Knauf Insulation has launched a range of high-performance ‘gateway-ready’ rainscreen cavity systems.

Introduced as part of the Building Safety Act, ‘gateways’ are designed to manage risk at each stage of the design, construction, completion and occupation of a higher-risk building, with each one requiring the approval of the Building Safety Regulator. Knauf Insulation’s timely and proactive response to the Act and gateway system has been to launch a range of complete and tested ‘gateway-ready’ rainscreen cavity systems. Comprising sheathing insulation, fixings, and cavity barriers, Rocksilk RainScreen Cavity Systems have been designed to simplify specification and support compliance in cladding and masonry façades.

The Rocksilk RainScreen Cavity Systems combine existing Knauf Insulation rainscreen products with a series of new cavity barrier solutions, including open state cavity barriers with an intumescent strip, a closed state cavity barrier, and further additions to the manufacturer’s innovative face-fixed masonry cavity barrier range launched last year. The full range of cavity barriers enables specifiers to choose the system that best meets their fire performance needs – confident it has been tested to the relevant standards. The systems can be used with the major substrate types, including blockwork, steel, and timber. The full range of cavity barriers comprises:

Rocksilk RainScreen FireStop Slab
A cavity barrier manufactured from rock mineral wool, which is suitable for use as a vertical cavity barrier in buildings with a ventilated cavity, and vertically and horizontally in buildings with masonry façades.

Rocksilk RainScreen OSCB and OSCB Plus
These are horizontal cavity barriers manufactured from rock mineral wool, shrink wrapped with a reactive intumescent strip, for use in ventilated cavities up to 450mm.

Rocksilk RainScreen FFCB
This is a patented cavity barrier made from rock mineral wool, that is designed to be face-fixed to Rocksilk RainScreen Slab as the masonry façade is constructed. It is non-combustible with the best possible Euroclass A1 reaction to fire classification, and is manufactured using Knauf Insulation’s unique bio-based binder, ECOSE Technology. It is the only cavity barrier that can be fixed to the face of the sheathing insulation without needing to cut into it, which reduces waste, saves time and protects performance.

Each cavity barrier has been tested as part of a system with Rocksilk RainScreen Slab sheathing insulation to provide fire resistance in the appropriate rainscreen façade applications. Rocksilk RainScreen Slab sheathing insulation is non-combustible rock mineral wool and suitable for use in higher-risk buildings, and at any height. Rocksilk RainScreen Slab has Agrément certificates from the BBA for the broadest range of build-ups and the widest range of thicknesses of any rainscreen solution on the market.

Commenting on the product launch, Luke Davies, Rock Mineral Wool Product Manager at Knauf Insulation, said: “The Building Safety Act places much more scrutiny on everyone working on high-risk buildings. The ‘gateways’ it introduces, together with the ever-stricter compliance criteria of the Building Regulations, mean that it’s more important than ever to get your specification right. That’s why we’ve launched these systems – to make it easier for specifiers to meet these challenging requirements with a single system backed by rigorous test data.”

Click here for more information on Rocksilk RainScreen Cavity Systems.