Unlike some alternative building materials, the composition of StoneLite® panels, allow them to be a part of your building\’s first line of defense against the elements; in the form of rain screen or open joint stone cladding systems.
Rain screen stone cladding systems have been incorporated in most of our StoneLite® installations in Europe, as well as a few of our installations in Canada and in the U.S. Open joint or rain screen stone cladding systems don\’t necessarily have standard or “out of the box\” construction methods attached to them, so it\’s important to approach every project where these systems are incorporated on an individual basis and consult Stone Panels, Inc. directly and accordingly.
However, we do have a few suggestions that we can make regarding all rain screen or open joint system installations. We recommend attaching either a light-gauge, aluminum-angle vertical baffle or a Z-section vertical baffle between StoneLite® and weather barriers at each corner. The reason we make this recommendation is that while there might be a positive wind load on an elevation, a negative wind load may exist on an adjacent elevation. A baffle would prevent high-pressure air and moisture entering on a high-pressure side of a structure from exiting on the low-pressure side and therefore preventing water from drawing into cavities.
In addition, we also recommend sealing joints in horizontal surfaces so that similar migrations of air and water can be prevented. In some instances of open joint or rain screen stone cladding systems, a gasket material is also incorporated for the purposes of keeping insects out and keeping dirt that enters cavities to a minimum.
StoneLite® rain screen stone cladding systems can be a cornerstone for allowing your building to uninhibitedly face Mother Nature and StoneLite® makes for a great building material when it comes to rain screen construction.
