Complete wall, ceiling and facade systems

Fire, moisture and sound resistant

During the construction of the new office building for Nh1816 Insurance in Oudkarspel, various systems from Knauf were used. For this, the various divisions within the company worked together to achieve a good result. "Nice to be able to contribute to such a project as a total supplier."

Using Knauf's systems offers a big advantage. The supplier offers a performance guarantee on the complete system: from wall plate to finishing coat. This assures both the contractor and the finisher of the required performance. 

Different types of drywall

Knauf was initially approached to sample Aquapanel for the property's exterior ceilings, says Timothy Blauw, commercial technical consultant for drywall systems. "The request came to us through De Mossel Projectafbouw, a finisher we often work with. She is very experienced with our systems and always carries out the work with our products. We ended up processing 18,000 m2 of Knauf A-plate, 13,000 m2 of Diamond Board and 7,200 m2 of Knauf Horizonboard."

Each board has its own unique properties, Blauw says. Knauf A-board is the standard drywall board. "Horizonboard is also a gypsum board, but it has a beveled edge on four sides that allows for a better finish. Diamond Board is an all-rounder: the board is fire resistant, has delayed moisture absorption, increased breaking strength and is impact resistant. This board can also be used as an end plate." The choices depend on the noise and fire resistance requirements in the specifications, he says. "We can demonstrate that our products meet these. Then delivery is made by a building materials dealer, in this case through Pontmeyer, BMN Van Keulen and Omtzigt."

Exterior facades and ceilings

Main contractor De Geus Bouw then requested samples for the masonry facades and the exterior ceilings under the overhangs. For this, Marije Tibbe and Tim de Boer were involved in the project. Tibbe is project consultant Facade/Aquapanel and was asked to help look at the exterior ceiling and part of the facade. "A timber frame construction frame was chosen with Aquapanel Skylite, the lighter variant suitable for interior and exterior ceilings, finished with a stucco system from Knauf. This lightweight cementitious board is moisture and mold resistant and meets fire class A1. The boards are 8 mm thick. In addition, Aquapanel Outdoor of 12.5 mm is always recommended for the facade. A total of approximately 1,600 m2 of ceiling tiles and 200 m2 of façade tiles were used to finish the exterior of this building."

Same look and feel by using one brand

As commercial technical consultant, De Boer advised on the stucco systems to be used. "Because complete Knauf systems are used, for both cladding and finishing, we can give Knauf Sure performance guarantee on the entire package. Because exterior wall stucco products from Knauf are being used all around this property, the building will have the same look throughout."

Veerman en Kemper Afbouw was the party that applied the stucco to both the Aquapanel panels and the masonry. De Boer: "They are familiar with our products and provided some 2,200 m2 of stucco on the masonry and M2 of Aquapanel here. Beforehand, we made advisory reports so that we could properly advise the customer on the correct application."

Knauf is closely involved in these types of projects. Even though the manufacturer does not supply contractors directly, they can count on advice and support. Tibbe: "Tim and I also visited the construction site a few times. Initially to go over the details with the contractor and later also when the boards were assembled or plastered."

'Combining products well'

It is certainly not the first time that elle divisions of Knauf have worked together on one project. Tibbe: "That does happen often, but as far as we are concerned it can happen even more often. This was also an incredibly beautiful project with an appealing design by a well-known architect. Here we were able to combine all our products well." The three are very pleased with the pleasant cooperation with both contractor, subcontractors and wholesaler. De Boer: "De Geus Bouw was not an unknown party to us. They handled everything well and followed our advice. That works pleasantly together."