Healthcare

The unique requirements of hospitals and healthcare design require special consideration in regards to the specified systems and products. In respect to the internal walls and ceilings of these structures,  provisions for fire resistance, impact resistance, moisture control and acoustic control should be considered. In addition to these performance factors, the elimination or minimisation of downtime  during installation and ongoing maintenance are also crucial. Specifying a solution that meets all of these requirements is a necessity - not only for the day-to-day operation of the facility - but also for maintaining the reputation of the architect, specifier or installer involved.

USGKnauf offers lightweight building solutions for a variety of interior applications commonly encountered in hospitals and other health care buildings.

Fire Protection 

USGKnauf offers a wide range of lightweight, fire-rated building solutions that satisfy National Construction Code (NCC) requirements for fire protection within hospitals and other Class 9a buildings. These include fire-rated walls and ceilings, fire tunnels and fire protected columns and beams.

Acoustics

Acoustic considerations play an important role in creating quiet hospital environments conducive to patients’ recovery and privacy. Such considerations include sound isolation for privacy or comfort enhancement as well as sound absorption in noisy areas. To learn more about recommended acoustic ratings for health care buildings refer to USGKnauf Systems+. USGKnauf offers an extensive range of lightweight wall and ceiling systems providing various levels of sound isolation.

Effective reverberation (echo) control requires treatment of the room surfaces with sound absorbing materials. USGKnauf offers a number of products for sound absorption, including Mars™  ClimaPlus™  Healthcare ceiling panels with NRC ratings up to and exceeding 0.85.

Impact Resistance

Hospital corridors are particularly susceptible to knocks by trolleys and general traffic. Therefore, they require the use of impact resistant lining materials.

Available with continuous fibreglass mesh embedded within its core, Multistop® is particularly effective in resisting soft body impact. Fiberock® Aqua-Tough is a paperless gypsum board with cellulose fibre reinforcement that is also effective against hard body and glancing impact.

Healthcare

Impact Insulation Class (IIC):

A numerical evaluation of a floor/ceiling assembly’s effectiveness in retarding the transmission of impact sound, also determined from laboratory testing. IIC is tested per ASTM E492 and rated per ASTM E989

• ASTM E 492: Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of Impact Sound Transmission Through Floor-Ceiling Assemblies Using the Tapping Machine

• ASTM E989: Standard Classification for Determination of Impact Insulation Class (IIC): Determines the rating of floor-ceiling assemblies

 

Information provided are for reference purpose only and due care has been taken to ensure accuracy at time of publication. Products, specifications and requirements may vary according to geographical locations and applications. As each project is unique, please contact your local USGKnauf representative for further assessment.