The massive increase in wooden buildings, especially high-rise wooden buildings, would not have been possible without innovative engineered wood products. We support the manufacturers of both rod-shaped and surface-glued components, such as glued laminated timber or cross laminated timber, when testing and approving their products. The tasks range from new product development and product optimisation to the implementation of approval tests and production monitoring. If the respective construction product falls under a harmonised set of rules, we also offer the respective certification.
Approval tests for non-normative timber construction products
If there are no normative foundations for new types of timber construction products, they must apply to a technical assessment body for a company-specific European assessment (ETA). This process requires extensive proof of the product properties for the intended area of application. As an accredited test centre, we offer all mechanical-technological product tests, including testing the adhesion quality or the fasteners. The offer ranges from testing small test specimens via product testing to component testing.
Initial tests in the course of the certification of timber construction products
For glued products, the harmonized standards and European technical assessments sometimes require extensive initial tests. These mostly relate to the properties of the starting material, the longitudinal connection (finger jointing) and the quality of the surface bonding. We are recognized as a certification body for all harmonized standards and a large number of European technical assessment documents (EADs), and we therefore offer certification, including the necessary initial tests, for almost all timber construction products.
Contact persons
Holzforschung Austria is a notified body pursuant to the European Construction Products Regulation for all relevant areas of the timber construction industry.
We certify your
building products!
Our services
Strength tests according to EN 408
We conduct the strength and rigidity tests specified in EN 408 in the accredited area for all glued and mechanically connected timber construction products.
Testing of finger jointings
The verification of properly executed longitudinal connections is an integral part of every product standard. We test the performance of finger jointing in accordance with all relevant standards and regulations, including the resistance to delamination of the finger jointing.
Determination of the adhesion quality according to EN 14080 / EN 16351
We test the adhesion quality of load-bearing wooden components using a delamination test or a shear test in accordance with the test procedures specified in the harmonised standards. To determine the causes of incorrect adhesions, light or scanning electron microscopic examinations are also conducted.
Test of cross-laminated timber according to PRG 320
For companies that want to sell cross-laminated timber to America or Canada, we also offer the tests according to the North American standard PRG 320.
Available infrastructure:
- Universal test devices for determining the bending, tensile, compressive, and shear strength as well as the modulus of elasticity
- Zwick 100 kN
- Zwick 270 kN
- MiCROTEC Viscan (Laserinterferometer)
- easyQ Delamination system
- Optical and scanning electron microscope for the detailed assessment of the adhesion quality
