Facade panels for plaster: types

Gusevsky Andrey Anatolyevich

Photo of a house faced with stone and stucco facade panels

The plastered facades of buildings look beautiful and solid, so many homeowners prefer just such an exterior finish. But the plastering of SIP panels, timber, frame structures is fraught with great difficulties and financial costs. However, there are materials that successfully compete with her both in appearance and in durability and strength.

We are talking about wall panels, the front surface of which imitates plaster of any texture, as well as natural stone, brick, wood and other popular facade coatings. In this article we will talk about two types of such panels.

Fiber cement siding

Fiber cement is a relatively new composite material consisting of a mixture of cement and sand with mineral fibers and cellulose, which give it an original appearance and unique strength.

Material Features

Fiber cement panels for plaster (see Plaster siding: we perform wall cladding), brick or wood are used to decorate new and reconstruct old buildings of any complexity and number of storeys, making their exterior unique, unlike others.

This material has the following advantages:

• High mechanical strength and earthquake resistance;
• Resistance to rainfall and temperature changes;
• UV Resistance - the coating does not fade in the sun;
• Durability;

For reference. Different manufacturers give their products a guarantee of 30 to 50 years of operation without the need for repair or replacement of the lining.

• Environmental friendliness and fire safety;
• Self-cleaning coating: dirt and dust do not accumulate and linger on it;
• Get a perfectly smooth, seamless surface, which is achieved by connecting the panels to each other in a spike-to-groove manner.

This is the profile of A-Stone fiber cement siding

Of particular note is the ease of installation of such panels with your own hands. Depending on the manufacturer, they can have different shapes in the form of regular rectangles, squares, long wide rails, but all are mounted on the wall according to the same principle, using a subsystem made of timber or special galvanized profiles.

At the same time, the base material can be anything from concrete and brick to wood. The subsystem serves not only as a supporting structure, but also levels the walls, and creates a gap between them and fiber cement panels for free air exchange. And if necessary, insulation is installed under the lining.

Installation of a ventilated facade made of fiber cement siding under a stone

If you have ever seen how elastic plaster is applied to a SIP panel, and how much time and energy is required for such work, then you will agree that the use of decorative facade panels is much more practical.

Popular brands

Due to the high quality and a huge selection of textures, colors and shapes, the most famous in our construction market are facade panels of Japanese manufacturers.

These are brands such as:

• NICHIHA (NITIHA);

Sample of facade panels made of fiber cement Nitiha

• TORAY;
• A-Stone;
• KMEW.

No less advantages are possessed by products of the European company EQUITONE (EQUITON), as well as domestic Cedral and Latonite.

Fibrosiding Cedral imitates wood finishes

Note.The price per square meter of such a cladding can vary greatly depending on the manufacturer, the thickness of the panel, its profile and decorative solutions. For example, Latonite can be bought for 650 rubles / m2, and Japanese panels will cost 2-3 times more expensive.

Thermopanels

Another amazing material that allows you to simultaneously insulate and decorate the house - facade thermal panels for plaster. Although they can imitate masonry or masonry (see Lining with thermal panels: a warm facade under a brick or stone), have a smooth matte or glossy surface - it all depends on what material is used as the top decorative layer.

Brick facade decoration

Types of Thermal Panels

In fact, these are two- or three-layer sandwich panels in which all layers are firmly interconnected.

They differ in such signs:

• Type of insulation. It can be expanded polystyrene, polyurethane foam or mineral wool;
• Type of decoration: steel or aluminum with a decorative coating, ceramic or clinker tiles, mosaics, etc .;
• Dimensions: facade thermal panels for plaster can have different thicknesses, shapes and geometric dimensions;
• Application: distinguish wall panels (ordinary), basement, as well as additional elements in the form of external and internal corners.

Basic cladding elements

Installation of thermal panels is carried out in different ways: on glue, on a wooden or metal frame, or using self-tapping screws directly on the base. It depends on the type of facing material, the instruction in each case is different. But this happens much faster and easier than finishing the facades with stucco with their preliminary alignment and insulation.

Advantages of thermal panels

The desire to make your home beautiful, warm and modern is quite natural for any person. But everyone chooses his own path to achieve this goal.

Recently, more and more often the choice of many homeowners has fallen on facade panels for plastering, stone, wood or brickwork, because their application allows you to solve the problem as quickly as possible and at minimal cost.

But in addition to this, this facing material has other important advantages:

• It is durable and will last several decades, without requiring special care and repair;
• It is made from environmentally friendly materials;
• With it, you can finish the house in any style, creating a unique design. This is possible due to the huge variety of texture and color palette of panels;

Thermal panels with a decorative layer imitating mosaic plaster

• Its use makes the house cozy and comfortable: noise from the street penetrates less, it is always warm inside in winter, it is cool in summer, and the moisture-repellent characteristics of the material allow you not to worry about the dampness entering the house;
• Regardless of the material of which the outer decorative layer is made, thermal panels have high strength, they are not afraid of atmospheric precipitation, sunlight, temperature changes and mechanical stresses;
• They are light, so even old houses with a not very reliable foundation can be finished with them, which cannot withstand the load from a thick layer of plaster or brick cladding.

Conclusion

Not all modern houses and public buildings, which at first glance seem to be decorated with decorative plaster or faced with brick or even marble, are actually such. Very often such visibility is created by wall facade panels, the surface of which is indistinguishable from these materials, and performance is often even better.

After watching the video in this article, you can once again be convinced of this and get additional information that will help you make a decision when choosing a material for decorating facades.