Ysgol Y Gogarth increases thermal mass with two coat plaster
Thistle plaster boosts robustness and avoids overheating in summer months.
Main focus
Ysgol-y-Gogarth is a day and residential Special Educational Needs School catering for approximately 195 pupils between the ages of 3 and 19.
Challenge
- To improve the performance of the building’s inherent thermal mass
- To use a product that provided a durable finish for a demanding environment
Solution
Two-coat plaster system - Thistle HardWall undercoat plaster and Thistle MultiFinish finish coat plaster to internal blockwork walls.
Solid plastering was shown to lead to a better thermal mass performance than drylining, critical to the building’s south west elevation to prevent overheating during summer months.
Impact resistance and durability were key requirements of the project, along with improved maintenance cycles. The robustness of two-coat plaster helps to meet this requirement by preventing the need for regular repair work.
- Using a bagged plaster product is much easier than moving sand and cement to an application area
- Finishing coat can be applied on set undercoat and before it is fully dry, saving time and maximising productivity on site
- There is no danger from cracks appearing days or weeks later due to the shrinkage of the plaster
“Superior thermal mass was required on the south west facing classrooms to avoid them getting too hot during the summer months. Thermal modelling was undertaken and showed that the addition of a two-coat plaster system led to a better performance than what a standard solution would achieve, alleviating overheating in the warm weather. This, combined with the high quality and durability provided by the solution, made it perfect for the job.”
Michael Bool - Atkins Architects
“The British Gypsum two-coat plaster system was a joy to work with as it was so quick and easy to apply. As this was a large project, with many different rooms to plaster, it was important that we didn’t have a lot of unnecessary building materials and equipment on site. Thistle HardWall and Thistle MultiFinish was so easy to mix on site, and the speedy drying times really helped us keep within our timescales.”
David Ombler - Owner of Ombler Williams Ltd
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Client: Conwy County Borough Council
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Main Contractor: Willmott Dixon
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Specialist contractor: Ombler Williams Ltd
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Architect: Atkins