🏗️ Concrete kerb units — bending strength, water absorption, abrasion resistance, freeze-thaw resistance with de-icing salt, dimensions and slip resistance according to the annexes of the product standard; PN-EN 1340

Construction PN-EN 1340

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. It is a product standard, not a test-method standard: it specifies materials, properties, requirements and test methods for unreinforced, cement-bound precast concrete kerbs, drainage channel units (channels) and complementary fittings intended for trafficked paved areas and roof coverings (EN 1340:2003, clause 1). The units serve for separation, physical or visual delineation, drainage or containment of paved areas. The standard notes that additional requirements are sometimes needed where studded tyres are regularly used, that apart from tolerances it contains no requirements for cross-sections, shapes and dimensions, and that it does not deal with the tactility or visibility of kerbs. The "Scope" field of the PKN card of PN-EN 1340:2004, in full (our translation): "The standard contains provisions on materials, properties, requirements and test methods for precast kerbs, drainage channel units and complementary fittings made of unreinforced concrete, intended for use as elements of road pavements and roof coverings. Definitions of 19 terms are given" (no full stop on the card).

THE METHODS ARE IN THE NORMATIVE ANNEXES (table of contents of EN 1340:2003). B — acceptance testing of a delivered consignment (sampling, compliance criteria); C — measurement of the dimensions of a single unit (overall dimensions, draw, chase, straightness, thickness of the facing layer); D — freeze-thaw resistance with de-icing salt; E — total water absorption; F — bending strength; G — abrasion resistance with the wide abrasive wheel; H — abrasion resistance by the Böhme method; I — unpolished slip resistance value (USRV); J — verification of visual aspects. Annex K (informative) shows the evaluation of conformity of bending strength by variables, ZA — the relationship with the Construction Products Directive. The same annex letters are used by the standards on concrete paving blocks (PN-EN 1338, a separate entry in this database) and paving flags (PN-EN 1339), but the content of Annex F differs in each: for blocks — tensile splitting, for flags — bending strength and breaking load, for kerbs — bending strength.

WHAT THE EXTRACT WE READ SAYS (EN 1340:2003 up to 5.2.3.2). A kerb may be made of a single concrete or with a facing and a backing layer; the facing layer shall be at least 4 mm thick over the area declared by the manufacturer as faced, measured according to Annex C, and shall be an integral part of the unit (isolated aggregate particles protruding into the facing layer are ignored). A bevelled arris exceeding 2 mm is a chamfer whose dimensions are declared by the manufacturer. Work dimensions are stated by the manufacturer; the recommended length of a straight kerb including the joint is 1000 mm. Radiussed kerbs are described as convex or concave with reference to the reference line; the preferred radii are 0.5; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 8; 10 and 15 m and the recommended length is 780 mm (national standards may adopt others).

CORRIGENDUM EN 1340:2003/AC:2006 (full text of the corrigendum, effective from 17.05.2006). Besides editorial changes and new Figures 2, 3, 4 and K.1, the corrigendum: amends the definitions of the kerb unit (3.1) and of secondary processing (3.12); in the second row of Table 2.1 deletes the words "as a mean"; in Table 6 adds "for the declared class" to the conformity criteria; in 6.3.8.3 adds that the result shall not be lower than the minimum value of Table 3 for the declared class; in E.4.1 replaces "2 000" with "0,2"; in F.2 (preparation for the bending test) inserts after "any burrs" the words "and high spots"; in F.3 states that if, after the reduction, the span between supports is still less than four times the vertical dimension, the bending test cannot be performed; changes the title of C.5 to "flatness and straightness" and in G.5 the reference from C.4 to C.5. We did not have the content of Tables 2.1, 3 and 6 — the extract of the standard we read ends at 5.2.3.2.

