The recent damage to commercial buildings from Hurricane Sandy highlights the need for exterior façade that will perform under the harshest weather conditions.
Some sources say as many as one third of lower Manhattan’s commercial buildings were damaged. Building owners will need to implement building solutions with a focus on more resilient exterior renovations that have a faster installation time, and ensure that the materials they use are rigorously tested to withstand natural disasters of all types.
StoneLite® is the only lightweight stone panel system on the market that has been thoroughly tested by leading independent testing laboratories. The impressive list of test results confirm that StoneLite® panels remain durable and continue to perform after exposure to extreme freeze thaw temperatures, earthquakes, and hurricanes. They are also blast resistant, an additional asset for building exteriors subjected to flying debris.
“StoneLite® panels undergo rigorous testing like the hurricane wind load and missile impact test, the racking shear test, and the positive and negative uniform wind load flexural test,” said Tim Friedel of Stone Panels. “We are proud of our performance and testing resulting in Building Authority acceptance by the International Code Council, the British Board Agrement, Avis Technique, and the Miami-Dade County, Florida NOA.
“Not only do our products have more than 40 years of proven performance but they offer the advantage of construction speed and cost effectiveness. We are the solution to new construction and renovation in markets that experience natural disasters,” said Friedel.
The Nesbett Courthouse in Anchorage, AK was designed as a public disaster shelter during seismic activity and the exterior façade used was the StoneLite® panel system. After many years of exposure to the Alaskan environment and at least one significant earthquake, the panels remain resilient and intact. The Alaska Court System Manager recommended Stone Panels as the only exterior product that requires no maintenance.
Buildings that use StoneLite® as an exterior in Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Puerto Rico will flex and bear up under hurricane and tornado events.
At 10,000 North Central Building in Dallas, Texas, StoneLite® panels were installed in 1986 and look as good today as when they were installed. The panels have not only withstood extreme Texas heat but tornado force winds, which blew some of the glass and furnishings out of the building but did not damage the panels.
For more information on StoneLite® panels and our testing results please visit www.stonepanels.com.
