Year: 2019
How to maintain timber mats to keep them in good condition
Good quality timber mats will give you years and even decades of service life, with only some simple maintenance needed to keep them safe from avoidable damage.
Here’s our five-point guide to how to maintain timber mats to keep them in good condition for many years to come.
1. Know your type of timber mat
Different timber mat species have different service lifetimes, so make sure you know how long you can expect your timber mats to stay in peak condition.
Tropical hardwoods with the highest durability ratings can last for decades, whereas some of our European hardwood mats are rated for closer to 5-10 years.
2. How to keep timber mats clean
Timber mats are designed for outdoor use, so it is generally not a problem if they occasionally get wet or muddy, but you should avoid prolonged exposure to wet and dirty conditions.
Because of this, once you have finished using them on a job, you should clean any surface dirt and then allow the timber to dry out before storing them in a dry place – ideally somewhere indoors – until the next job.
3. Avoid damaged edges
The edges of timber ground mats are more exposed to damage, so try to keep vehicles in the middle of your temporary roadway or working platform whenever possible.
You can protect the edges of timber mats even more by using access ramps at the entry and exit point and ensuring adjacent mats are laid fully flush to one another and joined together using the designated connecting points where these are provided.
4. Replace damaged timber mats
When damage occurs, replace damaged timber mats at the first opportunity. This takes the damaged mats out of circulation so that you are always using safe and stable temporary roadways and crane platforms.
We have plenty of good quality timber mats for hire, so if you find you are facing an unexpected need to replace damaged timber mats from your own stock, it could be a fast and economic option to hire some as a temporary solution.
5. Hire or buy?
As well as timber mats for hire, we have a varied range of responsibly sourced timber mats for sale, with different characteristics to suit different needs.
If you have a job coming up and don’t have the right kind of ground protection mats, for example if you are using heavier crane vehicles than usual, give us a call and we can recommend the right timber mats for sale at the present time, which you will then have close to hand for future work whenever you need them.
Durability classes of timber mats – how do tropical hardwoods compare?
The durability of tropical hardwood timber mats is one of the main selling points, with decades of use under normal conditions – but what are the durability classes of timber mats like Ekki and Dabema?
First of all, the obvious disclaimer – wood is a natural product and when used under different conditions, especially challenging conditions like heavy construction sites, its durability will vary.
But a dense tropical hardwood timber mat will generally outlast a softer wood due to the more closely knit fibres within the timber, and durability classes of timber mats are there as a guide to this.
Timbermat Class Scale
Class 1 timber mats are the most durable of all. When used in contact with the ground, as our timber mats usually are, these should last for a minimum of 25 years.
With intermittent use and careful storage, this lifespan can be extended considerably – and the toughest tropical timber mats like Ekki could easily stay in usable condition for 50 years or more.
Class 2 timber mats are rated for 15-25 years, while…
Class 3 timber mats last for an expected 10-15 years. Again, this all depends on usage and ground conditions, including exposure to tidal and saltwater locations.
Class 4 timber mats have an expected life span of 5-10 years.
Class 5 timber mats are the least durable at between zero and 5 years.
Types of Hardwood
So how do tropical hardwood timber mats compare with European hardwood timber mat species?
Ekki is generally regarded as one of the world’s most durable hardwood species, if not the most durable of them all. It’s a Class 1 hardwood with an expected life of up to 50 years or more.
Dabema is a close runner-up, and is rated at between Class 1 and Class 2 – a durable option for all but the heaviest duty applications.
In European hardwoods, Oak is our most durable option. Ranking as a Class 2 timber, oak wood mats give you up to about 25 years of use in normal conditions.
Beech by contrast is a Class 5 timber, which means up to five years of usage, yet during that time beech timber mats offer some high strength characteristics, including resistance to crushing and abrasion.
If you’re not sure which durability class to choose, or how your usual operating conditions might affect the lifespan of your timber mats, give us a call on 08000 12 1231
and we’ll be happy to talk you through the options.