Knauf Marmorit system provides ideal solution for timber frame construction

Two new timber framed buildings housing classrooms, a laboratory, a gym and study bedroom accommodation are the latest in a series of framed structures at the prestigious Beechen Cliff School in Bath to benefit from the aesthetic and technical attributes of Knauf Marmorit’s render systems.

The new buildings were designed by BBA architects of Bath and constructed by Bridgwater-based Henry W Pollard & Sons to complement new music and classroom blocks created over the previous three years.

The buildings’ exteriors feature a combination of cedar cladding and Knauf Marmorit’s timber frame render system, which was specified by a combination of BBA and Pollard following the success of the system on the previously-completed buildings.

The system was hand-applied by Knauf Marmorit approved specialist contractor BuildServ and comprised a combination of the company’s SM700 Pro and Conni S renders applied to a Render-Pro carrier board.

Developed by Marmorit with special textile fibres, SM700 Pro is a multi-purpose adhesive and basecoat reinforcing mortar. It combines high adhesion and strength, making it ideal for timber framed applications.

A reinforcing mesh was embedded into the basecoat, to provide further crack-resistance and the system was completed with a top coat of Knauf’s Conni S render with a 1.5mm grain size providing a subtly textured finish.

Conni S is a pre-mixed silicone-based render which has an adjustable consistency to suit different substrates and can be used to create a variety of textured finishes. It provides a water-repellent, vapour-permeable finish with long term protection against driving rain and high resistance to algae and fungi. For the two new buildings, a delicate pale yellow colour was chosen from Knauf’s extensive Color Concept range, to harmonize with the cedar cladding and match the existing buildings.

Commenting on the successful completion of the new buildings, Pollard’s senior quantity surveyor Danny Coupland said: “Beechen Cliff School is not the easiest of sites, with constraints on space and logistics, but timber frame construction provided a fast, cost-effective solution and the Knauf Marmorit render system complemented these criteria perfectly. We’re delighted with the end result”.

Beechen Cliff School is an 1100 pupil boys’ secondary school, with a co-educational sixth form, that sits in a highly prominent, elevated location just south of Bath city centre.