Cladding

1. Functions of Cladding

1.1 Primary Functions

The major purpose of cladding is to separate the indoor environment of a building from the
outdoors in such a way that the indoor environment can be maintained at levels suitable for the
intended use.

 Keeping out of water

Cladding must prevent the entry of water, e.g. rain, snow and ice into a building,
especially when water on the face of a building is often driven by wind at high
velocities and high air pressures, in every direction. The water must be drained
away from a wind-ward building face during a heavy rainstorm, and the water
pushed by wind, will readily penetrate the smallest crack or hole and enter the
building.

 Preventing air leakage

The cladding must prevent the unintended passage of air between indoors and
outdoors. Smaller air leaks are harmful because they waste conditioned air, carry
water through thewall, allow moisture vapour to condense inside the wall, and
allow noise to penetrate the building.

 Controlling light

The cladding must control the passage of light, especially sunlight. Sunlight is
visible light, useful for illumination but bothersome if it causes glare. Sunlight
includes destructive ultraviolet wavelengths that must be kept off human skin and
away from interior material that will fade or disintegrate.

 Controlling the radiation of heat

The role of cladding is to regulate the flow of radiant heat from sun, it should
present interior surfaces that are at temperatures that will not cause radiant
discomfort. (not too cold and not too hot)

 Controlling the conduction of heat

It must resist to the required degree of the conduction of heat into and out of the
building. It should avoid thermal bridges, wall component such as metal framing
 members that are highly conductive of heat and therefore likely to cause localized
condensation on interior surfaces.

 Controlling water vapour

It must retard the passage of water vapour. Vapour moving through a wall
assembly is likely to condense inside the assembly in cold weather and cause
problems of staining, lost insulating value, corrosion and freeze-thaw deterioration.

 Controlling sound

It should isolate the interior of a building from noise outside, or vice versa. Noise
isolation is best achieved by walls that are airtight, massive and resilient.

1.2 Secondary Functions

 Resisting wind forces

 The cladding of a building must be adequately strong and stiff to sustain the
pressure and suctions that will placed upon it by wind. The upper reaches of taller
buildings are buffeted by mush faster winds, and wind directions and velocities are
greater.

 Adjusting to movement

Several kinds of forces are always at work throughout a building, tugging and
pushing both the frame and the cladding: thermal expansion and contraction,
moisture expansion and contraction, structural deflections.

Thermal expansion and contraction – Indoor/outdoor

temperature differences can cause warping of cladding panels due to
differential expansion and contraction of their inside and outside
faces. The building frame itself will expand and contract to some
extent, especially between the time the cladding is installed and the
building is first occupied.
 Moisture expansion and contraction – Bricks and stone expand
slightly after they’re installed. Concrete blocks shrink slightly as its
curing is completed and excess moisture is given off.

Structural movements – Building foundations may settle

unevenly, causing distortion of the frame.

 Resisting Fire

According to the building regulations.

  Weathering gracefully

To maintain the visual quality of a building.

2. Conceptual Approaches to Watertightness in Cladding

Keep water completely away from the wall, however, this is impossible as it requires
a very broad overhang.

Eliminate openings from a wall, sealing every seam in the wall.

Eliminate or neutralize all the forces that can move water through the wall.

2.1 Forces that can move water through the wall

a. Gravity

It is a factor in pulling water through a wall only if the wall contains an inclined plane that slopes
into the building.
a. Momentum

It is the horizontal component of the energy of a raindrop falling at an angle toward the
face of a building. Momentum is easily neutralized by applying a cover to each joint in the
wall.

b. Surface tension

It causes water to adhere to the underside of a cladding component, it can allow water to
be drawn into the building. The provision of a simple ‘drip’ on any underside surface to
which water might adhere will eliminate the problem.

c. Capillary action

It is the surface tension effect that pulls water through any opening that can be bridged by
a water drop. This action can be eliminated by providing a concealed ‘capillary break’
somewhere inside the opening.

d. Wind currents

The generic solution to the wind current problem is to let wind pressure differences
between the outside and inside of the cladding neutralize themselves through a concept
know as the rainscreen principle.
3. Sealant Joints in
Cladding

All cladding systems

require sealant joints.
The role of a sealant is
to fill the joints between
cladding components,
preventing the flow of
air and/or water, while
still allowing reasonable
dimensional tolerances
for assembly and
reasonable amounts of
subsequent movement
between the
components.

