Tips to Avoid Costly Changes, Project Delays When Specifying Metal Composite Wall Panels

by Marcy Marro | September 1, 2020 12:00 am

While color and finish options for metal composite materials have never been greater, there are several features of these durable building materials that should be considered before settling on a particular color and/or paint technology. We’d like to offer the following tips to help ensure a smooth wall panel selection process, avoiding costly changes and project delays.

Specifications. While it might seem easy to specify a client’s preferred color for metal composite wall panels, not all colors are available in specific paint finishes. Some finishes are created with a two-coat paint process and others with a three-coat process.

While a client might request a three-coat painted metal composite panel, it may not provide any longer warranty than panels produced with today’s advanced two-coat painting processes. Adding an additional layer results in increased material costs and requires reformulation of the finish. It’s important to clarify upfront that a client’s additional paint requirement is necessary and to explore if it is available in the preferred color before it is specified.

We recommend meeting with a knowledgeable metal composite material manufacturer’s sales representative to review performance metrics, available color options and project site environmental conditions before selecting a specific color finish for bids. This meeting will help determine the most cost-effective metal composite material options to meet your client’s design needs. By establishing a color(s) as your basis of design, change orders and information requests will be reduced, helping the project to be on budget and on time. Metal composite material manufacturers are adept at matching specified colors.

Additionally, specifying complementary building trim material—aluminum flat stock—from the same manufacturer as the metal composite material will ensure a cohesive color palette and help meet project deadlines.

Custom Colors. Should your client desire a custom-colored wall panel, it’s important to note increased material lead times and minimum orders in project planning. In addition to increased material lead times, custom colors may also incur additional costs depending on the quantity of material required.

Warranties. Always check with the metal composite manufacturer for material warranties. Paint finish warranties vary with the type of paint finish and can range from five years to 30 years. It is important to select the paint finish that will meet your warranty requirements and be compatible with the color desired. Paint finish warranties cover crack, chip, peal and allowable color fade issues. Some colors cannot be achieved in certain paint types or require exotic pigments that are prone to fading due to UV light. This may limit the warranty.

Extrusions. When specifying metal composite materials and complementary aluminum extrusions, it’s important to first specify the metal composite material finish. It’s much easier to match spray-coated aluminum extrusions to coil-coated metal composite materials than it is to match coil-coated materials to spray-coated.

Building Codes. Fire safety is of the utmost importance in designing exterior wall assemblies. The metal composite material is one component in an exterior wall assembly. All components of the wall assembly must be designed together to meet the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 285 test standard and International Building Code requirements, when required.

Wall Panel Team. When specifying metal composite materials, it’s important to gather an experienced team consisting of the wall panel manufacturer, fabricator and installer and to understand the individual responsibilities of each company. The wall panel manufacturer is the expert in and accountable for the metal composite material; the manufacturer’s representative is your key partner in determining paint and finish options to meet design needs.

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Nick Scheib serves as vice president, architectural sales and marketing, Americas, 3A Composites USA, and is based at the company’s headquarters in Davidson, N.C. For more information about ALUCOBOND PLUS, call (800) 626-3365, email info.usa@3AComposites.com[1] or visit www.alucobondusa.com[2].

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/tips-to-avoid-costly-changes-project-delays-when-specifying-metal-composite-wall-panels/

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