Finishing the outer walls of a building is no less important than the arrangement of its internal surfaces. It helps to insulate the house, protect the facade from destruction and makes it more presentable. Today, a huge number of materials are used for these purposes, differing from each other in properties, functionality and appearance. The latest innovation in building cladding is clinker façade panels.
The material in a fairly short time managed to positively establish itself in the construction market and has already adorned the surface of many buildings.
What are clinker panels?
Clinker panels are an innovative material that has two or three layers, used for facing any external surfaces. The standard module consists of polyurethane foam insulation with a thickness of 2-8 cm, on which clinker tiles of various shapes and widths are attached in a special way.
The ceramics included in the material is highly resistant to moisture and temperatures, and the firing of the tile makes it more durable.
Polyurethane foam has earned the title of an ideal heat-insulating material in all countries, and this allows us to say that clinker facade panels combine the best properties of both components.
In the process of their manufacture, the tiles are laid out in a special form, after which they are poured with liquid polyurethane foam. Thus, falling off of decorative elements during the operation of the panels is absolutely impossible. The decorative coating is tightly enclosed in the structure of the module.
What is the difference between two-layer and three-layer panels?
Three-layer panels have an additional heat-insulating base, with which they are attached to the walls of the facade. The third layer can be OSB, fiber cement and fiberglass boards.
OSB is considered a good heat and sound insulating material with good strength. In addition, the plates do not weigh down the facing coating and are considered a fairly economical option. Working with clinker panels on a wooden base does not cause any particular difficulties, since wood can be easily processed in any way.
Fiber cement is eco-friendly, high strength and long service life. Despite this, this type of insulation is characterized by significant weight, which greatly burdens the entire cladding. If the walls of the building and its foundation are not strong enough, use suchpanels are not recommended.
The glass magnetized base is popular due to its flexibility. This allows you to install plates on walls that have small irregularities. The material itself is absolutely fireproof, resistant to the influence of natural factors and acts as a reliable heat insulator.
Scope of panels without insulation
There are situations when the use of insulation is completely unjustified from an economic point of view. For example:
- for cladding of frame structures, in the walls of which heat-insulating material is initially present;
- for use in the arrangement of a ventilated facade system, where the walls are insulated at the initial stage;
- for cladding industrial premises, garages, gazebos or fences, which do not need to be insulated.
In this case, a two-layer clinker panel without insulation is used, the price of which will be much lower.
Main advantages of clinker panels
Perhaps the main advantage endowed with clinker panels is the extraordinary ease and speed of installation. The tenon-and-groove mount allows you to securely fix the modules in relation to each other.
It is important that after installation is completed, no finishing work is required. The following positive aspects of this cladding should also be noted:
- environmentally friendly;
- resistance to temperature fluctuations and moisture;
- service life - more than 50 years;
- reliableprotection of facades from moisture penetration and mold formation;
- excellent thermal insulation ability;
- unpretentious care;
- ease of repair;
- wide range of colors and variety of shapes;
- light weight does not burden the foundation of the house;
- do not lose their original appearance under the influence of ultraviolet rays;
- buildings lined with clinker panels look well-groomed and attractive.
Are there any downsides to using this material?
Unfortunately, there is nothing perfect in our world, and the "clinker brick" panel is no exception. Like all building materials, in addition to a number of excellent properties, they have some disadvantages.
First of all, their high cost should be noted. Not everyone can afford to clad the walls of their own house with clinker modules. The high cost of such a finish is especially noticeable when used on the facades of two-story buildings and large cottages.
The second unpleasant moment is the fragility of the decorative, and in some cases, the insulating layer. Everyone knows that ceramics cannot withstand strong impacts, therefore, during the installation of modules, you must be extremely careful with this material.
Panels with clinker tiles on a fiber cement base are very fragile and require extreme care during transport and storage.
Mounting Features
To begin with, all elements that will prevent the installation of plates (air conditioners, window shutters, etc.) are removed. The old facing coating (if any) is removed from the surface of the walls, after which they are treated with antiseptic compounds and a primer.
Next is the process of creating a base for a quality slab installation. As mentioned above, clinker modules can be mounted on any surface, but if there are irregularities on the wall, it will be very difficult to join the plates. In this case, it is better to make a special frame. It can be made of wood or metal profile. If wooden beams were chosen for the wall lathing, they must be treated with special impregnations that prevent wood decay.
To fix the lattice on a wooden facade, ordinary self-tapping screws are used, but if the base is made of concrete, it is necessary to use a perforator and dowels for reliability. The installation of panels starts from the corner of the bottom row, the modules are installed on the bottom of the plank and fixed with dowels. Installation is carried out in a circle, you can proceed to the next row only when the previous one is completed.
The seams between the clinker panels are blown with mounting foam to ensure the tightness and strength of the entire structure.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that this method of finishing facades cannot be called cheap, it is quite popular among owners of private houses. This is due to the fact that in addition to the spectacular appearance, the panels have a lot of wonderful properties. Warrantymanufacturers for this material is about 40-50 years old, which means that a house lined with clinker panels will delight its owners with warmth, silence and comfort for many years. And in this case, their high cost is fully justified.
