LEADING UK RAINSCREEN CLADDING SUPPLIERS

Click here for an easy-to-use listing of leading UK suppliers of rainscreen cladding, provided by Archbone.

Rainscreen cladding consists of a relatively thin open-jointed screen spaced away from an inner wall. In its simplest form, the rainscreen can be sheet materials spaced apart, allowing rainwater to drain down the back face of the rainscreen. The cavity is fully ventilated and not limited in size to enable rapid drying of any water crossing the cavity.

A more sophisticated version of rainscreen cladding involves equalising air pressures both within and outside the cavity by carefully controlling both the sizes of the cavity and the sizes of the open joints. There must also be a complete air seal at the back of this cavity. The rainscreen cladding skin catches most of the droplets, and for those few drops which get past the screen, the pressure inside and outside the rainscreen is practically equal and there is therefore neither energy nor air stream available to drive the droplets across to the inner face. The widths of the joints in rainscreen cladding must be accurately controlled, especially where catchment trays at the rear of both vertical and horizontal joints are dispensed with.

Since wind action on rainscreen cladding will produce both positive and negative pressures, it is important to close cavities at the corners of the building so that pressures and suctions operating on different faces of the rainscreen cladding do not interfere with each other.

Other useful links relevant to rainscreen cladding:

Metal Cladding & Roofing Manufacturers Association

DETAILED INFORMATION RESOURCES ON RAINSCREEN CLADDING

We recommend the following websites, with building product information including manufacturers' specs, standard specifications, and CAD details: Barbour Compendium, RIBA Product Selector Plus, ASC Bricsnet, Building Products Index, British Board of Agrément, British Standards Online.