Facing with composite panels: modern facades
Composite panels for cladding can be considered the most popular material used today in the decoration of facades. Their main advantages are: excellent appearance, low weight, which is very important for load-bearing walls, and, of course, a long service life.
There are many varieties of composite finishing materials, and we will talk about the most popular of them. The article will present a video clip on the topic: “Facing the house with composite panels”, which will help you cope with this work with your own hands.
The content of the article
What is a composite
This term refers to the combination of two or more heterogeneous raw materials or components into a single whole. As a rule, the connected components have completely different, and sometimes opposite, properties that complement each other.
Composite materials manufacturing technologies are very popular all over the world. Without them, it is now generally difficult to imagine not only industrial and civil construction, but also aviation, astronautics, and shipbuilding.
Composites gradually displace steel, since they are not susceptible to corrosion, and its strength indicators exceed the similar characteristics of metal, and even reinforced concrete. It is the combination of components with different mechanical characteristics that creates such unique properties of these materials.
Metal front panels
Composite facing panels made of aluminum and insulation, are the most used in the decoration of facades of public, administrative and industrial buildings. Their assortment in the market of finishing materials in our country is still being formed, spurred by a high growth in consumer demand.
In this regard, the organization of the production of composite materials is today the most attractive for investment.
So:
- Due to this, composite aluminum cladding panels (ACP) are already produced by many domestic enterprises. There are also products of many world manufacturers on sale. What are they, what are their differences, and what is common?
- In short, aluminum composite panels consist of two thin aluminum sheets coated with a protective film, with a heat-insulating layer. The type of filler used in the production, as well as the type of decorative coating, make up the main difference between the panels.
- Their configuration may also differ: there are facade panels with a castle connection, square or rectangular, and there is a long material that can be cut as you wish. It is he who is the main protagonist of our story.
| ACP classification by type of filler | Helpful information | Sizes and cost |
 Polymer core panels | The interlayer of most composite aluminum panels offered by domestic manufacturers is made of foamed polyethylene. Imported products may have a honeycomb polypropylene core.
The main purpose of products with polymer filler is wall cladding with composite panels. This refers not only to facades, but also to the interior finishes of civil buildings: halls and vestibules, sports facilities, underpasses and train stations.
| If we talk about long panels, their thickness varies between 3-6 mm. Width, most often 1000; 1200 and 1500 mm. The length of the panel for free sale is standard - 3 or 4m. Longer options are also made to order. The price of one panel is 1.5 m * 4 m * 0.3 mm from 3900 rubles, that is, 650 rubles. per m2. |
 Mineral filler | Mineral-filled panels are mainly oriented towards facade decoration. The core of such a panel also consists of polyethylene, but with a large number of non-combustible additives called flame retardants. It belongs to the class of flammability G1 (flame-retardant materials).
| Naturally, mineral-filled panels are somewhat more expensive. A product of the same size as the one above will cost at least 4470 rubles, or from 745 rubles / m2. |
 Aluminum honeycomb | Often, instead of plastic and mineral filler, the core of the panel is filled with the thinnest aluminum plates, or honeycombs.
| The most expensive type of composite cladding. The length and width of the panels with honeycomb filling meets the same standards, but the thickness can be more: from 0.4 to 8 mm. Therefore, the price range is quite large. Panel size 1500 * 4000 * 0.3 mm costs at least 5300 rubles. (884 p. / M2). |
- In addition, composite aluminum panels differ in the type of decorative finish of the front surface. It can be an inexpensive PE paint coating, based on polyester glossy varnish; multilayer coating PVDF based on fluorocarbon paints; oxide films resulting from the electrochemical treatment of metal; laminating coatings imitating stone and wood.
- There are also options with vacuum spraying of metal powder, which gives the panel the color of gold, silver, and creates a mirror shine on the surface. Bilateral versions of aluminum facade cladding are also produced.
- Using one or two types of such material, you can create many variations of interesting design. In this case, facing the facade with composite panels is carried out both by the front and the back side. A good example of such a finish in the photo below.
- Since we are talking about a metal composite facade cladding, it is worth mentioning an alternative option: sandwich panels. They are made on the same principle as the automatic transmission, only instead of aluminum sheets, galvanized steel sheet is used here: smooth or with a profile. They can be designed for wall cladding, or roofing, but there are universal options.
- Sandwich panels have a more powerful core, which allows you to mount ventilated facades without additional thermal insulation layer. The minimum thickness of such a panel is 6 mm, which is maximum for an aluminum panel. With the same length and width of the product, its thickness can be four times greater.
