Knauf Drywall - Products and Company Details

Optimum drywall for new Somerset secondary school

High performance walls and ceilings featuring plasterboard and related systems from Knauf Drywall has helped to create a quality learning environment in a newly built secondary school in north Somerset. Optimum Drywall installed floor-to-soffit walls between teaching rooms, consisting of 70 mm Knauf 'C' Studs at 600 mm centres, with two layers of 15 mm Knauf Soundshield high performance plasterboard on either side and 25 mm Knauf Crown Partition Roll in the voids. This construction, nominally 130 mm before finishes, comfortably meets the 45 dB airborne sound reduction required. Knauf Apertura was specified for key ceilings where visual effect and acoustic performance were important, helping to reduce reverberation.

Ex-church’s efficiency

Apartments in the shell of a former north London church feature an innovative flooring solution from Knauf Drywall. In-order to maximise the efficiency of the underfloor heating systems, thermally transparent Brio Dry Floor Screed from Knauf Drywall has been used to complement Nu-Heat UFH installations to ensure efficiency. Knauf Brio Dry Floor Screed is a strong gypsum fibreboard, offering a fast and lightweight alternative to traditional wet screeds. The 23 mm Knauf Brio panels are laid directly over the underfloor heating system, which consists of 14 mm pipes in diffuser plates.

Custom curved edges

Multiple curves in the vaulted ceilings of Newcastle's Haymarket Metro station were a tough challenge for Knauf MP75 machine-applied plaster. Plastering contractor Ornate Interiors had to use a custom-made curved straight edge to smooth the MP75, due to the ceiling curving in two directions over most of its surface. Knauf MP75 is a bagged dry plaster which is machine-mixed with water and pumped to a spray nozzle for application to masonry walls. It is sprayed on to masonry in overlapping bands, then simply ruled flat with a steel straight edge. Minimal trowelling is required during the drying process says the firm.

Knauf makes soffits safe

Innovative rib deck soffits at the new Peterborough City Hospital called for detailing to preserve the acoustic and fire performance of drywall compartment walls and partitions. Using high performance plasterboards from Knauf Drywall subcontractors Astins cut 60,000 individual profiles to create the 'notched' head detailing. High performance plasterboards Knauf Soundshield and Knauf Fireshield were used throughout the project. Astins ensured integrity by completing floor-to-soffit partitions with deflection head detailing – to the lowest point of the rib soffits, and infilling head spaces between the ribs with the individual profiles. The hospital also has Knauf's Shaftwall system for mechanical risers.

Knauf Art Deco flats

Aquapanel Exterior from Knauf Drywall has been specified as the ideal product for the curved rendered walls of Bianco, an art deco inspired apartment building in Bournemouth. Knauf Aquapanel Exterior recently gained BBA certification, confirming its suitability for use as a ventilated exterior wall panel. The product is glass fibre reinforced, water and weather resistant cement board, which has been specially developed for fast track building on steel or timber studs in straight or curved configurations. The BBA says if Knauf Aquapanel Exterior is installed, used and maintained correctly it will accept all likely surface loadings and resist the passage of moisture from the ground or from the weather. The panel has a Class A1 fire rating and the company claims that it has a service life 'in excess of 30 years'. Paul Godwin. director if Swindon-based cladding and render specialist Rend Co, commented: "We needed a board that would bend more neatly than other products. I had heard about Aquapanel Exterior and decided to put it to the test. It is very easy to install and can be cut to size by scoring with a knife and snapping".

A superb flat (pack) finish

The latest plastering technology has helped prepare IKEA's new Southampton store. Using Knauf Drywall's MPFinish spray plaster for fast application, subcontractor MG Ceilings and Linings skimmed 17,500 m2 of plasterboard walls. With walls up to 7 m high, the store posed considerable challenges. With the benefits of Knauf Drywall's machine-applied plaster, two MG plastering teams were able to regularly cover 300 m2 a day. Spencer Davies, senior contracts manager at MG Ceilings and Linings commented: 'We had previously used MPFinish on a project in Liverpool – everyone was most impressed with the superb finish. MPFinish is so fast that one man can support four or five plasterers following behind with spatulas. There is also very little mess, compared to traditional plasters.' MPFinish complements MP75, Knauf Drywall's one-coat plaster for use on masonry walls. Both these products are supplied dry in 25 kg bags and are automatically mixed with water to the desired consistency.

Knauf MP75 Demo

A simple plastering demonstration on site was enough for a main contractor to switch the specification for 24,000m2 of internal masonry walls to Knauf MP75 machine applied one coat Projection Plaster. Used in place of traditional two coat, hand applied plaster, Knauf MP75 saved time and delivered other significant benefits at Kingsway Hospital in Derby. Up to three times faster than manual plastering, fast drying Knauf MP75 Projection Plaster enables a three man team to complete up to 150m2 of high quality plaster every day. Main contractor Costain is building the new Kingsway Hospital facilities for the Derbyshire Mental Health Services NHS Trust. The £30 million project includes four buildings – three residential units with accommodation for 36, 14 and eight patients respectively, and a clinical support services building. As part of its group-wide focus on innovation, Costain agreed to try Knauf MP75 on two walls – and promptly switched the entire interior plastering job to the Knauf system.