Kingspan K5 is a great product for helping insulate your property. We’ve put together a few tips for installers to bear in mind when installing this type of insulation as part of external wall insulation systems.
Securing Kingspan K5 Boards to the Substrate
When using and installing Kingspan K5 insulation boards, installers should use the Premium Basecoat as an adhesive. This material needs to be dotted and dabbed (in the usual method) on the back of the boards.
The fundamental difference between installing Kingspan K5 and EPS boards is rasping, and K5 can`t. Due to the glass tissue outer facing. This means that any slight imperfections can`t be used for the rasp. Therefore, the boards need to be perfectly aligned during application to ensure that they are entirely flat. Otherwise, you`ll be able to see the joints underneath the render. You’ll need a long spirit level and a fair amount of patience and strength to do this.
The boards need to be cut very precisely to ensure the right level of accuracy. You can’t use a hot wire cutter with K5 boards. As a result, it’ll have to be done by hand. Once secured to the substrate, cracks should be filled with spray foam and smoothed out. Please note that: never fill the gaps using the adhesive.
We recommend using the metal pin screw fixings (as opposed to hammer fixings) because the K5 boards are far tougher than EPS. The screw fixings are guaranteed to achieve a flat finish.
Applying the Basecoat to Kingspan K5 Boards
You can`t put a levelling coat on insulation boards with external wall insulation. Any basecoats thicker than 3-5mm will crack – the basecoat is not for levelling. It`s for enhancing the tensile strength of the system. This action really heightens the importance of getting a level surface with the insulation boards, as any basecoats over 5mm thick will void a system warranty.
Because of the glass tissue outer facing, it’s slightly more complicated to apply the basecoat to the installing kingspan K5 insulation boards than with EPS. This shouldn’t be a problem if you’ve installed Mineral Wool before. You need to use a very thin, flat basecoat layer before applying the second notched layer (taking up to the maximum of 5mm) and embedding the mesh.
Once the basecoat reinforcement layer has gone off, the render can be applied the usual way. The result should be a cosier home with a seamless render finish!
Check out our video below on tips for installing kingspan K5 insulation!
If you would like to see a Case Study using Kingspan K5 insulation, Check it out here.
