What Is A Rainscreen Cladding System?
What Is A Rainscreen Cladding System?
A rainscreen cladding system is a form of double-wall construction that uses an outer layer to keep out the rain and an inner layer to provide thermal insulation, prevent excessive air leakage and carry wind loading.
The system was invented by Canadian architect G.K. Garden in 1963 and consists of a bearing wall, an insulation layer, and a cladding material that is fixed to the building using a supporting structure.
This structure creates an air cavity between the cladding and the water-resistant barrier of the building’s exterior wall, allowing for drainage and evaporation.
Rainscreen systems are often used for their moisture management and energy efficiency benefits, as well as their design flexibility.
They can be used in both new construction projects as well as renovations or refurbishments.
What Are The Advantages Of Rainscreen Cladding?
Rainscreen cladding is a building solution that creates an air cavity to protect the exterior walls of the building from outer impacts.
This system offers numerous advantages, such as improved thermal and acoustic insulation, increased energy efficiency, and reduced maintenance costs.
Rainscreen cladding helps to minimize carbon dioxide emissions by reducing the demand on a building’s heating and cooling systems.
It also requires minimal maintenance due to its lightweight panels and multiple fastening options.
Additionally, it can improve the aesthetics of a building by providing a modern look with its variety of materials and colors.
Finally, rainscreen cladding can reduce structural movements of the building, prolong its life expectancy, and require almost zero maintenance.
These benefits make rainscreen cladding an attractive option for architects looking for sustainable solutions for their projects.
What Materials Are Used In Rainscreen Cladding?
Rainscreen cladding is an outer layer of water-shedding material that is often placed on the outside of commercial buildings.
It is used to prevent water damage caused by rain and to control the temperature inside the building.
Rainscreen cladding systems were first investigated in the 1940s and became more commonplace in the 1960s.
Rainscreens are generally cost-effective, lightweight, and can be fabricated from a variety of materials such as metal sheeting, terracotta, brick slips, stone, timber, and fiber cement.
A rainscreen system typically consists of an outer skin of panels and an airtight insulated backing wall separated by a cavity. The cavity allows any penetrating moisture to drain or evaporate and vent to the outside.
Modern Materials offers a range of architectural panel rainscreen systems including Forma Steel Cladding, CERACLAD Modular Fiber Cement Façades, and EQUITONE Fibre Cement Façades.
Wade Architectural Systems provides turn-key solutions for submittals and to determine project-specific sizing and spacing requirements for cladding panels regardless of the cladding type.
Rainscreen Materials also provides system design, shop drawings and engineering for submittals and to determine project-specific sizing and spacing requirements.
What Are The Two Types Of Rainscreen Cladding?
Rainscreen cladding is a type of double-wall construction used to form the exterior walls of buildings.
It is designed to prevent significant amounts of water from penetrating into the wall construction and can be divided into two types: drained/back-ventilated (DB/V) and pressure-equalized (PE).
Drained and ventilated rainscreen cladding systems allow any penetrating moisture to drain or evaporate and vent to the outside. In this case, it is necessary to detail the façade so that any moisture can escape.
Pressure-equalized rainscreens are built with the expectation that the cladding will leak, but wind pressure is equalized on both sides of the wall assembly.
There are a variety of materials used for rainscreen cladding, including natural stone, GFRC, GFRP, aluminium metal cladding, zinc cladding, copper cladding terracotta clay tiles, high-pressure laminates (HPL), fibre cement boards (FCB), and ceramic tiles.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Rainscreen Cladding?
Rainscreen cladding is a building technique that has gained traction in recent years due to its ability to keep water from infiltrating building envelopes.
It involves the installation of an outer barrier, such as siding, and a ventilated air cavity between the outer barrier and the building envelope.
The main advantages of rainscreen cladding systems include avoiding condensation and humidity, extending the façade’s lifetime, reducing structural movements, and promoting energy savings.
However, there are also some disadvantages associated with this type of system.
These include higher long-term costs and maintenance costs than other rain screen options, as well as penetrations, doors and windows being more difficult to repair.
Additionally, since rainscreen cladding does not have decades of history to show any long-term weaknesses, it is important to ensure that capable workmen are available to implement the system correctly.