Sealants are typically

used to seal joints
between panels of
stone or precast
concrete in a curtain
wall, to seal the joint
beneath the shelf angle
in a brick curtain wall,
and to seal joints
between dissimilar
materials, such as
where a metal and
glass curtain wall ends
against a masonry wall.

3.1 Sealant Joint Design

The time of year when the sealant is to be installed must be taken into account when specifying
the size of the joint and the type of sealant.

In cold weather - sealant will have to stretch very little during its lifetime but will have
 to compress a great deal in summer.

In hot weather - as the materials around it expand and crowd together. Sealant will
have to compress very little but will be greatly stretched in winter.

4. Curtain Wall

Curtain wall is an exterior cladding

supported at each story by the
steel frame, rather than bearing its
own load to the foundations. The
principal advantage of the curtain
wall is that because it bears no
vertical load, it can be thin and
lightweight regardless of the
height of the building.

The name of "curtain wall" derives

from the idea that the wall is thin
and "hangs" like a curtain on the
structural frame. The walls are
supported from the bottom at each
floor level.

The curtain wall must fullfil the

same functional requirements as
any other system of external
walling. The main problem in the
design of curtain walls lies in the
framework which holds the panels
and it is normally metal or timber.
Curtain wall may be faced outside
with any non-combustible material
suitable for exposure to the
weather. It can be constructed in
place or prefabricated.

4.1 Connection

Their fixing must be designed accordingly. Fixings should be of stainless steel or non-ferrous
metal and so designed, that should one fail the remaining fixings are capable of taking all the
loading on the walling. This provides a margin of safety and prevents progressive failure of a
number of fixings.

Fixing devices must be capable of adjustment in any direction to provide for inaccuracies in the
structural surfaces to which the framing is attached. Cast-in anchor channels are commonly
used in concrete frames to provide the horizontal adjustment.

Fixing to steel frames is to plates welded to the steelwork at the required fixing points. Bolt holes
should be slotted and packing pieces or shims used to provide for movement and adjustment.
Plastic washers should be interposed between adjacent surfaces to allow adequate tension in
the bolts combined with sufficient reduction in friction to permit differential movement.

Ventilated Rainscreen Cladding

ﾧ

The essentials of a Rainscreen system are to allow the ingress of ﾧ

air at the base of the system and the egress of air at the top of the Water is efficiently removed
system. This ventilated cavity allows any water which penetrates
the panel joints to be partly removed by the ‘stack effect’ and
partly removed by running down the rear face of the panels and
out of the base.

Advantages

• Installation is simple - allowing external cladding and

 internal works to proceed speedily, early and ﾧ
consecutively Internal condensation is prevented
• Problems of deterioration are halted with minimal ﾧ
additional load being applied to the existing structure Thermal bridging is prevented
• Rejuvenation of external appearance
• Aesthetic colour, flexibility and shape of external
facade may be dramatically altered
• Energy saving - lower running costs due to greatly
improved thermal insulation
• Easily removed panels for monitoring of structure
• Reduction of the risk of condensation due to the
elimination of cold bridges

Principles

• A Rainscreen system consists of an outer panel, a

ventilated cavity and an inner leaf
• In driving rain conditions moisture forms a membrane
across the baffled vertical and horizontal joints
• The majority of water is deflected off the outside face -
any penetrating water is disposed of through drainage
• Rainscreen systems differ from brick wall sealed
construction as the beneficial effects to air movement
are utilized

• A Rainscreen system is pressure equalised - the joints

are open or lightly baffled, allowing pressure
equalisation in driving rain conditions to be
instantaneous. Pressure inside the cavity is equal to
pressure outside - ie, precipitation has no inclination to
be driven into cavity
• A continuous vertical cavity - At least 25mm deep

Applications

• Wall cladding and facade finishes

• Spandrel panels
• Fascias and soffits
• Column covers
• Balcony and canopy cladding
• Tunnel linings
• Stairways and lifts
• Roof edgings and parapet wall copings