At QC Facades, we’re proud to offer several different material choices when it comes to rainscreen façade solutions. From natural metals like copper and zinc to glass options, aluminum and several others, we can cover you and your building no matter what your needs and desires are.
One of the most popular modern options for rainscreen facades today? Stainless steel, which holds several specific benefits when used in this and many other construction formats. Let’s go over some of these benefits and reasons why stainless steel is the right choice for your next project.
Corrosion Resistance and Self-Repair
One of the top qualities of stainless steel throughout the construction and building industry is its resistance to corrosion. Where many other materials will require sealing and re-sealing to stay protected from moisture and other elements that threaten rust and other forms of corrosion, stainless steel naturally resists this without any additional maintenance whatsoever.
This actually traces back to stainless steel’s self-repair mechanism. When stainless steel is cut, drilled, scratched or otherwise damaged, it’s natural oxide layer instantly begins reforming – working toward ensuring no rust or corrosion takes place. For an environment like a rainscreen façade, few other properties are so valuable or necessary.
Colored Finishes
Another strong quality of stainless steel, and one that’s been gaining popularity in recent years, is a colored finish. This isn’t just a changing of the steel color – rather, it actually involves immersing the stainless steel in a mixture of chromic and sulphuric solutions, making it thicker, tougher and requiring even less maintenance than before. And on top of all this, this process also does change the appearance of the steel – it “splits” the white light at the oxide layer formed by the solution, giving off a colored appearance.
A few areas to consider within colored stainless steel finishing:
- Wide selection: There are a number of colors available, plus several tones of color that can be achieved by changing up the finish.
- No UV light risk: There is no pigment, paint or dye of any kind involved in this process, meaning that UV rays are not a risk whatsoever.
- Combinations: These products can be combined with various substrate finishes and polishes.
Mechanical Yield and Strength
Finally, stainless steel facades are popular and valuable due to their high mechanical yield and strength. For those taking on larger cladding projects, stainless steep options are reliable and effective, with lightweight qualities and all of the above properties. When combined with its corrosion resistance and the additional protection it can receive from colored finishing, it’s no wonder stainless steel is likely the most popular façade product out there today
To learn more about any of our honeycomb panels, metal rainscreen options or other choices, speak to the pros at QC Facades today.