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| Interior walls just got smarter and simpler  Interior wall systems are now smarter at providing benefits for building owners and occupiers. They have also become easier to design and construct. These two breakthroughs result from the release of a new multi-featured interior wall lining product. Called Powerscape Health, it comes with fire and sound rated wall system designs for use in Australia and Asian countries. Powerscape Health linings have built-in resistance to six key sources of potential impairment with walls: impact, fire, sound transmission, moisture, termites and mould.Having these six properties present in one wall lining significantly simplifies many wall design and construction processes; removing the need for the many board-type changes that typically occur for wet-area rooms, sound control regions, and impact zones. These six properties also remove the need to layer fibre cement over plasterboard in high impact fire rated zones. Owners and occupiers are delivered a much smarter and more valuable outcome, without room by room performance compromises. All six impairment-resistance benefits, everywhere that Health is used, protecting simultaneously property investment, and occupier health. Additional benefits are derived from further specific features of Health linings that are difficult or impossible to find, especially in a single material. Finish is always important with walls - so Health linings come with a paper-free plaster surface which is optimised both for quality paint, and for tile finishes. This plaster surface also makes wallpaper and vinyl removal easier when redecorating. Sheet-to-sheet joint strength is extra high, including sheet-end joints, to minimise risk of unsightly cracking. Powerscape Health is exceptionally stiff providing a new solid touch-and-feel to walls, and high bracing performance. Screw-fixing capability is also present making attachment of art and wall furniture precise and secure. Perhaps most important of all, Health is made from 95% recycled raw materials, and is free of known risks from respirable crystalline silica and formaldehyde. Other high performance wall linings provide only a fraction of all these benefits, and yet many can still cost around the same price. A residential version of this wall lining material is also available, and is known as Powerscape Distinction. It can be used throughout new homes and apartments with the incremental cost over commodity linings being similar to that involved in upgrading quality window treatments or floor coverings. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Construction News :: home page |