In this regard, the sound and heat insulation characteristics of this material are much better than that of the automatic transmission. But in terms of decorativeness, he is much inferior to his opponent.
Flexibility is absolutely not inherent in it that does not allow to revet a surface of a difficult configuration. The advantage of aluminum panels is that they can not only be cut or drilled, but also milled and bent, which gives unlimited possibilities for design. This is what we will talk about in the next part of our article.
AKP processing
An office or office building with aluminum composite panel cladding always looks solid and respectable. It is also very aesthetically pleasing, especially if its configuration contains semicircular architectural elements in the form of cornices, parapets, columns.
But in order to be able to veneer them, it is necessary to master the processing technology of composite panels.
So:
- The main requirement is the ability to make a cartridge from a long sheet. It includes several stages: cutting the sheet to the desired size; milling of fold lines (grooves); die cutting of corner segments and loops for hanging cassettes.
Bending of the workpiece is carried out along the line of the milling. In this case, you need to connect (rivet) the bends so that the cassette holds its shape. - The easiest way is to cut panels having a one-sided front coating. A conventional stationary circular saw is used.
When working with double-sided panels, it is necessary to take measures so that metal filings and shavings do not damage the decorative coating, although it has a protective film.
- In this case, it is better to work with a hand circular saw, moving it along the cutting line. You can use a jigsaw, but the cutting quality will be slightly worse.
So that the panel does not move spontaneously, it must be pressed against the working surface of the table with clamps. The most important when cutting is to observe the straightness of the cut and the perpendicularity of the corners. - For high-quality performance of cutting or milling, marking is first applied to the sheet, and a guide rail is installed, which is also fixed by clamps. The tire should be twenty centimeters longer than the workpiece (on each side). A manual milling cutter is installed on it, the type of which is selected based on the thickness of the material and the required bending radius.
- In this work, professional skills are very important, especially when curved grooves, all kinds of small details are performed. Incorrect milling can lead to production defects: cracking of aluminum; scatter in size and uneven front surface of the cassettes, or to the formation of arched angles.
The quality of processing of the composite affects not only the appearance of the lining, but also its behavior during operation. Here it is very important to adhere to the manufacturer's recommendations to the smallest detail, for example: observe the angle at which the protective film should be removed from the cassette.
Installation of decorative coating of the facade
Facade cladding composite aluminum panels, begins with the markup, since the installation of decorative elements is carried out on the frame. The load-bearing profiles are mounted vertically, therefore, the lines of their installation are first outlined, the step between which should correspond to the width of the cartridge.
So:
- Then, points are outlined at which dowels will fix the mounting brackets. They are a console with a retractable insert, which is used to adjust the plane. On the brackets, with riveted joints, supporting profiles are installed.
- To create a framework, three types of profile are required with a section in the form of the letters “G”, “T” and “P”. The design of the frame may vary somewhat, depending on the type of automatic gearbox used, and the manufacturer's instructions will help determine it.After installing all the elements of the frame, it is necessary to level their spatial position.
- The easiest way to do this is with a thread stretched between the two extreme profiles. After that, the retractable cantilever inserts should be fixed with rivets. Finishing facades with composite panels is often done without additional insulation.
- If such, nevertheless, is required, this is done before the guides are installed - this will allow the insulation to be most densely laid. When leveling the frame, one should not forget that its indentation from the wall should correspond to the thickness of the insulation, plus a ventilation gap of three to four centimeters.
- For convenience, horizontal guides are installed on the crate in such a way that the corner elements of the cladding coincide with them on the fasteners. Measurement is carried out not on the walls, but on the angular connection of the mating profiles. As a heater for ventilated facades, most often they use plates of expanded polystyrene or mineral wool.
- When laying, they have to make small cross-shaped incisions for threading brackets sharpening from the wall. Then, the insulation in the center and corners is seated on the glue, and a wind-insulating facade membrane is mounted on top of it.
After that, the entire “pie” for reliability, is fixed with dish-shaped dowels and hanging the panels.
According to the same scheme, other types of composite facade panels are mounted: wood-polymer, fiber-cement. There is another composite material that is perfect for cladding the exterior walls of buildings.
We are talking about decking (terrace board). This is a composite of wood flour and polymer resins, which is not only stronger than concrete, but also completely not afraid of moisture.
Its installation is carried out according to a different principle, so we will not focus on it now, but we will talk about it in the following articles.
