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Keywords: Cladding definition, Cladding wall, Cladding tiles, Cladding Stone, Cladding sheet, Cladding material, Cladding types, Cladding notes, Cladding in construction, Cladding in civil engineering, Cladding in architecture, aesthetic cladding, cladding in construction
Building Facade Cladding
Cladding in construction basically means additional materials or sometimes referred to as siding materials that are applied over structural elements or building facades to serve two purposes, firstly to improve the aesthetics of the structural elements or building facade, and secondly to control the incursions of weather elements on the building. The types of materials that can be used are broadly discussed below and these materials mainly come in the form of boards/ panels, shingles, or sheet materials. Examples of cladding materials are clay tiles, stone tiles, timber, cement concrete, plastic, metals (Copper, Aluminum, etc), glass, etc.
The challenge of devastating incursions of rain, wind, and other natural agencies is met by latching joints, overlapping joints, or by forming interlocking joints. Clay, Stone, Glass, Aluminum, or a combination of the latter two, i.e., glass and aluminum for cladding are more popular in this day and age.
Types of Building Facade Cladding Materials
1) Clay Tiles Cladding
Clay tiles to wrap up building facades are being fabricated in many countries in a variety of designs. These are burnt at low temperatures, glazed, and fired again in a muffle kiln at a lower temperature again. The clay wall is surprisingly strong and they should be having zero water absorption tendency after the manufacturing processes. These can be utilized as a cladding material alone or in conjunction with other materials to give textures and aesthetic appearances. The cladding tiles provide a long-lasting clad finish, appealing architectural solution, large variation of styles and surfaces, make the building energy-efficient, and do not allow the ugly patches of efflorescence, color blemishes, etc. which otherwise may occur and spoil the appearance of external walls.
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2) Stone Cladding
When the architecture designed any residential or commercial buildings, cladding walls with stone veneers were very common because it imparts elegance and beauty to the building facade and structural integrity. It has been the primary desire of architects for approximately closing 3 decades. However, with the arrival of glass cladding and aluminum-based materials for cladding, an architectural mixing of two or more of them is more famous nowadays. One big drawback of stone cladding is worth pointing out, falling of stone veneers from the facing of the clad building is a very common problem that may be injurious to people walking around the area. So, the stone should be of high quality, sound, dense, hard, and free from any cracks, flaws, and other odd defects. The most commonly used cladding stone is sandstone.
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3) Timber Cladding
Timber cladding is made with thin timber boards that overlap one another, either horizontally or vertically on the building facade. These boards are comprehended as weatherboards in Australia, England, and New Zealand and Clapboards in Northern America. The weatherboards have one edge thicker than the other and the boards in the upper course lap over those in the lower course. Usually, the lower part of the facade for some height from the ground level is not cladded. This is just to allow free circulation of moist air which may otherwise get trapped in the gap between the masonry and the wall cladding and may consequently rot the cladding.
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4) Fibre cement cladding
Precast panels made from a mix of cement, Sand, Cellulose fibers and water are used to clad building facades. These are manufactured in lengths of 2400-3000 mm and widths of 900-1200 mm. The thickness ranges between 4.5 to 18 mm. They require little maintenance once fixed, finished, and painted, have good fire resistance, and great impact resistance, and are durable against natural agencies. They are not susceptible to attack and deterioration or decay by termites, ants, and beetles. However, the thermal resistance and the other insulation properties are quite poor. Moreover, they are prone to chipping and breakage if not handled properly.
5) Vinyl Cladding
Also known as the plastic exterior cladding is used for decorating and checking the water penetration. It is manufactured mainly from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin. It has been widely used in America in the form of sheets and boards in a variety of colors and patterns. To improve its insulation properties and energy efficiency, baking material (expanded polystyrene) is fused. It yields extremely little manufacturing waste since factory waste is recycled. Further, maintenance cost is low as it does not require painting or caulking. Not a favorite material for wall cladding by architects and builders as it fades, cracks, is not environmentally friendly, is unattractive, is a poor insulator, is heat-sensitive, fire-prone, and buckles over time.
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6) Steel Cladding
Industrial and other utilitarian buildings often are cladded with corrugated galvanized steel sheets. These are available in various sizes to suit the requirements. The steel cladding requires less budget for maintenance and it is remarkably durable, recyclable, and unsusceptible to fire. However, they are very cost-intensive to manufacture and do not provide insulation.
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7) Copper Cladding
It is very durable, lightweight, and recyclable. Copper Cladding is usually done for roofs of temples and church spires and is very cost-effective compared to stone cladding, cement concrete tiles, etc. for similar applications.
