KNAUF AQUAPANEL IN DEMAND FOR NATURAL STONE FINISHES
Luxury bathrooms with heavy tiles or natural stone wall finishes such as marble or granite are now easy to create in drywall constructions where Aquapanel from Knauf Drywall is the tile backer. Knauf Aquapanel’s strength and its ability to carry up to 50kg of tiling per square metre, makes it the ideal support for the heavy finishes often specified for bathrooms in upmarket houses and apartments, as well as in 'expensive' hotels.
Mark Sandford, Product Manager for Knauf Aquapanel, says there is growing interest for the UK’s market-leading tile backer among specifiers and developers of high-end residential projects. “It’s attracting attention because it can take the weight of high quality finishes – and it eliminates the problem of tile failures,” he says. “This avoids the cost and inconvenience of callbacks for repairs.”
Knauf Aquapanel, which now has a 10-year guarantee, interfaces seamlessly with plasterboard in drywall systems for newbuild or refurbishment applications. It is easy to use, and requires no special skills for installation. For small jobs, Knauf Aquapanel can safely be transported in the back of a van.
A fibre-reinforced cement board that is used in place of plasterboard in wet areas such as bathrooms and showers, Knauf Aquapanel retains its strength and maintains its performance even when fully immersed in water. As a result, if water penetrates the grouting between the tiles, it does not deform the Knauf Aquapanel board or weaken its bond with the tiles. As demonstrated by tiling contestants at the recent Tile and Stone Show in London, it is ready to accept tiles immediately on installation, so it can help to save valuable time on site. It is tough, impact resistant and dimensionally stable. It has excellent natural fire resistance and can be fixed to timber or metal studs.