A newly created gem in the Lüneburg Heath
Thanks to high‑performance drywall solutions from RIGIPS: contemporary living comfort with a historic atmosphere
Around 160 firefighters battled the flames on the night of 22 February 2006, when a devastating fire almost completely destroyed the vacant "Dorfkrug". Built in 1730 in Hanstedt in the Lüneburg Heath, the building was renowned not only as a traditional regional venue, but also as one of the largest half-timbered houses in northern Germany. However, early reconstruction efforts stalled in the following years. It took a new owner with the courage to invest in the house's complete expansion to turn it into a residential and commercial property. The employees of Heide - Aktiv - Trockenbau GmbH & Co. KG, responsible for the interior construction, particularly impressed the judges of the 12th Rigips Trophy 2019 | 2020 with their fire and sound protection solutions. The jury selected the drywall construction company as the winner of the residential construction category.
With a usable area of almost 3,400 m² and a street frontage of around 35 metres, the "new" Dorfkrug is one of the region's largest half-timbered houses. It comprises a total of 22 elegantly finished apartments and a modern ground-floor shop leased by a bakery. Photos: Gabriel Kantorek Hausfotografie.de, Hamburg
With a usable area of almost 3,400 m² and a street frontage of around 35 metres, the "new" Dorfkrug is one of the largest half-timbered houses in the region. "Our aim was to restore the historical character of the building on this traditional site while creating living and commercial spaces inside that meet the highest standards", explains owner Günther Killer. This includes exposed beams, modern building technology, well-thought-out layout concepts, and high-quality drywall constructions.
The Dorfkrug now comprises a total of 22 elegantly finished apartments and a modern ground-floor shop used by a bakery. To complete the interior extension, the owner enlisted the help of the drywall professionals from Heide - Aktiv - Trockenbau GmbH & Co. KG. "At the start of construction, there was no schedule of services, so we worked with the owner and the responsible planner to design the interiors step by step", recalls Martin Lübbert, Heide - Aktiv - Trockenbau's Managing Director. "There were a lot of challenges regarding fire and sound protection, but we were able to develop effective solutions together. All in all, we worked on the Dorfkrug for about one and a half years."
Fire protection ceiling plus free-standing acoustic ceiling
In addition to the bakery, the ground floor comprises nine apartments, which range in size from 38 to 95 m². The size of the upstairs apartments varies from 51 to 280 m². The largest apartment, Apartment No. 14, occupies the building's spacious attic and has been designed as a generous maisonette. One of the most important questions that arose immediately concerned the ground floor: it had to be determined whether the existing beam structure combined with the existing concrete ceiling could bear all the projected static loads, or whether a completely new reinforced concrete ceiling needed to be installed. The latter would have increased construction costs to seven figures. Therefore, the decision was made to install a fire protection ceiling and a free-standing soundproof ceiling with an additional, visually exposed drywall ceiling.
First, the substructure for an independent F90 ceiling, consisting of base and supporting profiles, was installed on the concrete ceiling. The expansion team chose the Rigips Glasroc F fire protection board for cladding with a non-combustible (A1) material: 15 mm for the first layer and 20 mm for the second. Steel and wooden structural parts in the cladding area that did not meet the required fire resistance class were also clad with Glasroc F, and the connection to the large timber beams was straightforward as their burn rate was specified at F90 min. A total of 400 m² of ceiling area in the shop was upgraded for fire protection in this way.
Since a metal grid or gypsum ceiling was to be installed beneath the existing ceiling, Rigips technicians performed load-bearing calculations. To allow enough leeway for the installation of ceiling lights, for example, the calculations were carried out with an assumed additional load of 20 kg/m². The large ceiling board above the round sales counter on the free-standing soundproof ceiling was clad with Rigips 4PRO Die Weiße. Right photo: Bernhard Claßen Fotografie
Higher assumed additional load provided leeway
To prevent further loads being placed on the existing ceiling, a free-standing soundproof ceiling (Rigips System FD22RB) with a span of up to 3,700 mm was installed. Additional single profiles were installed to increase the load-bearing capacity. Between the profiles, we inserted 120 mm-thick non-combustible mineral wool insulation from ISOVER ULTIMATE. The cladding was done in two layers using the Die Blaue sound insulation board from Rigips. As a metal grid ceiling or gypsum ceiling was to be mounted below the freestanding ceiling, Rigips technicians performed additional load-bearing calculations. The additional load for the grid ceiling was 12.3 kg/m². To allow for tolerance during the installation of ceiling lights, for example, calculations were performed with an assumed additional load of 20 kg/m²," explains Martin Lübbert.
Since the bakery branch was to have not only a salesroom but also a larger café and lounge area, the drywall professionals implemented a series of further expansion ideas. For example, the later seating areas received a visual separation by means of a partition wall that did not extend to the full height of the room. To reinforce these walls, a frame made of UA profiles was installed, and the entire substructure was then clad with one layer of Rigips RB building boards and a second layer of Rigips Die Weiße. "This ‘Q3 board’ – as we simply call it – features a very bright surface liner and tapered edges on all four sides. This makes it particularly easy to create especially smooth surfaces. For this reason, the boards were also used for constructing the large ceiling board following the form above the round sales counter on the free-standing soundproof ceiling."
