturers: these mean on a particular day, a version of the product in question was tested. You may not necessarily be offered that version. Products change for a variety of reasons, frequently to make them cheaper and the continuing validity of test Certificates when the product has changed is open to some question

The BBA puts products through a thorough assessment. The BBA check production processes, to ensure consistency of supply, and the BBA go out to site to site inspect product installation and how it performs on the building. It is an exhaustive process and that is why the BBA certificates are accepted by building control, architects, local authorities, industry insurers like the NHBC and specifiers throughout the UK.