Ceramic granite overcladding - an ideal refurbishment option

Brian Newell CEO of Shackerley Holdings Group Limited, reports that ceramic granite overcladding can transform the appearance of ugly, outdated and shabby buildings and dramatically improve their thermal efficiency and life expectancy

If a building is structurally sound and of an appropriate design, one of the most logical, cost effective and sustainable ways to overcome its failings is by overcladding with a ceramic granite ventilated façade system.

This approach allows for dramatic aesthetic improvements to be made, matching any new build project in terms of style and finish, and can extend a building’s life expectancy by several decades. Highly effective thermal and acoustic insulation can be installed behind the façades, thereby increasing thermal efficiency, eliminating condensation risks and allowing the building to ‘breathe’.

Ceramic granite is one of the most versatile, long lasting, maintenance free overcladding solutions available. Made entirely from natural constituents without bonding agents or resins, this innovative material is exceptionally hardwearing, impermeable, totally inert, unaffected by UV light and resistant to graffiti damage.

There are almost limitless aesthetic design options as ceramic granite can be fashioned to replicate the appearance of almost any naturally occurring stone with through-body patterns, rich colouration and a wide range of natural and polished finishes.

Completely free from fissures and flaws which weaken quarried stone in its original state, ceramic granite offers a proven, engineered façade solution with known performance. Slabs of just 12mm thick offer outstanding building protection. Loadings on the substructure and building exterior therefore compare very favourably with naturally quarried stone.

Any ceramic cladding panel with a surface area greater than 0.1m² used externally above first floor level must be mechanically fixed (BS 5385 Part 2). Shackerley’s Queen’s Award winning Sureclad system enables prefabricated ceramic granite slabs measuring up to 1.8m x 1.3m to be mechanically fixed to a high grade (T6) aluminium substructure using a patented undercut stainless steel anchor system, resulting in an exceptionally strong stress-free fix. All panels are meshed, pre-drilled, cut to size and prefabricated in Shackerley’s ISO9001 quality certified production facilities and are delivered to site with preformed straps or brackets ready mounted onto the panels.

The system is extremely flexible with a wide range of component parts, profiles and adjustable brackets, which makes it ideal for retro-fit applications where the planarity of existing façades may no longer be perfect, and where different design zones may need to be accommodated.

A Sureclad ceramic granite ventilated façade system offers a sustainable refurbishment solution which can be evaluated in line with the ‘Life Cycle Assessment’ of the building. The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and summary rating of ‘A+’ relevant to the environmental performance of the elements of the system are contained in BRE’s ‘Green Guide to Specification’.