Modern ventilated façades are an increasingly popular solution for both private and commercial investors. They can be found in single family houses, housing estates, office buildings, industrial buildings, public buildings and buildings belonging to the widely understood transport infrastructure. In today’s entry, we explain what is a ventilated façade, what types it is divided into, and what are its main advantages.
Ventilated façade – what is it and how does it work?
Ventilated façades are cladding systems which combine two key features from an investor’s perspective – they offer very attractive visual qualities and at the same time significantly contribute to the improvement of a building’s thermal insulation parameters.
This solution is based on an insulating layer, which is applied both to the wall and to the façade panels themselves. Thanks to its tight adhesion to the surfaces covered with it, the building gains effective protection against the impact of potentially harmful atmospheric factors. At the same time, the construction also takes into account special ventilation slots designed to ensure optimum air circulation within the façade, which results in the so-called breathing effect.
Ventilated façade – the most important advantages from the point of view of an investor and household members
Now that we know what a ventilated façade is, let’s explain what benefits are related to its specific, previously described construction. The main advantage of this type of solution is the above-mentioned effect of walls breathing, which in turn significantly reduces the likelihood of condensation, and in addition translates into maintaining the pressure and temperature at a constant level. Thanks to that the whole building has optimal thermal parameters, which positively influences the comfort of its usage and reduces the costs connected with heating.
Additional advantages of a ventilated façade include:
- high fire protection factor,
- no presence of thermal bridges in the construction,
- a wide range of compatible supporting structures,
- cladding materials of constant dimensions,
- low temperature and humidity variations within the substructure.
The most important types of ventilated façades
The key classification criterion used for ventilated façades is according to the cladding materials used. Of these, a distinction is made primarily between HPL laminated panels, metal, fibre-cement and ceramic, as well as those obtained from architectural concrete, conglomerates and natural stones.
As far as the latter is concerned, it is a special proposal, as it is commonly regarded as one of the best solutions in terms of durability parameters, and at the same time as the most prestigious option. Stone facades, with particular emphasis on those based on granite or sandstone, are characterised by a number of additional advantages which in many cases are not available for other types of ventilated elevations. The key advantages include, first of all, very impressive aesthetics, high resistance to mechanical damage, abrasion and weather conditions, as well as availability of many different patterns, which makes it possible to obtain a facade fully compliant with the architectonic concept adopted in a given space.