STATUS (state of the PKN card on 10.10.2026). The card of PN-EN 1340:2004 (Polish version) carries no withdrawal label: title "Krawężniki betonowe -- Wymagania i metody badań" (Concrete kerbs — Requirements and test methods; our translation), publication 17-09-2004, 72 pages, Sector of Construction and Building Structures, KT 195 Precast Concrete Products, "Introduces: EN 1340:2003 [IDT]", ICS 93.080.20 and 91.100.30, without the fields "Replaces" and "Replaced by"; the field "Additional elements" lists PN-EN 1340:2004/AC:2007 (Polish version). PKN search, query "EN 1340" (10.10.2026): only this one card carries the number 1340. In the iTeh catalogue (read on 10.10.2026) EN 1340:2003 has the status "Published", and the latest stage of the CEN systematic review is "9093 – Decision to confirm" dated 07.10.2026.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database of 10.10.2026 and current PCA documents read on 10.10.2026). The number 1340 appears in 48 records at 12 laboratories; the standard is present in all 12 current PCA documents, and no entry is suspended. The most frequent notations: "PN-EN 1340:2004/AC:2007" (13 records), "PN-EN 1340:2004" (6), "PN-EN 1340:2004+AC:2007" (3), next to them notations with the annex number ("Załącznik F", "zał. E") or without the year. AB 011 has three standards in one cell: "PN-EN 1338, załącznik C PN-EN 1339, załącznik C PN-EN 1340, załącznik C" (likewise for Annexes D, E, G, I and J). The "Laboratories" tab ("PN-EN 1340") shows all 12 laboratories and no unrelated one (measurement on the production server on 10.10.2026). Discrepancy between the copy and PCA: AB 023 has in its current PCA document two entries for the bending strength of kerbs ("Krawężniki betonowe E" with "PN-EN 1340" and "Krawężniki betonowe" with "PN-EN 1340, Załącznik F"), but only the second one in the database copy.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (copy and PCA documents). Water absorption — all 12 laboratories (AB 011, AB 023, AB 054, AB 535, AB 536, AB 619, AB 937, AB 1344, AB 1414, AB 1545, AB 1658, AB 1669). Bending strength — 8 (AB 011, AB 023, AB 054, AB 535, AB 619, AB 1344, AB 1658, AB 1669); force ranges in the scopes: 1–100 kN (AB 023, AB 535, AB 1669), 3–150 kN (AB 619, AB 1658), 5–150 kN and 20–1000 kN (AB 054), 5–200 kN (AB 1344). Freeze-thaw resistance with de-icing salt — 7 (AB 011, AB 023 as "resistance to weathering" with Annex D, AB 054, AB 535, AB 619, AB 1344, AB 1669). Abrasion resistance — 7 (AB 011 with the wide wheel; AB 023 with the wide wheel in the range 5–40 mm and with the Böhme disc in the range 3000–35 000 mm³/5000 mm²; AB 536 "centre of the abrasion track, radius r = 220 mm"; AB 054, AB 619, AB 1344, AB 1669). Dimensions — 5 (AB 011, AB 619, AB 1344, AB 1658, AB 1669); slip resistance — 3 (AB 011 as USRV, AB 054, AB 1344); visual aspects — 2 (AB 011, AB 619); sampling — AB 1669, according to PN-83/N-03010 point 3.4 together with point B.2 of Annex B.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — the corrigendum AC:2006 deletes "as a mean" in the second row of Table 2.1. We did not have the content of that table; in the standard on paving flags (EN 1339:2003) the corresponding row of Table 4.1 is water absorption class 2 (marking B) "≤ 6 as a mean" (% by mass), and the corrigendum EN 1339:2003/AC:2006 deletes the same words there. If Table 2.1 is built the same way (we have not checked this in the text of EN 1340), after the corrigendum the limit applies to every single result and not to the mean of the series — a series with the mean within the limit and one result above it no longer meets the requirement. Second — three standards in one scope cell: the same annex letter does not mean the same test (F: tensile splitting of blocks, bending strength and breaking load of flags, bending strength of kerbs). Third — bending: according to the corrigendum to F.3, a short unit for which the span between supports does not reach four times the vertical dimension is not tested in bending. Fourth — water absorption and freeze-thaw resistance are two ways of assessing weathering resistance, not one test; a water absorption result does not replace the salt test where a freeze-thaw class is declared.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We read the extract of the standard up to 5.2.3.2 with the table of contents and the full text of the corrigendum AC:2006. We do not give the classes and requirement values for kerbs (clause 5.3: Tables 2.1, 3, 4 and further), the conformity criteria of clause 6 or the course of the tests in Annexes B–J: number of specimens, preparation and conditioning, span and loading rate, salt solution and number of cycles, parameters of the abrasion wheels and of the abrasive, formulas.

Method principle

A kerb is tested in several independent tests, each according to its own normative annex of PN-EN 1340: dimensions according to C, freeze-thaw resistance with de-icing salt according to D, total water absorption according to E, bending strength according to F, abrasion resistance with the wide abrasive wheel according to G or by the Böhme method according to H, slip resistance of the unpolished surface (USRV) according to I and visual aspects according to J; a delivered consignment is accepted according to Annex B (table of contents of EN 1340:2003). We DO NOT GIVE the course of the tests or the requirements — the extract of the standard we read ends at 5.2.3.2.

Applications

• Precast kerbs, drainage channel units and complementary fittings made of unreinforced concrete for trafficked pavements and roof coverings (EN 1340:2003, clause 1; PKN card)
• Type testing, factory production control and acceptance testing of a delivered consignment (Annex B)
• In the accreditation scopes: 12 laboratories; water absorption — 12, bending — 8, freeze-thaw with salt — 7, abrasion — 7, dimensions — 5, slip resistance — 3, visual aspects — 2

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 1340:2004 + PN-EN 1340:2004/AC:2007 (wersja polska; wprowadza EN 1340:2003 [IDT])

Title (PL)

Krawężniki betonowe — Wymagania i metody badań

Title (EN)

Concrete kerb units — Requirements and test methods

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sampling

   Type testing — sampling plan from 6.2.3; acceptance of a delivered consignment — Annex B (B.2 sampling procedure, B.3 compliance criteria). We DO NOT GIVE the numbers.

2. Dimensions and visual aspects

   Overall dimensions, draw and chase of the side face, flatness and straightness, thickness of the facing layer (at least 4 mm) according to Annex C; visual aspects according to Annex J.

3. Weathering resistance

   Freeze-thaw resistance with de-icing salt according to Annex D or total water absorption according to Annex E — depending on the declared class. We DO NOT GIVE the number of cycles, the solution or the drying conditions.

4. Bending strength

   According to Annex F; if after the reduction the span is less than four times the vertical dimension, the test is not performed (corrigendum AC:2006 to F.3). We DO NOT GIVE the loading or the formula.

5. Abrasion and slip resistance

   Abrasion with the wide abrasive wheel (Annex G) or by the Böhme method (H); slip resistance of the unpolished surface (USRV) according to Annex I.

6. Test report

   According to clause 8 and the report points in the annexes; when citing, give the edition of the standard together with the corrigendum AC. PN-EN 1340:2004 with AC:2007 current (state of the PKN card on 10.10.2026).

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Concrete units are heavy — use lifting equipment and safety footwear when moving them and placing them in the machine
• Cutting specimens and abrasion testing produce dust — respiratory and eye protection
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the same annex letter in PN-EN 1338, 1339 and 1340 does not denote the same test (F)

Frequently asked questions