Renovation Panorama patio ‚Alpe Hohenegg‘

Close to Oberstaufen and snug against the Imberg, the mountain inn ‚Alpe Hohenegg‘ lies at 1150 metres altitude in one of the southernmost corners of the Upper Allgäu. In 2004, the modern building complex was completely redesigned on a traditional site. The original location and orientation of the former Alpe were kept to retain its charm. Thus creating a place that, combined with a modern, angular wooden design, has kept its alpine character. The ‚Alpe Hohenegg‘ radiates its very own atmosphere; its clear architecture, as well as its authenticity and straightforwardness, are a delight.

The 360 degrees panorama deck allows the guests to enjoy a breathtaking view of the mountains. Because the area is subject to hiking and ski boots throughout the year, the old wooden flooring had suffered greatly and had been quite badly damaged. At the beginning of the year, the owner decided to revamp the patio using a durable, safe, and optically pleasing floor surface – and decided on Naturinform’s ‚Strong‘ patio deck in brown. The wood composite specialist from Franconian Redwitz a. d. Rodach, delivered 320 square metres for the panorama deck in the Allgäu.

Patio decks
Strong in Brown

Type of construction
Panorama patio

Construction year
2018

Location
Alpe Hohenegg, Am Amberg, 87534 Oberstaufen (Bayern)

Nikola and Carsten Schmahl have been running the Alpe, which is only reachable on foot in winter, since 2015. On the way, visitors are rewarded with wonderful views of the Upper Allgäu. The ‚Alpe Hohenegg‘ melts into the natural region at the Imberg, in which the uniqueness of the Allgäu‘s mountain world, protected meadows and forests is combined with a multitude of sport and leisure activities . There are twelve modern, comfortable and family-friendly rooms with a total of 56 beds with shower and WC. The restaurant offers down-to-earth cuisine with local and seasonal food. The interior design is alpine-rural-modern featuring a tunnel wood fireplace, a cosy restaurant and a 360-degree view panorama patio with a beautiful mountain view. The former patio, made of spruce, had aged incredibly and had suffered greatly because of the rough climate and the wear-and-tear throughout the years by hikers and skiers.

Building experts from Augsburg received the renovation order

Jürgen Kellner was contracted to renovate the patio. The Augsburgian has known the Alpe’s owner for years. Kellner is a carpenter, building expert and certified structural engineering technician. After he obtained his master title, he founded his own company in 2003. Today he has nine employees, amongst them tilers, carpenters, drywallers and building aids. „We work in all areas of woodworking and support our customers from planning, right up to execution,“ the 44 year old introduces his company. With a network of partner companies Kellner offers his customers extensive services in every trade. Whether carports, porches, roofs and roof renovation, or individual constructions in wood – the Swabian company’s competence range is very wide. Kellner is very focused on using sustainable wood from renewable timber sources.

High demand towards commercially used patios

„In the early summer we worked there with four employees for around six weeks,“ says Kellner. His team found a patio with treated spruce that had been lying there for ten years and was ‚completely ruined‘. As the property is commercially used, there are high expectations towards the patio’s result. Because of his long-term experience, he suggested using Naturinform’s wood composite material to the owner. Because the new surface was not only to look good, but also – and foremostly – be robust, durable, and especially non-slippery.

On site, Kellner was confronted with a huge challenge. „We found two different underlying surfaces,“ says the building expert. „On the one hand soil with gravel and plaster, on the other a drop that had already been spanned using a steel construction.“ Below this area, the tradesmen had to put up a net to catch decks, in the highly unlikely event that one of them should perhaps break. After the work was finished, the BG BAU accepted the construction.

In preparation of the underlying surface beforehand in the front area, a total of 23 cubed metres of underlying construction gravel was brought up to the Alpe by lorry, After the employees had put down the gravel, paving stones were laid according to plan at a distance of 50 cm. Then, finally, Naturinform’s aluminium construction was mounted with a layer to let water drain and, on top of that, the „Strong“ patio deck was laid on 320 square metres, at a special length of 5.1 metres. „This work was quite a lot of effort,“ Jürgen Kellner remembers, „as we had to pre-drill, sink and screw, and that takes a lot of time.“

Wood composite materials: environmentally friendly and sustainable

Kellner is convinced of the wood composite material’s characteristics. As owner of a wood-processing company he has been confronted for some years now with a drastic shrinkage of quality wood, not only due to dry periods and the resulting bark beetle plague thereof. „Domestic wood has suffered greatly in the last years and good building timber is difficult to get,“ says Kellner. This is another reason why wood composite materials are becoming more and more popular, as they are environmentally friendly, sustainable and recyclable. „This material is price-wise like wood, but it fulfills durability requirements and utility benefits at a high level,“ says Kellner, who recommends wood composite materials to his customers.

„Strong“ is convincing with stability and genuineness

„Strong“ is 38 millimetres thick and is therefore extremely loadable and can be used diversely. Due to its stability it is also suitable to span larger gaps – and that without needing to construct a complicated load-bearing underlying surface. Optically the load-bearing deck is beautiful with its natural wooden grain and is available in brown, grey and anthracite. The surface is slightly brushed or finely striated and therefore looks natural and high quality. Thanks to the material it is made of, it is splinterfree and extremely low on maintenance.

Naturinform specializes in producing wood composite materials that have the optical characteristics of wood combined with the weatherproof behaviour of watertight materials. For this, natural wooden fibres are combined with a polymer. This component coats each individual fibre, so that water cannot penetrate the finished deck, making the wood composite material resistant to damp weather. In a test by the TÜV Rheinland the decks were awarded the high slip resistance level R12 according to DIN 51130, and can be used, even in places where it can get slippery due to spray water, or damp, wet weather.

Download: Press release
Product information: Strong

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