Material in Focus: Stainless Steel Rainscreen Cladding

Rigidized stainless steel is up to 75% stronger than ordinary sheet metal and offers many benefits when specified for use with one of Sotech Optima’s rainscreen cladding systems. Not only is it resistant to corrosion, able to withstand extremes of temperature and environmentally sustainable, stainless steel offers an easily maintained bright appearance that can last the lifetime of the building.

• Stainless steel is available for five of our rainscreen cladding systems, including Optima FC Secret Fix Rainscreen; TFC Through Fix Cassette Rainscreen; IPC Interlocking Pressed Plank Rainscreen, Clip On Copings, and Optima Shingles.
• All Sotech Optima substructure fixings are manufactured from stainless steel.
• Rainscreen panels can be specified with a huge range of finishes, including Etched Stainless Steel panels, Satin Stainless Steel, BA Stainless Steel, Colortex and Hilighted Stainless Steel. Each of these options offers a number of colour, texture and pattern choices
• Research has shown that deep-textured materials, such as Sotech’s rigidized stainless steel, resist dents and scratches, meaning low maintenance costs and fewer replacement panels.
• Stainless Steel rainscreen cladding textures diffuse light and produce an optical flatness in sheet metals, eliminating the unwanted ‘oil-canning effect’.
• At the same time, patterns made by texturing ferrous and non-ferrous materials increase the strength of the panels in all directions.
• The appearance of stainless steel panels is easy to maintain, as the material is highly resistant to atmospheric and pure water environments.
• There are also safety benefits when specifying stainless steel cladding. Special high-chromium and nickel-grade stainless steel alloys resist scaling and retain their strength at high temperatures, making them resistant to fire and extreme temperature changes.
• Of all the metals used in architectural developments, stainless steel is one of the most sustainable because of its long lifespan. According to the North American Stainless Steel Information Center, stainless steel has provided up to 80 years of service in high profile architecture projects without appearance deterioration or metal replacement.
• When properly selected, fabricated and maintained, stainless steel should last the lifetime of the structure.
• Stainless steel also offers other environmental benefits. It is 100% recyclable into the same product with no reduction in quality.
• Possibly due to its high scrap value, the International Steel Forum found that 92% of steel used in architecture, building and construction is recaptured and recycled at the end of service. This is higher than other recyclable metals, including those used in household appliances and electronics.
• Another significant benefit of using stainless steel for rainscreen cladding and roofing is its high solar reflective index (SRI). The high SRI of most bare stainless steel surfaces is enough to reflect and dissipate heat, reducing the need for air conditioning. This is not reliant on applying a coating of any kind, which would otherwise attract extra maintenance costs due to deterioration.
• All Sotech Optima rainscreen cladding systems have been independently tested to CWCT standards and have achieved LPCB Red Book accreditation.

If you would like to know more about specifying stainless steel in one of Sotech Optima’s rainscreen cladding systems, and whether this material is suitable for your project, contact us on 0191 587 9213 or email technical@sotech-optima.co.uk.