Comfortable warmth in Gescher chapel

Category: Churches | Location: Gescher, Germany | Products used: BEKOTEC-THERM and DITRA

Historically-protected chapel modernised

The historically-protected St. Anthony's chapel in Gescher, Munsterland is the town's oldest historic building. Due to its convenient location near the Gescher/Coesfeld exit of motorway A31, St. Anthony's has also been a designated motorway chapel for travellers since 1998. A new floor covering made of Baumberg sandstone was installed as part of a renovation project – including the comfortable Schlüter-BEKOTEC-THERM floor heating system that now ensures a pleasant climate in the church.

External view of the historically-protected motorway chapel – St. Antonius Gescher.

St. Anthony's chapel in Gescher was designated a motorway chapel for travellers in 1998.

Interior of the chapel fitted with BEKOTEC studded panels

The restoration included the installation of the Schlüter-BEKOTEC-THERM floor heating system.

Thanks to their low design structure, it was possible to install the panels despite the low assembly height available.

Interior of the chapel with screed applied

The studs of the BEKOTEC panels only need a minimum screed coverage of 8 mm – which enables the low system assembly required for this project.

Interior of the chapel with DITRA 25 uncoupling mat applied

The system also includes the Schlüter-DITRA 25 (now DITRA) bonded uncoupling mat that neutralises stresses between the screed and top covering.

View of the interior of the chapel with renovated floor covering

The renovation project also included the renovation of the floor covering.

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The ceramic thermal comfort floor now replaces the previous conventional electric floor heating system that consumed a lot of energy. The low system assembly of BEKOTEC-THERM comes into its own in the St Antonius Chapel: a total assembly height of just approx. 16 cm was available. Another special feature of the construction in Gescher: there is a gap of about 20 mm between the old masonry and floor assembly at the edges of the approximately 135 square metre area. It lets the moisture escape into the space instead of draining it into the 30-40 cm thick masonry.

The BEKOTEC construction, including the Schlüter-DITRA 25 (now DITRA) bonded uncoupling, is based on Baumberg sandstone, a regional product. The panels are approximately 2 cm thick and were laid in the formats 50 x 100, 37.5 x 100 and 25 x 100 cm in a random formation. With its light appearance, the new flooring has played a major part in making the church a real gem again. And the moderate heat emitted by the new floor assembly has also considerably improved the indoor climate – with significant energy savings compared to the previous heating system.

The product highlights of this reference:

Few floor heating systems are as versatile, energy-efficient and durable as the Schlüter-BEKOTEC-THERM ceramic thermal comfort floor.

Cross-section through the floor construction of a kitchen with tiles and DITRA mat

When it comes to waterproofing, uncoupling, vapour pressure equalisation, load transfer, heat distribution: the DITRA mat is unparallelled under tiles.