Kooltherm K17 insulated plasterboard system won a recent ‘Man versus Wall’ live installation challenge, competing against more traditional wall systems. Manufactured by Australia’s leading high performance insulation manufacturer, Kingspan Insulation, Kooltherm K17 insulated plasterboard could be installed nearly twice as fast as traditional stud and track systems with glasswool batts, and the more modern clip and channel system using foil-faced polystyrene board.
Kingspan Insulation Technical Services Manager Killian Smith commented that the speedy installation of Kooltherm K17 was a clear differentiator in the increasingly competitive world of commercial construction, offering substantial savings in time and costs for building contractors.
He explained that using Kooltherm K17 can be up to three times faster on site as it requires less site deliveries and crane lifts; if programmed correctly, it can allow trades to get on site earlier while the absence of steel and bulky batts makes the material far easier to store, move and handle on site.
Kooltherm K17 also requires no mixing glue, can be ordered in custom lengths, offers continuous insulation without thermal bridging, is thinner and most importantly, is CodeMark-certified, providing quality assurance and absolute confidence in claimed performance data.
The Man versus Wall challenge saw two apprentice installers face off in a live installation contest as they installed Kooltherm K17 insulated plasterboard, stud and track with glasswool batts, and clip and channel with foil-faced polystyrene board on a wall measuring 8.64 square metres.
While Kooltherm K17 took 32 minutes to install, the stud and track system with glasswool batts took 55 minutes, and the clip and channel system with foil-faced polystyrene board took 60 minutes. If these results were applied to a 1400-square-metre apartment block, Kooltherm K17 would take just over seven days to install compared to more than 12 days for stud and track with glasswool batts and over 13 days for the clip and channel system using foil-faced polystyrene board.
The cost savings are also substantial with Kooltherm K17 insulated plasterboard knocking just under a third off the total installed cost of the two older systems.