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8) Aluminum Based Cladding Materials
Aluminum is increasingly being used as a cladding material for commercial and residential buildings. The characteristics and properties of aluminum have led to revolutionary and innovative concepts in conceiving and achieving the architectural appearance of buildings. Besides considerable improvements in the appearance, the durability (acid, alkali, and salt resistance), insulation (sound, moisture, vibration, etc.), and energy efficiency of the building are also enhanced by their uses. Aluminum in the form of sheets is known as aluminum cladding, whereas a non-aluminous core bonded between two aluminum sheets forms an aluminum composite panel (ACP).
a) Aluminum Cladding
Aluminum cladding sheets are manufactured in thicknesses of 0.25 mm to 4 mm. They are made of either powder-coated aluminum (to give desired colors) or form anodized aluminum. Generally, these sheets are fitted with backing material (some insulation material) to improve energy efficiency and make the building comfortable and sustainable. With the advent of ACPs, aluminum sheets have lost their importance as a cladding material for building facades.
b) Aluminum Composite Panel (ACP)
These are panels consisting of a non-aluminum core, generally non-toxic polyethylene, bonded thermally between two aluminum sheets. The adhesion achieved by chemical and mechanical actions provides exceptional resistance to delamination. The aluminum sheets can be either polyvinylidene fluoride resin (PVDF) or polyester resin (PV) coated. ACPs are produced in a wide range of metallic and non-metallic colors and in a variety of patterns, some of which even imitates wood and marbles.
Properties and Advantages of ACP:
The high strength-to-weight ratio of aluminum is one of the key properties that make it particularly suitable for cladding applications. Rolled aluminum panels being lightweight (weight about 2 to 3 kg/m2) are easier to handle and fix at the site, and economical to transport as well. Further, because of their small self-weight, they transfer less dead load as compared to the alternative facade materials resulting in smaller loads on the supporting structure of the buildings. This gives an edge to aluminum cladding materials over others, particularly for their applications in the case of curtain walls for multistory buildings. They are very enduring, immune to dampness and saline water, impenetrable to termites and other insects, and handle well unfavorable weather conditions. The impact resistance and fire-resistant of aluminum boards/ panels are excellent. The maintenance cost is almost zero since it can be cleaned simply with a mild detergent and water. The aluminum panels can be bent, cut, drilled, punched, or stamped. These can be cut into any size, shape, and form, and bent into any shape with the least effort without loss of surface integrity, allowing the users complete architectural freedom. The finishing time of the building with aluminum-based cladding material is considerably small.
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9) Glass Cladding
Glass can mean a lot more than just a material, nowadays architecture has utilized it as an important architectural element around the world. The blending of modernity with unique functional benefits like daylight, transparency, and energy efficiency makes the glass cladding very special. In the past few decades, the architectural language has given more emphasis to the lightness and transparency of buildings, pushing towards a fully glazed envelope. Substantial savings in the weight of facade cladding can be achieved while maintaining quality finish and opaqueness. Glass cladding is available in a variety of colors, textures, metallic, flat, and pearlescent finishes and with custom graphics and images. A combination of other cladding materials with glass improves the aesthetic and completely changes the look of the building.
Only toughened glass is used for cladding so that it can play its protective role. Heating glass to the point where it starts to soften followed by rapid cooling produces toughened glass. This process causes the outer surface of the toughened glass cools faster than the inner glass layers. The inner layers on cooling contract and pre-compress the outer layers. Consequently, the flexural strength of the glass increases 3 to 4 times and that is why a toughened glass is less prone to cracking. Moreover, the glass is less affected by sun heat. The appearance of glass cladding lasts longer than any other conventional material.
Glass Magnesium Board (GMB) Cladding
Glass Magnesium Oxide board is a combined system of MgO, MgCl2, H2O, and alkali. The stable magnesium colloid is reinforced by a middle alkali gel fiber net and stuffed with the light material. It is lightweight, strong, and has a low coefficient of thermal expansion. It is a better fire-resistant, weather-resistant, and sound insulation product than timber cladding materials. The density ranges between 0.85-1.05 g/cm3 and the minimum bending strength is 18 MPa.
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You can also check out the 15 Facade Cladding Materials video below
Conclusion
Having discussed various types of cladding materials used in the construction industry, I hope that the readers can implement the knowledge in their design and construction field-related works. You can also refer standard building material book for more details - Building Materials by S K Duggal
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