The raft of new construction product standards coming out of Europe and required by the Building Regulations to apply to products sold in this country can be confusing.

One of the problems with the standards is that they produce a set of test results but products cannot fail the tests, so most products can carry the CE Mark that goes along with the testing.

That leaves users needing to interpret the results, which is not always easy, especially with a product as diverse as stone.

But STATS, the St Albans consultants, are in the process of coming up with a solution in the form of a brief (about 30 pages) reference guide to understanding the tests and interpreting the results for in-service performance characteristics.

The guide will cover the tests involved in the use of stone and slate. It will include important information on the performance characteristics that the tests are intended to identify, as well as suggesting which are the most important tests to carry out.

And for a short period the guide will be given free to those who go online at the web address below and complete a short survey for STATS\' Stone & Slate Technology division that is headed by Ian Blanchard.

After that it will be sold at an anticipated price of £24.99.

It is intended for use by professionals, clients, developers and the trade itself.

Ian told NSS: "The European standards don\'t tell you anything, they just give you numbers. This guide will help you understand what the data tell you about the stone."