Red Sandstone Exterior Cladding NASA Johnson Space Center Building 21, Houston, TX Reminiscent of an Southwestern Desert skyline, Red Sandstone can be found all over the world in desert and dry areas. Colored by Iron oxide, Red Sandstone has a neutral warm red color. Red sandstone makes for great exterior cladding due to […]
StonePly Exterior Stone Panels
StonePly lightweight stone panels have many benefits over solid slab stone. These lightweight panels are made by bonding a thin piece of natural stone to an aircraft quality aluminum honeycomb backing using aviation epoxy. A few of the main benefits of this type of construction are:
- Lightweight
- Flexible
- Non-combustable
- 60x the Impact Strength of Slab Stone
Lightweight
StonePly stone panels only weight 3.3 lbs/sq ft on average. This is about 5 times lighter than traditional stone cladding. StonePly is not only easy to handle because it is lightweight but it is also easy to install. Using StonePly stone panels will yield less installation time and lower installation costs.
Flexible
StonePly stone panels are flexible to handle building movement, high winds, and freeze/thaw climates. In new construction, buildings move and settle. The high flexural strength allows for the panels to slightly flex during this time. Traditional thick stone panels do not allow this movement and can crack after a building settles. When natural stone freezes it expands and when it thaws it contracts. StonePly is flexible and allows for freezing and thawing unlike traditional stone cladding.
Non-Combustable
StonePly is non-combustable and will not shatter. Thick stone cladding can be a hazard as exterior cladding. When a building is on fire, the stone will heat up to unimaginable temperatures. When cooled with water, the stones will crack and break into large chunks and begin falling off of a building. This is hazardous to the firefighters and other service officers and pedestrians below. With StonePly thin stone panels, every square inch is bonded to the aluminum honeycomb backing making it only crack during this instance.
60 Times the Impact Strength
StonePly has 60 times the impact strength of traditional stone cladding. During impact testing, a 2×4 is launched at a StonePly panel and merely bounces off leaving only a small crack. The same 2×4 is launched at a thick stone panel and causes the panel to shatter. This test shows that StonePly stone panels are the superior choice for exterior cladding in seismic, hurricane, and tornado-proned areas.
As always, more information can be found on the website.
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