Devon school gets Knauf Brio floor

Knauf Brio Dry Floor Screed has been specified for use in the Dartington CE primary and nursery school to ensure maximum efficiency from its under-floor heating system.

Knauf Brio is a gypsum fibre board, specially developed for new or refurbishment flooring and for use with under-floor heating or cooling systems.

The school consists of four clusters of single-storey buildings - three are sets of teaching spaces, grouped by age, while the fourth contains communal facilities such as the sports hall, offices, staff room, plant room and music room.

The school is built almost exclusively of prefabricated timber panels and other wood products, all from sustainable sources.

Buildings are designed to make maximum use of natural light, water and energy.

Apart from the sports hall, which has a sprung timber floor, all other rooms have Knauf Brio on top of Nu-Heat under-floor heating installations powered by air source heat pumps and solar energy.

Project architect Andrew Docherty says Knauf Brio was specified for its thermal transparency, which enhances the efficiency of the heating system, and because it provides a durable surface for carpeting or other finishes.

Non-combustible Knauf Brio boards are simple and fast to lay.

The 600 x 1,200mm boards are laid directly over under-floor heating and cooling systems - typically where the pipe array is installed in metal diffuser trays over moulded insulation.

The precise tiered edges are glued with Knauf Brio Joint Adhesive, and screwed together to ensure a solid bond.

The new floor can take traffic as soon as the glue has hardened.

Knauf Brio boards are 18mm or 23mm thick, offering strength without impeding the transfer of heat energy.

Temperature changes in the room above are felt almost immediately and coupled with the greater comfort of under-floor systems' uniform space heating, less heating energy is required.

As a result, where under-floor systems are powered by conventional boilers, Knauf Brio helps to reduce fuel costs and CO2 emissions.

Ideal for laying over virtually any new or existing subfloor, Knauf Brio is suitable for retrofitted under-floor heating systems.

With a combined thickness of 50mm, it has minimal impact on overall room height - and it does not impose any significant additional structural load.

Knauf Drywall also offers Brio with a 10mm wood-fibre laminate on its underside, providing enhanced acoustic performance where the board is used, for example, in the upper floors of houses.

Knauf Brio and its accessories, including Knauf Brio Joint Adhesive, Knauf Brio Screws, Knauf Brio Edge Strip, and Knauf Levellers (for correcting uneven substrates), are available from distributors and builders' merchants.

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