The hinged facade is a technology for fastening any kind of facing material using not a wet method, but mechanical fixation. Decorative coating can be very different, for example made of porcelain or glass. In most cases, when facing cottages by this method, vinyl siding is used, which is installed on a galvanized or wooden crate. Office buildings are ennobled with glass facades, but financial institutions - with porcelain stoneware facades.
Overview of Positive Features
The hinged facade has many advantages over other types of decoration of the external walls of buildings for various purposes. Among the first, longevity and excellent sound insulation can be distinguished. After completion of work, the building takes on an attractive appearance. And in order to achieve a positive result, you can take the opportunity of a wide selection of materials, which can have different shades and textures. If you combine a galvanized steel frame with aluminum panels, the last of which will be the finish, then this solution can be called almost eternal. Of course, erosion by dust particles over several decades will damage the facade, but the period during which this will exceed the average life of the buildings.
Additional advantages
It is worth paying attention also to the fact that the hinged facade extends the life of the main walls. But if you carry out work in parallel with the insulation, then the dew point will be moved outside the walls. This indicates that fungus and dampness will no longer destroy concrete or masonry. The space formed between the cladding and the wall will perfectly damp out any sounds, but with the use of thermal insulation, the walls become almost noiseproof. Being indoors, you will not hear sounds from the street. The hinged facade can significantly reduce heating costs, because even without additional insulation of the walls under the cladding, the temperature will be several degrees higher than outside. Precious heat will no longer be carried away by the wind.
Shortcomings Overview
Before you equip the facade with porcelain stoneware, you should analyze whether the foundation will be able to withstand such a load, since the weight of the walls will be impressive. For a strip base, on top of which a wooden frame house is built, such decoration will not be the best solution, and for capital buildings it is better not to neglect load calculations. We cannot but mention the impressive cost, which will be such, even if you prefer an inexpensive finish. For example, turnkey aluminum cassettes cost 2000 rubles. per square meter. If you do the installation work yourself, you can reduce costs by about 2 times.
Reviews
Hinged facade systems have become widespread among the modern consumer, this is due to the positive characteristics that are expressed in the stability of such systems to external influences, and acts of vandalism can be attributed to this. According to users who have made their choice in favor of a curtain wall, after completion of work they gain protection against atmospheric precipitation and wind, which eliminates the defects that arise in sealing joints of load-bearing walls. All this prevents the appearance and further development of mold and fungus due to the removal of excess fluid through the ventilation gap. Owners of private houses emphasize that during operation the described variety of facades can be repaired or replaced with individual parts without destroying the structure of the exterior walls.
The system of ventilated facades can undergo a change in architectural appearance by varying the facing materials, colors and formats. Such systems are generally fireproof. They include products and materials that are classified as fireproof or fireproof, as well as preventing the spread of fire. Consumers choose hinged facades also for the reason that they are able to provide a healthy microclimate inside the building due to the smooth diffusion of water vapor. It is possible to install facing material using this technology on old buildings or new buildings. At the same time, such a complicated preliminary preparation, as when staining, is not required.
On the contrary, the decoration will hide existing wall defects, allowing you to reconstruct the facade. You can start installation work at any time of the year, completing the manipulations in the shortest possible time.
Design Features
Installation of curtain walls is carried out after the completion of system design. In this case, certain difficulties may arise. For example, horizontal and vertical distances between windows can become critical. This is due to the fact that the facade will be assembled from piece materials. If the mentioned parameters are different, then this will be more noticeable than during plastering. Among other things, this can cause a rise in price. As a result, you will encounter cost overruns, as well as problems when cutting, since porcelain stoneware has high strength and hardness. If you use a diamond disk, which costs $ 100, to adjust the size, then it will be enough for 70 linear meters of tile cut. As a result, per 1 square meter, the cost will be $ 4.
Designing a curtain wall facade can be accompanied by difficulties in the case when highly porous materials are used for laying wall openings, the bearing capacity of which is not so great. During the installation of the facade system, it will not be possible to securely anchor the anchor elements. If the facade is cladded some time after the construction of the building, then when designing the hinged system, you can understand that the use of the above materials was not justified, if only for the reason that the thermal efficiency of the wall openings will be less compared to the same indicator of mineral cotton wool, which is recommended to be used as a heater.
What else you need to know about design
When designing curtain wall systems, developers quite often advise using aluminum fasteners. As practice shows, this can cause some problems. Before installation, it is best to abandon a similar material, which has a melting point within 670 degrees, the final figure will depend on the alloy. This advice is due to the fact that the temperature in a fire reaches 750 degrees, which leads to the melting of the substructure and the collapse of some parts of the facade. This happens just in the area of the window opening. In order to prevent this situation, it is necessary to install protective screens, replace aluminum elements with steel ones, and also use window frames of a special design. Such an approach can cause a rise in the cost of the system, but if you neglect the recommendations, then using an aluminum subsystem will negate a number of advantages.
Installation procedure
If the construction of the curtain wall facade is to be installed by you yourself, then initially you need to mark and fix the brackets on which the supporting profiles will be mounted. The horizontal step between them will depend on the type of panels used. Do not forget about the presence of mounting seams. For example, for aluminum cassettes that have a square size and a side of 60 centimeters, the recommended joint width should be 6 millimeters. This indicates that the distance between the axes of adjacent profiles will be 606 millimeters. The vertical spacing between the brackets is determined by the type of panel for the cladding, this time taking into account the material. For aluminum panels, brackets can be installed in increments of up to a meter, while for glass or ceramic granite facades, brackets can be installed at a distance of 800 millimeters.
Warming
Porcelain hinged facade, like any other ventilated system, requires thermal insulation. Insulation sheets are installed from the bottom up, each plate should be strengthened with a couple of fungi. The next layer will be a vapor barrier film, which is stacked with a 10-centimeter overlap. It needs to be deployed from the bottom up. Through it, the insulation is fixed finally, while you need to use 5 fungi per square meter.
Profile Installation
The device of the hinged facades provides for the presence of a profile system, between it and the insulation a ventilation gap should be provided, the thickness of which should be 40 millimeters or more. It is necessary to mount elements on a plumb line, controlling the distance along the axes of the profiles.
Installation of cladding
The method of attaching facade panels will depend on the material in their basis. Clinker tiles, fiber cement panels and porcelain tiles are installed on kleimers, which are special staples. As an alternative solution in the above cases, high-strength adhesive acts. Galvanized steel or aluminum cassettes are fixed with slides or corners, which allow you to move the plates of each row horizontally. Glass facades, quite rarely equipped by private craftsmen, are mounted with closed or open profile systems, each of which covers the panel from all sides. This technology involves laying a rubber seal.
Cost
A hinged facade, the price of which will depend on the material used, can be set by you yourself. This will save money. If you decide to take the help of specialists, then installation of the cladding will cost 450 rubles. per 1 square meter, as for porcelain tile. Metal cassettes are installed by professionals for 1115 rubles. per square meter, where the cost of the material is not taken into account.