All partition walls, both between the bakery and the adjacent apartments as well as between all other apartments, were built as highly sound-insulating double stud walls in F90 (Rigips System MW22BF) with a 2 x 80 mm mineral wool core. The cladding here was two layers on each side with 2 x 12.5 mm Rigips Die Blaue RF. In the stairway areas leading to the attic, the ceiling cladding could be easily connected to the wooden beams, as these – as on the ground floor – were classified with a burn duration of 90 minutes. The apartment partition walls could also be easily connected to the beams or placed on top of the beams. Photo: Heide - Aktiv - Trockenbau GmbH & Co. KG
Moisture protection from the inside
Like any half-timbered façade, the elaborate and painstakingly detailed exterior walls of the new Dorfkrug are not one hundred per cent driving-rain-proof. To provide additional moisture protection, Martin Lübbert and his team decided to clad the inner side of the exterior walls on the exposed-to-rain side with the special, mould-resistant Rigips Glasroc X moisture-proof board. The boards were glued with Rifix bonding adhesive (cement-based) according to the Rigips System WB01GX in the spot-bead method. On all exterior walls not facing the exposed-to-rain side, directly fastened facing shells with wooden substructures, climate membranes, and cladding with Rigips RB building boards were installed.
All partition walls, both between the bakery and the neighbouring apartments and between all other apartments, were constructed as highly sound-insulating double stud walls in F90 (Rigips System MW22BF) with a 2 x 80 mm mineral wool core (ISOVER Akustic TP 1). Cladding here was two layers per side with 2 x 12.5 mm Rigips Die Blaue RF. This way, a sound insulation value of Rw 71 dB is achieved.
To securely fasten a frameless glass shower, an additional wood-based board was installed on the sloping roof. Also in the shower area, a wooden supporting structure was built to later hold a large, nearly floor-to-ceiling mirror that also serves as a heater. The cladding of all other roof slopes in this area was done according to Rigips System DA41RF: one layer of Rigips fire protection boards RF, and a second layer of Rigips fire protection boards impregnated RFI. Left photo: Heide - Aktiv - Trockenbau GmbH & Co. KG, right photo: Gabriel Kantorek Hausfotografie.de, Hamburg
Timber beam ceiling and roof Slopes in F60
All apartments were finished to the most modern standards. Martin Lübbert illustrates the work using Apartment 14, which covers 280 m2 over the upper floor and attic. "There, too, fire protection was the top priority. All structurally significant steel components supporting the timber beam ceiling above the upper floor were enclosed with Glasroc F to F90 standard. For the actual timber beam ceiling, the roof slopes, the attic ceiling, and the wooden floors, an F60 fire protection requirement applied." Due to an existing upper wooden boarding of the intermediate beam ceiling and boarded roof slopes (Harz roof), the F60 ceiling and F60 roof slope cladding could be implemented with 2 x 12.5 mm Rigips fire protection boards RF. Before installing the fire protection cladding, the space between the beams was completely filled with non-combustible mineral wool (ISOVER ULTIMATE). Joint filling was done with ready-mixed compound Rigips ProMix Plus to Q3 quality.
"In the stairway areas to the attic, the ceiling cladding could be easily connected to the beams, as these – like on the ground floor – were classified with a burn duration of 90 minutes. The apartment partition walls could therefore also be easily connected to the beams or placed on top of the beams", explains Martin Lübbert. For the second cladding layer of the roof slopes in the attic, the fitting team chose Rigips Die Weiße as a fire protection board. "There were many small and fairly angled surfaces there, which we could treat much faster and more easily to Q3 standard with this board."
The bathroom features a mixed construction: an additional wood-based board was installed on the sloping roof to securely fasten a frameless glass shower. The team also built a wooden support structure in the shower area to hold a large mirror that doubles as a heater and nearly reaches the ceiling. All other roof slopes in this area were clad according to Rigips System DA41RF: one layer of Rigips fire protection boards RF and a second layer of Rigips fire protection boards impregnated RFI.
The fully finished Apartment No. 14 offers first-class living comfort with around 280 m2 over two floors. Photos: Gabriel Kantorek Hausfotografie.de, Hamburg
Rigidur flooring elements ensure better impact sound insulation
"We covered the wooden floors with 20 mm thick Rigidur flooring elements and an additional layer of 10 mm thick Rigidur H gypsum fibreboards for better load distribution. Due to the added mass, impact sound could be reduced, and the F 60 fire resistance class from above was simultaneously achieved. Partial areas containing pipes were additionally levelled with Rigidur levelling compound. Due to the construction sequence, the walls had to be placed on the wooden floor before the dry screed. They were thus provided with a perimeter strip of non-combustible mineral wool." All ceiling penetrations for pipe and ventilation systems were recesses lined with 2 x 20 mm Rigips Glasroc F. Cable runs passing through the solid exterior walls were housed in a gypsum duct, also made of Glasroc F.
Despite all fire and sound protection challenges, Martin Lübbert's team never lost sight of the goal of creating living spaces that are also convincing in terms of appearance. Many attractive interior ideas, such as rounded wall sections, the successful integration of solid timber frameworks, or the elegantly designed staircases that provide access to all the apartments, ensure a pleasant living atmosphere in the Dorfkrug.
Owner Günther Killer is particularly convinced by the end result: "Our goal was to create an architectural gem at this historic location in Hanstedt. Together with the responsible architect Jörg Kröger and the committed team from Heide - Aktiv - Trockenbau, we have clearly achieved this goal. Both the residents and the bakery’s guests experience the unique combination of modern comfort and rustic half-timbered charm," sums up the owner. The judges of the 12th Rigips Trophy saw it much the same way, regarding the Dorfkrug as an architectural "jewel" and choosing Martin Lübbert and his drywall team as winners in the residential construction competition category.
Project Table
Client: Killer Grundstück Hanstedt GbR, Hanstedt
Design: Kröger Architektur, Winsen (Luhe)
Fit-out Company: Heide - Aktiv - Trockenbau GmbH & Co. KG, Scharnebeck
Drywall Systems Consultant: Dennis Pietrzyk, Saint-Gobain Rigips GmbH
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