A ‘shell & core’ style apartment development in one of South London’s up and coming districts is making use of Magply boards’ fire resistance and other performance characteristics, as the lining to a bespoke timber frame package. The five flats are being developed on land adjacent to Peckham Rye railway station by Unboxed Homes while main contractor, Mara Build has overseen all the service provisions and creation of the sub-structure. Cambridgeshire based White Haus is the timber frame specialist that has manufactured and erected the highly energy efficient structural envelope.
Magply
Crucially, given the proximity of the building to neighbouring properties, 9mm Magply has been used to line the timber panels, before being sprayed with a polymer based membrane to achieve excellent airtightness. The purple finished Magply MgO boards are therefore the surface purchasers are presented with to fit out to their own specification and taste.
The Project Manager for White Haus, Tony Buck, commented: “We offer clients a bespoke service for the supply and installation of high performance timber frames to meet various specifications – right up to PassivHaus standard – building schools, hospitals and commercial premises as well as domestic properties. While the timber frames normally have a plywood sheathing, we choose to use Magply internally whenever there is a requirement for fire protection as it offers up to 90minutes resistance and meets the increasing threat of arson attacks on construction projects, as well as improving fire safety throughout the life of a building. Then, as with the Peckham development once the 25mm battens have been fixed to create a service cavity, we spray the surface with one of our membranes. Although this project isn’t actually to PassivHaus standard – which would require triple glazed windows and thicker insulation – the sprayed PU insulation in the walls, close fitting Magply boards and our purple membrane will give an air permeability down at 0.6 air changes per hour to work with the heat recovery ventilation system.”
Magply boards carry a range of international certifications while their fire performance has been verified through industry standard tests at the world famous Warrington fire research centre. Following a number of high profile blazes on building sites, such as at Hendon in North London, responsible timber frame manufacturers have been working to reduce their systems’ vulnerability to fire, and Magply provides far better performance than OSB also offering instant protection.
Additionally, Magply’s unique production process keeps the chloride content to just 0.01%, enhancing both stability and long term durability.
