Knauf plasterboards used at Peterborough hospital

Knauf Drywall's Soundshield and Fireshield plasterboards have been installed by drywall subcontractor Astins at Peterborough City Hospital.

Rib-deck soffits called for imaginative detailing to preserve the acoustic and fire performance of drywall compartment walls and partitions in the hospital.

Knauf Drywall systems, installed by Astins, are used throughout the building, cutting 60,000 individual profiles to create the necessary 'notched' head detailing.

The Knauf Drywall and Astins technical teams developed solutions for the hospital based on experience on other public- and private-sector developments in healthcare.

The Peterborough solutions include 208mm partitions with 92mm Knauf I studs staggered in 148mm Knauf U channels and two layers of 15mm Knauf Impact Panel on each side.

The solutions provide appropriate fire and acoustic resistances for each type of partition.

Astins ensured integrity by completing floor-to-soffit partitions - with deflection head detailing - to the lowest point of the rib soffits, and infilling head spaces between the ribs with the individually cut profiles.

The hospital also has the Knauf Shaftwall system for mechanical risers - and for the fourth side of electrical risers, enabling these to be completed from the room side as out-of-sequence operations.

The other three sides are completed as conventional partitions, with 15mm Knauf Fireshield on either side of 70mm Knauf C studs.

The investment plan that the hospital development is funded by is also funding developments at the City Care Centre - a rehabilitation unit, pharmacy, and outpatient's facility, and the Cavell Centre - a mental health unit.

The Care Centre has mostly 100mm and 130mm partitions, using one or two layers of 15mm Knauf Soundshield on 70mm Knauf C or Acoustic C studs, with 25mm Knauf Crown Partition Roll in the voids, to achieve a range of acoustic performance requirements from 40dB (Rw) to 57dB (Rw).

The Cavell Centre has additional impact resistance with a layer of plywood added to combinations of Knauf Impact Panel and Knauf Soundshield.

Astins sourced its Knauf Drywall systems through CCF, and used Knauf Drywall's recycling programme throughout the project, separating plasterboard waste into 40-yard skips for return to the production process.

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