Goodbye Brick Infill, Hello Rainscreen.

Rain-screen siding, Seattle.

This 1929 4 story concrete building was being rehabilitated and converted to a mixed use apartment building.  Three of the exterior walls were concrete with the South elevation being concrete post and beam construction infilled with brick.  The problems posed by the differing construction on the south elevation:

• What to do about a giant wow in the concrete structure on the south elevation.
• What exterior siding and window treatment to use that would not look out of place compared to the rest of the building.
• What siding and window products could be used that would provide the same low maintenance as the original concrete walls.

The solutions:

A laser rotary laser level capable of shooting vertically was used to map the wow on the south elevation of the building.  After determining the furthest out points it was decided to use 2×8 framing so the infilled framed sections of walls could be hung out past the concrete frame at varying depths to  making up for the wow.  This also allowed us to get 2″ of rigid foam insulation on the concrete posts and beams before cdx plywood sheathing was applied and we ended up with a smooth flat surface ready for siding and window installation.

The owner chose a rain-screen siding product made in Japan called Ceraclad.  Ceraclad rain-screen siding offers both vertical and horizontal siding that is mounted to clips that hold the siding away from the wall 5/8″.  The nice thing about Ceraclad is it is a complete rainscreen system.   The owner liked the siding profile that was made to look like stucco as it blended in well with the existing concrete walls on the other three sides of the building.

Aesthetically the Ceraclad rain-screen siding system worked with the rest of the building and did not look out of place.  Maintenance was the other big factor for the owner. The rain-screen siding panels were pre-finished and very durable.  Once the rain-screen siding was on there was no painting necessary and should be maintenance free for 15 years.  With the rain-screen siding design the structure is protected as it can dry out if water were to work its way in.

With a little time spent researching siding and window products and methods for dealing with the differing wall the results speak for themselves.  The owner has a building with a consistent look, low maintenance and durable protection.  What was done here won’t work for every project but illustrates that taking the time to learn about different siding and window products and methods can make the difference when confronted with a difficult building situation.

Synapse Construction LLC – Siding and window replacement in and around Seattle one quality project at a time.