First the central town hall square and now an additional public space equipped with NATURinFORM’s products in Muehlacker: Seating spaces, once desperately in need of renovation work, now welcome people to sit and chat again. This is especially fortunate for residents in the senior citizen‘s living quarters ‚Am Katzenbuckel‘. They can now appreciate the new surfaces: Naturinform’s ‚Popular-select’ decks offer an even better sitting quality, thanks to their characteristics.
Renovation of public benches and seating areas Muehlacker
Patio decks
Popular select in grey
Construction year
2017
Type of construction
Renovation of public benches and seating areas, town centre
Location
Am Katzenbuckel, Bahnhofstraße und Kelterplatz, Mühlacker
„After our first few years of experience with Naturinform’s decks we are absolutely thrilled with how low on maintenance they really are!“ says Inga Gallob, Engineer at the town’s Environmental andConstruction Authorities responsible for the planning. „That is why we have now equipped other properties requiring renovation work with the same products.“ The products are made of wood composite material by the company Naturinform from Bavarian Redwitz a. d.Rodach: They look like wood, and are mainly made of wood, but are far more suitable for processing, especially for public spaces, than pure wood.
Natural wood looks great and is very modern, but is not very popular with many timber yard employees. Several times a year wooden decks need to be brushed off manually using special cleaning agents. And after only a few years they need to be sanded down and repainted or oiled, or often even need to be exchanged completely due to extreme weathering damage.
It was the same with the seating area in the centre of Muehlacker: allaround a residence for the elderly which opened in 2010, as well as with benches in Bahnhofstrasse and a relaxation area at the central Kelterbach from the same year. Eight benches and a relaxation areathat were already in desperate need for renovation, despite high maintenance, after only eight years. „Some were just really ugly, with others the wood was splintering,“ says Gallob. „So we decided to switch to NATURinFORM’s wood composite material.“ And then she adds, laughing. „If I had ordered another 100 square metres seating area of wood at the timberyard– they would have never stopped complaining.“
Relaxation areas in the heart of town
Gallob knows what she’s talking about. When in 2015 the relaxationareas in the town were to be created for passersby in the townsquare with its half-timber buildings, there was no way they couldavoid wood. But the workers responsible for maintenance in the townwere worried about the huge amount of time necessary for looking after the material. This is why they started to look for a different solution – Naturinform’s decks. Although they look just like wood, they need nothing more than a quick clean using a high pressure cleaner every once in a while.
The material these decks are made of combines the best of both worlds: Just like pure wood it heats up in the sun, it has the same grain, and sunshine helps create an elegant patina. At the same time, it is water resistant due to its polymer components. Because if water can no longer penetrate it, the wood will neither tear nor splinter.
Homogenous structure for clean cuts
Muehlacker’s timber yard workers are the material‘s biggest fans. Their carpenter is really pleased with its processing characteristics. Naturinform’s decks are made of wooden fibres more or less glued together using high-tech polymers. Thus creating a wood material with a fully homogenous structure which can be cut easily and precisely. A hearty invitation to all wood processors to join in some creative fun.
The timber yard employees had an extremely communicative idea for the shape of the new benches: Two benches lean against each other, connected by a surface on which you can easily support yourself in case you want to chat to the person sitting behind you. And so that it is especially cozy under shady trees, two large plant pots made of concrete – colour coordinated – carry this bench construction.
Weatherproof and therefore quick to dry
An extra bonus for citizens looking for a cozy place: Thanks to the water repellant structure the surfaces dry very quickly after a shower of rain. This was already obvious with the seating areas in the town centre: The surfaces made of wood composite material were always the first to dry. Whilst natural wood should really be cleaned by hand because high-pressure cleaners are too aggressive, the plastic component in Naturinform’s decks is so mechanically robust that it is even officially recommended for high-pressure cleaning. „We only need to go out once a year to clean the surfaces,“ says Gallob. „That is really very convenient. I am convinced that was not our last renovation using Naturinform’s products.“
Especially easy to process
The seating area was produced using solid ‚Popular-select’ decks. These decks have a thickness of 26 millimetres, meaning they offer diverse flexible application options in both private surroundings, as well as in heavy duty industrial areas. „Select“ means that the surface is slightly wavy, just like a natural wooden surface. Naturinform decks are not varnished or oiled, they are already coloured during production. With ‚Popular’ you can choose from a total of 6 standard and 10 special edition colours. The town of Muehlacker decided on grey: That not only matches perfectly to the untreated concrete used for the plant pots, but is also a real must have in current urban development.
Environmentally compatible building
Naturinform produces according to strictly ecological principles: Only PEFC-certified wood that is a by-product of the woodworking industry from domestic, ecologically farmed forestry is used. The organic components for the composite material are environmentally compatible. Unlike traditional wood, Naturinform’s decks require no environmentally damaging chemicals for maintenance, you only need clear water to clean them.
Download: Press release
Product information: Popular select