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Floor tile failures in bathrooms and other wet areas are a thing of the past with new Aquapanel Floor Tile Underlay from Knauf Drywall. Specially developed as a thin substrate for tiles on floors, the lightweight 6mm reinforced cement board is the ideal complement to ceramic, mosaic or natural stone tiles. Available in 900 x 1,200mm panels from Knauf Drywall stockists nationwide, Aquapanel Floor Tile Underlay is easy to handle and install, and virtually eliminates problems associated with traditional underlays.
Knauf Drywall Product Manager Stuart Hiscott says new Aquapanel Floor Tile Underlay can be used with equal success in new or refurbished installations. “Its low profile makes it suitable for any room, without affecting floor height. It gives floors the same underlying strengths as Aquapanel Interior, which has already proved itself the most effective way to prevent tile failure.”
Tile failures occur when moisture seeps behind the tiles, damaging the bonds between tile, adhesive and substrate. Aquapanel tile backing products facilitate bonding, even when heavy tiles are used, and strength is maintained even when fully immersed in water. Tile failures can be extremely costly, and if traditional materials have been used, the remedy is often to replace the substrate as well as the tiles. If a tile failure does occur with Aquapanel Floor Tile Underlay, or if a tile is damaged, it requires just a simple localised repair.
New Aquapanel Floor Tile Underlay is a tough aggregated Portland cement board with coated glass fibre mesh on each side. It is completely unaffected by water , virtually eliminating the problems associated with traditional plywood or chipboard underlays which warp when wet. Components are non-organic, so there is no chance of mould or fungus growth.
Aquapanel Floor Tile Underlay is laid on a complete bed of flexible tile adhesive (applied in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines) and is screwed to the subfloor with 25mm Aquapanel Maxi Screws. A gap of 3 to 5mm between panels ensures proper jointing with flexible tile adhesive, embedded with Aquapanel Joint Tape. Panels weigh just 9kg each and can be cut to size with the score and snap technique, using standard tools. Aquapanel Floor Tile Underlay gives excellent stability on a floor that is appropriately framed for the static requirement of the construction.
New Aquapanel Floor Tile Underlay joins the Aquapanel family including the market leading tile backer 12.5mm Aquapanel Interior (which interfaces seamlessly with drywall systems to provide a solid base for wetroom tiling up to 50kg/m2) and Aquapanel Exterior (a render backer designed for modern methods of construction and offering one of the fastest methods of weatherproofing a building envelope).
Knauf Drywall manufactures a full range of plasters, plasterboards, insulating laminates, dry flooring, drywall accessories, and metal sections for domestic, commercial and public sector applications. Knauf Drywall pioneered carbon neutral plasterboard in the UK with Knauf Futurepanel. Knauf Drywall also actively promotes recycling from building sites and has a zero waste policy in its energy efficient factories at Sittingbourne in Kent and Immingham on Humberside.
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