Knauf Insulation, the UK’s leading manufacturer of insulation
material, has added a new, Domestic grade of floor insulation to
the Polyfoam® Floorboard range. Aimed specifically at housing
applications, the new grade complements the range and gives
designers a wider choice when it comes to selecting the best
product for the job. Knauf are also supporting the range with an
advertising campaign that underlines the need for floor insulation
to be “tough enough” for the job on site and be able to withstand
the loading placed on it.
Floor insulation is an area where strength is an essential
consideration and ‘getting-it-wrong’ can be an expensive mistake.
All materials compress under load so using a ‘low-strength’ floor
insulation increases the risk of the floor failing whereas using a
‘high-strength’ one reduces it. But ‘strength’ varies greatly: at
one end-of-the-scale is low-strength expanded polystyrene (EPS) and
polyisocyanurate (PUR/PIR) – at the other end is high-strength
extruded polystyrene (XPS). The figures speak for themselves: the
quoted compressive strength of standard polystyrene flooring sheet
(EPS70) is just 70kPa – for extruded polystyrene it can be as high
as 500kPa.
Apart from having a high compressive-strength, the ideal floor
insulation material must also be thermally efficient, moisture
resistant, lightweight and, of course, competitively priced.
Although rigid-board insulation has become the material-of-choice,
only one, extruded polystyrene, fully meets these requirements and
makes the grade.
Manufactured from high-performance extruded polystyrene, Polyfoam®
Floorboard is ideal for insulating floors. Apart from its high
compressive strength, its thermal conductivity of 0.029 W/mK makes
achieving a floor’s Elemental U-value of 0.25W/m2K (as specified by
‘Part’ L of the Building Regulations / Part J of the Scottish
Technical Standards) quite easy. Another mission-critical
requirement for floor insulation may be low moisture absorbency as
it could be used at, or below, ground level. But Polyfoam®
Floorboard meets this challenge too: the closed-cell structure of
extruded polystyrene is both resistant to and unaffected by
moisture.
To help designers create the optimum solution, Polyfoam® Floorboard
is available in a range of thicknesses and now in an unrivalled
four grades to suit the intended use of the finished floor:
Domestic for domestic loading, Standard; for general loading,
Extra; for commercial loading and Super; for very high industrial
loading. This ensures the designer or engineer has a choice of
strength options and in a range that cannot be matched by any other
material on the market. And, of course, it also allows Knauf
Insulation to work with its clients to offer the best solution from
a range of options.
“Choosing the right floor insulation may seem a straight forward
task but getting-it-wrong can be an expensive mistake!” said Mark
Thompson, Knauf Insulation’s Foam Development Manager, adding, “Of
the variety of insulating materials available, extruded polystyrene
has to be the material-of-choice for floor insulation – it’s a true
thermal and structural solution. And with the addition of Polyfoam®
Floorboard Domestic, our aim of offering a solution to exactly
match the requirements of the application is further
developed.”
To support the Polyfoam® Insulation range, Knauf Insulation have
published a comprehensive brochure – The Knauf Polyfoam Guide –
along with a series of product specific datasheets that contain a
wealth of information and make essential reading. For more details
about Knauf Insulation products, or to obtain copies of their
literature, please call 08700 668 660 or e-mail
info@knaufinsulation.com quoting ID: PR14904.
® Registered Trademark of Knauf Insulation
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