EXTERNAL ENVELOPE 61 Testing your metal
With regulation changes and a market still in recovery mode, specifiers and architects looking to utilise metal for roofing and cladding should expect fresh challenges over the coming months, says Simon Walker at SIG Design and Technology
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s a global commodity, metal products have always been subject to price fluctuations driven by global demand and international events. Up until 2022 these were relatively predictable and it was possible to forecast, with reasonable accuracy, the likely cost of metal roofing products in advance. Metals such as copper offered specifiers and architects value, both in terms of cost and product performance. However, last year represented a huge shift in the norm and pricing forecasts suddenly became a lot less reliable. 2022 saw big price fluctuations due to soaring energy prices and rapidly changing availability. Copper, for example, saw prices soaring as sanctions were imposed on Russian exports following its invasion of Ukraine (in 2020, Russian was seventh in the world’s copper producing nations.) Compounding this, a fall in the value of the GB Pound against the US Dollar has pushed up some material prices on the domestic market because metals are traded in US Dollars on the London Metals Exchange.
Moving away from the norm Copper has long been seen as an ideal material for metal cladding and roofing. However, amid warnings of potential slowdowns in the construction sector and spiralling prices, specifiers are starting to search for alternatives.
The key has been to find an alternative to copper which maintains the performance qualities, ease of installation on site, and has a similar aesthetic over time. Reflecting this trend, aluminium has seen a huge increase in interest as an alternative. Aluminium combines the benefits of being lightweight and easy to work with – making for efficient installations. For architects and specifiers, it’s available in a wide choice of colours and with unique surface patterns or effects to match as closely as possible to typical copper applications.
ADF APRIL 2023
Depending on the product, aluminium cladding comes in a number of varying shades as standard with bespoke colours available upon request. This flexibility and durability have made it a highly sought after solution.
Keeping up with the standards On top of the challenge of specifying different products to stay within budget, the other hurdle architects and specifiers must overcome is ensuring compliance with the latest changes to the fire regulations. More specifically in England & Wales, to Approved Document B which includes the ban on the use of combustible materials as part of an external wall construction for residential buildings. In 2018, Regulation 7 of the Building Regulations was amended to explicitly ban the use of combustible cladding in the external walls of residential buildings with a storey at least 18 metres above ground. The recent amendments to the Building Regulations (including Document B) were introduced in June 2022 and came into effect on 1 December 2022. From this date, the ban on the use of combustible cladding has been extended to include any building with at least one storey 11 metres above ground level and which contains one or more dwellings, including student
Copper has long been seen as an ideal material for metal cladding and roofing. However, specifiers are starting to search for alternatives due to spiralling prices and accessibility
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