An acclaimed new residential development in a Thameside location is currently being fitted out, with four of the apartment buildings featuring the use of 18mm Magply boards, manufactured by IPP Ltd., being used in all the kitchens due to their unique range of physical benefits.
With the design of the structure prioritising the use of non-combustible materials in response to recent changes to the Building Regulations, the A1 rated Magply boards were chosen to form pattresses within the external walls on the basis of the material’s unique combination of strength and fire resistance as well as the product’s past performance in similar applications.
Riverscape is a joint development involving international redevelopment specialists, Ballymore and Oxley, with Reddy Architecture + Urbanism leading the design team. The first four blocks, which rise to eight, 10 and 14 storeys, will create a total of 249 dwellings of different sizes and specifications, for social housing tenants and shared equity ownership. Meanwhile S & R London Ltd. – responsible for all of the internal partitioning – is using the 18mm Magply boards to form pattress boards across the outer walls.
The high performance boards are cut into 400mm deep sections, which are being attached to the rear/cavity side of the light gauge steel frames that form the inner elevation of the exterior walls. These receive a plasterboard lining prior to the various kitchen cupboards and other units being fixed through into the pattresses.
The Contract Manager for S & R London, Andrey Lukor, explained: “All of the external walls to the apartment buildings on this site have to feature non-combustible materials and the architects for the project, Reddy A + U, specified the use of the 18mm Magply boards as meeting the stringent statutory requirements. The steel frames are assembled on site and we are attaching the lengths of Magply to support plates on the back of the frames before they are positioned against the outer walls. “
“Although we have never used Magply before, we are finding the boards easy to install and they are taking the fixings for all of the kitchen units without any problems.”
Independently certified to offer a range of performance benefits, Magply MOS boards present a fire-safe and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional plywood or OSB products, which normally only offer a Euroclass D or E rating. Importantly the pull-out strength for 18mm Magply is in the range 3.45-4.00 Kn/m2. The different thicknesses of panel are also widely used as a substrate board for the direct application of proprietary render systems, as well as for flooring and flat or pitched roof build-ups.
Magply’s magnesium oxysulfate (MOS) boards have recently undergone a stringent testing programme by the British Board of Agrément (BBA), which helps clients validate their processes and mitigate risk, offering greater confidence for specifiers of the products tested.
After a painstaking two year process, Magply’s faith in the multipurpose panel was justified by the BBA’s issue of a much-coveted Agrément certificate no. 22/6050.