Construction Technology 5 D39TF

Unit 5 Cladding Systems

Cladding Reminder of the Performance Requirements

Load Transfer
Wind loads must be supported and transferred back to the structural frame and subsequently to the building foundations.

Thermal Performance
The external wall must keep heat in the internal environment particularly in the winter. The cladding system therefore must present a barrier to thermal loss. Additionally, the external wall must assist in preventing excessive solar heat gain in the Summer and may be required to assist in cooling the internal environment depending on the ventilation strategy that is selected for the building.

Temperature Movement
The wall must be capable of coping with expansion and contraction forces that will be set up by cyclical changes in external temperature.

Relative Movement
The wall must be capable of coping with relative movement between itself and the beams and columns that comprise the frame that it (the wall) is attached to or suspended from.

Exclusion of external elements

The wall must prevent the ingress of moisture, either as a result of surface dampness and run off or as a result of wind driven rain, and it may have to prevent the admittance of external air (depending on the ventilation strategy).

Sound
The external wall should prevent sound transfer in both directions between internal and external environments.

Ventilation
Depending on how the buildings internal environment is to be managed with regard to air quality, the wall may be required to admit ventilation or alternatively to prevent air infiltration (in air conditioned buildings).

Openings
The external cladding must incorporate windows for the purpose of admitting daylight and providing a view in almost all circumstances. However, with this in mind the wall should also prevent excessive solar glare on work surfaces.

Designing to identified performance requirements:Key Questions/ Issues.

1. 2. 3. Does the cladding provide the desired aesthetic appeal? How is the cladding system secured back to the structural frame? Is there a need for secondary structure (usually a framing system) in between the primary structure (ie. the structural frame) and the cladding units? If there is a need for secondary structure, what is it; which product(s) will be used, and, how will this secondary structure be secured back to the primary structural frame. Is there a need to incorporate thermal insulation within the cladding construction? If yes (which is normal!) is the insulation integral to the chosen cladding system or will an additional product need to be identified. Where will insulation be placed? Is there a possibility of cold- bridging between the internal structure and the external face of the cladding material?

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Designing to identified performance requirements:Key Questions/ Issues.

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Has an allowance been made in your design for differential movement caused either by temperature movement, moisture movement or structural movement? Have dissimilar metals been isolated from one another to prevent electrolytic corrosion? How have all joints in cladding panels or units been detailed to prevent the passage of water or air from the external environment to the internal environment? Is there a need to provide sound insulation within the cladding construction and if so, how will this be achieved? Is there a need to incorporate fire stops and barriers within your cladding detail at vertical or horizontal intersections (between the cladding and either columns or floor slabs) to prevent the spread of fire between different spaces within a building? If so, how will firestops be provided and how will they be secured in position? Is there a need to incorporate windows or other opening units within a cladding system and if so, how will these be incorporated within the cladding without violating any of the above requirements. Is there a need to provide a form of solar protection to the external face of the cladding system in order to provide protection from excessive heat gain in summer months. If yes, how will this protection be achieved and where appropriate how will this be secured to the structure without violating any of the above performance requirements.

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Brickwork Facings

Stone Facings

Stone Facings

Curtain Walling

Curtain Walling

3 Approaches
Stick System Unit System (unitised system) Unit & Mullion System

Rainscreens