Knauf Insulation’s Rocksilk® RainScreen® Slab is ideal for use with rainscreen cladding systems in both new-build and refurbishment projects. Designed for this one, specific application means that it’s easy to retro-fit, providing the building’s owners and users with all the benefits for which mineral wool insulation is so well known, but with minimal disruption during its installation.

Rainscreen cladding offers a method of giving a building, either new or existing, a very effective weatherproof finish. Lightweight cladding panels are mounted on a framework fixed to the building’s external walls to create a ventilated air space. The panels provide the front line of defence against the elements; any rain water that does penetrate the joints between them runs down their inside surface and drains off. The cladding also provides a way of concealing ‘things’ to give the building a sleek, contemporary look; the modern facade offering an aesthetic makeover for tired-looking buildings.

But not everything that’s concealed need be bad! A common refurbishment task is to upgrade a building’s insulation, making it more environmentally friendly, more comfortable to use and less expensive to operate. The easiest, most effective and least disruptive place to retro-fit insulation is on a building’s external surface and, here, rainscreen cladding offers the perfect solution.

Mineral wool insulation is ideal for use against walls and between timber or metal studs and can provide a better, more consistent, thermal performance than rigid insulation materials. Cutting mineral wool slabs slightly oversize allows them to be easily and quickly installed between studs, their natural ‘scrunchiness’ preventing air gaps caused by variations in timber or construction dimensions. Mineral wool can mould itself around the minor imperfections on the surface of a wall which tend to force rigid boards away, creating air gaps behind and between the boards, and the edges of the slabs knit together during installation, closing joints and preventing thermal bridging.

Rocksilk® RainScreen® Slab is a semi-rigid, rock mineral wool slab specifically designed for use with rainscreen cladding systems. Rock mineral wool is justifiably well known for its excellent thermal and acoustic insulation and fire-protection properties. Rocksilk® RainScreen® Slab has a thermal conductivity of 0.035 W/mK and is totally non-combustible – it has a Euroclass A1 fire classification, the highest rating possible – so its use can often reduce insurance premiums. Rocksilk® RainScreen® Slab has a consistent density which means that it can be used either way round, reducing the risk of incorrect installation. It also benefits from a water repellent that prevents the passage of water but, in offering no resistance to water vapour, allows the building’s structure to breathe. Dimensionally, and with rainscreen cladding systems in mind, it’s available in two appropriate sizes (1200 x 600 mm and 1200 x 1800 mm) and two thicknesses (75 mm and 100 mm) and is light and easy to handle.

For further information, please visit Knauf Insulation’s website at www.knaufinsulation.co.uk or call the enquiries hotline on 08700 668 660 quoting RR 472 05.

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