With wire mesh infill, architects and designers create inventive partitions, elegant railings, ornate ceiling panels and more. These small- to mid-scale, highly intricate architectural elements require a strong perimeter around the mesh and a seamless visual and functional interface with the material. To achieve that perfect interface, fabricators and designers often purchase custom, pre-assembled, ready-to-attach infill panels from wire mesh manufacturers. They realize that the best manufacturers thoroughly understand the intricacies of wire mesh and know how it can most effectively be attached to a wide variety of architectural elements. This knowledge gives them the capability to produce both high-quality raw mesh and finished infill panels.
Fundamentals
Mesh manufacturers can integrate infill panels as elaborately or simply as the designer’s vision requires. Mukwonago, Wis.-based Banker Wire’s three fundamental strategies for creating a perimeter and a method of interface for its product offer versatility and allow for total customization.
U-Edge commonly provides a strong, safe and economical perimeter for wire mesh. Its symmetrical design produces the same appearance on both sides of each wire mesh panel, making it a practical option for railing infill panels. Its clear and defined square edge is easy to work with and offers a sleek, finished look for all types of wire mesh at a reasonable cost.
Designed to work with traditional glass-clip mounting systems, the Versatile Spine system has a laser-cut center spine, which integrates perfectly with the perimeter of wire mesh. Utilizing a three-layer laminate system, the wire mesh is welded to the center spine, then sandwiched by two outer veneer covers. Because it is laser cut, the Versatile Spine is completely customizable. It can be used to create infill panels of virtually any shape, including curves. For this reason, the Versatile Spine can be used to create a strong perimeter and interface for many different applications of wire mesh.
Angle Iron offers another effective frame for infill panels. A traditional fundamental structural shape, angle iron is available in many different profiles and provides structure and stiffness to wire mesh. A typical simple construction will weld the fabric to the inside leg of the angle, while providing countersunk holes for attachment on the other leg. A flat fascia can be applied to cover welds or can be used as a friction mount sending hardware through the mesh and angle itself. Creating a framework of angle, then bending the wire mesh fabric around the outside allows for a more frameless approach.
Advantages of a Single Source
There are a number of ways to customize each fundamental frame style. Starting with simple techniques and materials, experts can help design the perfect infill panels. For example, to achieve the perfect look for the Baltimore restaurant Apropoe’s, experts at Banker Wire guided the design-build team through the powder-coating process. The end result was plain steel woven wire mesh and a U-Edge frame coated in a coffee-colored patina that evokes cane or bamboo. Typical finishes applied to the wire mesh and frame to achieve corrosion resistance, color and reflectivity include powder coat, black oxide, anodizing, plating, pickling and many other copper-based alloy finishes.
The best mesh and frame manufacturers allow for complete customization of the connection between the infill panels and the railing, posts or other applied surfaces. This allows for total aesthetic control. Designers of one university building wanted to achieve an elegant, understated railing structure.
With that in mind, the angle iron frame and woven wire mesh infill panels were crafted by Banker Wire to integrate seamlessly. Custom mounting tabs, which are hidden from sight, securely and subtly hold the angle iron frame in place. The mounting tabs blend into the railing structure, allowing for an almost invisible interface that matches the simple aesthetic of the space.
Specifying a single-source manufacturer allows for greater control over performance and aesthetics-control that helps fabricators and architects ensure quality for projects. The fabricators for Las Vegas’ High Roller, the world’s tallest observation wheel, originally specified only Banker Wire woven wire mesh. However, the desire for consistent durability and quality led them to opt for a Banker Wire Versatile Spine frame as well. The frame and lock crimp weave work together seamlessly to provide fall protection and withstand heavy use at this popular destination. As the High Roller’s railing demonstrates, wire mesh manufacturers know exactly how to frame mesh for optimum performance in demanding environments.
Opting for a one-stop shop helps keep installation schedules on track. A single point of contact achieves easier access to customer support, simplifies the chain of communication and ultimately lowers costs by increasing efficiency. By decreasing the number of manufacturers involved, a single source reduces the amount of variables affecting the installation schedule to help meet deadlines. Moreover, the use of pre-assembled wire mesh panels means that they can be installed immediately after delivery, which eliminates steps in the construction process.
Manufactured to exacting standards, quality wire mesh fosters endless aesthetic and performance possibilities. Manufacturers that produce both frames and wire mesh understand the characteristics of the material. Their pride and expertise in manufacturing the total system allows them to outfit a great number of architectural elements and to ensure that those elements are complementary to overall building design.
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Harrison Horan is the vice president of sales and marketing at Banker Wire, Mukwonago, Wis. For more information, visit www.bankerwire.com.