Innovative timber panel manufacturer, MEDITE SMARTPLY, can now produce its SMARTPLY FR OSB3 panel in its largest ever format, up to 7.5m x 2.5m, ideal for use in offsite construction.
This breakthrough technology for the timber construction industry now means that entire sides of apartments, homes, or schools can be sheathed in SMARTPLY FR OSB3 in one go.
Its flame retardant technology – Zeroignition® - is incorporated into the panel during manufacturing, meaning the panel requires no post-treatments, or coatings. Zeroignition® is a water based, eco-friendly, flame retardant which ensures fire performance while maintaining structural integrity.
The addition of the flame retardant solution during the manufacturing process ensures that the OSB3 panel quality is not only maintained to EN300, but also retains the CE mark achieved during production, unlike post-treatment fire retardant technologies which can have a destructive effect on the mechanical or physical properties of a panel. This CE mark is also still valid if the board is cut or fixed, unlike those protected by a coating or post manufacture treatment.
Additionally, when compared to other construction materials, timber’s strength and weight ratio make it a desirable choice for offsite construction of housing units, mobile classrooms and medical centres.
When compared to alternative mineral-based panel variants, SMARTPLY FR OSB3 further proves its worth by producing considerably less dust when cut, not cracking when fixings are inserted, and not shattering on impact during construction.
David Murray, Innovation Manager at MEDITE SMARTPLY, is seeing a significant growth in demand for high-performance flame retardant OSB panels, “we realised some time ago that if timber was to become the preferred option for new buildings then we had to tackle the issue not only of performance in use, but also of fires on building sites during construction.
“SMARTPLY FR OSB can be used as a single layer solution for exterior walls. For example, a single 18mm OSB panel can form an exterior wall, which is much faster to install and equally as effective as a standard 9mm OSB panel lined with a 9mm cement based panel. This is all down to our Zeroignition® technology and brand-new Conti-roll® manufacturing line.”
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