changing areas & washrooms
THE modern changing area is a busy and demanding environment. Indeed, it has been shown that most people will spend between a quarter and a third of their time in the changing area. Often these facilities incorporate wet areas such as showers, pools, saunas or steam rooms and the humidity and moisture generated by these spaces puts additional stress on materials. As a result, walls to showers and other
wet areas are largely finished floor to ceiling in ceramic tiles. Tiles are easy to clean, which avoids the build-up of dirt but does not prevent interstitial condensation. Normal practice is to fix the tiles to moisture resistant plasterboard. In tiled changing room areas internal walls need to be strong enough to withstand impact, as well as support coat racks, hooks, shelving kit bags and benching. And this is where a quality building board comes into its own. There is a plethora of building boards
Which building boards are most suitable for busy, humid and damp changing areas and washrooms? Cembrit’s Ged Ferris offers some suggestions.
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manufactured from many materials - all with different qualities and suitable for a variety of uses. Some of these boards have special performance ratings that bring them into line with particular building regulations, and working knowledge of these will help the specifier make informed decisions. There are building boards that are ideal
for use in bathrooms, swimming pools and other damp and humid areas. The main role of this type of board is as a backer or base board onto which ceramic tiles are
adhered. These boards have been specially designed for use in damp or high humidity situations and are specially formulated with a sealer on both sides that acts as a moisture barrier. Generally this type of board will have undergone intensive development to ensure that it’s not affected by water, and will not expand, rot or deteriorate. Installing a tile backer is a simple
process but it helps if the board is light. This makes it easier to manoeuvre on site and during the fixing process. The new Cembrit PB board incorporates polystyrene beads in its construction, which reduces the density of the board and also makes cutting easier. There is no requirement for mechanical cutting equipment, all cutting can be done with conventional hand tools. This also helps with safety eliminating the risk of nuisance dust. The installer typically has to be aware of
fixing too close to corners / edges as this can damage the boards. A recent development to solve this problem is a board with reinforced edges. In order that fixings can be completely covered with tile grout the edges are also chamfered meaning the fixing head is below the surface of the façade. Designed to fit neatly together to maximize stability at the butt joints, this further reduces the risk of cracked grouting.
www.cembrit.co.uk
Back up system
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