Bringing an old building up to modern standards of performance and comfort can be extremely challenging, but when the owners of a four-hundred year old property in North Wales wanted to create a total of nine en-suite bathrooms, Marmox Multiboards provided the ideal starting point for the various room conversions.
The rambling three-storey structure - which features several traditional building methods, including masonry and oak framing with lath and plaster – is the subject of far-reaching renovation and alteration work by Crewe based Pioneer Design & Build. This includes basic repairs and energy upgrades, as well as the introduction of the high specification bathrooms and shower-rooms, involving extensive use of 12mm Multiboards supplied by the Congleton branch of Jewson.
Nearly 60 of the 1250 x 600mm boards, including special acoustic grade Soundboard versions, were purchased along with quantities of the special Marmox fixing washers and Marmox Multibond Sealant as well as the manufacturer’s waterproof jointing tape. The finishes being installed across the Multiboards include large as well as small format tiles and even natural stone pebbles.
The Senior Site Manager running the project for Pioneer Design & Build, John Martin, commented: “Our company hasn’t used Marmox Multiboards before, but I had seen them at a trade exhibition in Dubai when I was working there and we decided to trial them on this project where we had so many different designs of en-suite to build. We are fitting them across all sorts of substrate including solid walls, lath and plaster and old timber floors – which is where we’re laying the acoustic boards, covered by electric heating mats and the tiling
“Different sectors of the industry – such as local authority housing where you have to install low level shower trays for less able residents and want to stop water getting through the ceiling below – have been crying out for a system like this. I think Multiboards and the other Marmox products like the washers and tape are an ideal solution for wet rooms and bathrooms.”
Marmox Multiboards are manufactured from extruded polystyrene or XPS and offer a range of positive physical characteristics in addition to being fully waterproof. They are both light to handle and easy to cut, while still being able to sustain substantial loadings if required. They further offer good thermal insulation performance, helping to cut condensation risk.