A ventilated facade is a facade construction with an air gap between the insulation and the facade cladding. This gap is open at the top and bottom and the cladding has small open joints. This creates a way for natural ventilation of the facade.
A ventilated facade can be viewed as a raincoat: it protects a building against the weather, while at the same time creating a healthy indoor climate.
This is why the building technique of ventilated facades is often referred to as rainscreen cladding.
Natural ventilation
A ventilated facade protects the building against weather influences and has natural ventilation. Most of the rainwater will run down the outer surface of cladding boards. Small rain drops which enter the cavity or any condense water will drain off. Vapor will escape quickly thanks to the ventilation flow within the cavity.
Easy access
With a ventilated facade, there is easy access to the facade and to the construction behind it. It is also possible to hide rainwater drainage pipes and other elements behind cladding boards. This comes in handy when any maintenance or refurbishment is required.
‘Self-breathing’ facade
Algae and moisture problems do not occur and mould cannot grow because the facade is ‘self-breathing’. With a well-designed and well-constructed ventilated facade, negative effects of condensation can be prevented, because water will dry out or leak out.
Easy demounting
All parts of a ventilated facade construction can be demounted individually, which enables reusing and/ or recycling them. As Rockpanel boards are fully recyclable and sustainable, they are the best choice for exterior cladding in your ventilated facade when it comes to circularity.
Healthy indoor climate
Using a ventilated facade construction helps creating a healthy indoor climate. A ventilated facade reduces the direct solar impact on the building. Walls do not heat up as much during Summer, thanks to the constant air flow in the cavity which is constantly cooling the construction.
Design freedom
Architects are very flexible in their design choices, with a wide range of colours and designs available for exterior cladding. It’s also easy to replace the cladding at any point, providing even more flexibility in aesthetics. Rockpanel facade boards are available in over 200 colours and designs – and customizations are possible as well.
Insulating effect
Ventilated facades provide great insulation and contribute to energy efficiency and cutting down exterior noise.
Firesafe
Rockpanel exterior cladding also stands out because of its excellent fire resilient qualities. The core material basalt can withstand extremely high temperatures by nature. Rockpanel cladding is available in Euroclass A2.
Lower construction costs
Compared to a brick cavity wall, a ventilated facade is lighter, which can lower the construction costs.
Rockpanel boards can be applied to sub-constructions made of timber or metal (aluminium or steel). Read more about this on our page about sub-constructions.
What should you keep in mind when working with Rockpanel facade boards? And how can you install them correctly?
You can find all the information you need in our instruction guide.
We manufacture board material mostly used in ventilated constructions, for facade cladding, roof detailing, soffits and fascias.
