The increased use of aluminium panels in construction and in particularly as a cladding material is down to the advances in aluminium over recent years. Solid aluminium sheet has been one major factor in this that enabled high quality flat aluminium panels to be created. With aluminium sheet available in thicknesses of up to 3mm, thi
s demonstrated that aluminium panels could he strong enough and flat enough to be used as a cladding material .
Aluminium panels offer high performance and reduced cost.
One of the huge advantages of aluminium panels is how they can either be fabricated and then finished or depending on the panel, the sheet can be coated first. If you are using shaped panels, these will be fabricated and then powder coated. Flat panels will have the sheet powder coated first before it is assembled into the finished insulated panel.
Whatever the option, aluminium panels are now widely used as a cladding material.
What types of cladding are available?
Two examples of cladding using aluminium panels are sealed systems and those used for simple screening. Sealed cladding systems can be used for curtain walling as they are required to be watertight. The screening systems do not need this weather resistance and are there for aesthetic purposes as they do not need any structural integrity as part of the building wall or curtain walling system. Watertight panels will normally consist of rebates or up stands to their perimeter to assist with preventing water ingress to the inside and drain any water to the outside.
Flat panels, cassette panels as well as fully welded panels are possible when used in cladding.
Cost savings with aluminium panels
Being able to pre finish many aluminium panels offers substantial cost savings. There are some popular colours that will have the aluminium sheet held in stock such as white RAL 9910 gloss. This cuts down on minimum paint charges and enables panels to be manufactured for the customer quicker as the aluminium sheet is held in stock already powder coated. There is no disadvantage to the aluminium sheet being cut to form cut to size panels and leaving bare aluminium exposed. This is because it will be hidden in the glazing rebate and importantly that bare aluminium will self cure and protect itself in the coming months.
Therefore, the modern materials and manufacturing methods used to create aluminium panels today has inspired new design ideas for our buildings as more and more architects embrace the advantages of using aluminium in construction, and in particular, aluminium panels.