The ever increasing demands to create and design buildings with exteriors that have to be aesthetic, decorative and functional is providing an equally challenging role for the facilities managers - that of keeping the facades in their original condition with ever decreasing maintenance budgets.

Over 30 years ago many innovations took place in the building development, design and construction industry leading to the use of alternative materials to the traditional bricks and mortar, concrete blocks and facades. Architects started to design and specify new materials including aluminium and stainless steel cladding systems for both commercial and industrial buildings, with the added advantage of being easier to use and of lightweight construction.

More use of glass was integrated into the building design and construction bringing with it the associated aluminium frames and support structures. Today building designers and architects have a huge choice of facade designs and textures with an almost infinite selection of colours.

However despite all this innovation in facade appearance they still need ongoing maintenance to keep them in their original condition, and the same can be said for glass surfaces. Of course the effects of rainfall can dislodge some dirt and debris but as we know from our own windows at home it cannot totally remove all the staining and soiling that builds up over time. With the increasing levels of pollution in our atmosphere and the severe shift in our weather systems, the maintenance just becomes a bigger challenge for the facilities manager.

The traditional maintenance method for exterior cladding has been the use of washing down with de-ionised water or washing with a ph neutral detergent. The main drawback to this solution is that it only removes the dirt on the surface and looks perfectly acceptable until it dries. The finish quickly returns to its original appearance after this drying period.

Most of today’s cladding is covered by a manufacturers warranty of between 10 and 15 years and they strongly recommend maintenance with a non-abrasive and ph neutral cleaning chemical every six to 12 months. Some powder coated facades, if correctly maintained, can last up to 25 years with anodised versions lasting up to 50 years and retaining their original colour but only with the correct maintenance programme.

This time span can be severely reduced by as much as 50% if a proper cleaning and maintenance programme is not implemented on a regular basis, the end result being expensive repainting or even more costly re-cladding. The recommended investment in exterior facade maintenance can be between 1% and 3% of the building’s construction costs, this being a level required by the architects to keep the appearance to the initial specification.

It is doubtful that many facilities managers and buildings owners adhere to this level of investment due the pressure to reduce their ongoing costs to offset the rising expense elsewhere in the business, energy bills being a good example. Is this a false economy, with the levels of initial investments some companies are making to create a building design that reflects their image to then ignore this soon after the construction work is completed? Building designers and architects are given very specific design briefs to reflect their client’s aspirations and to create buildings that portray the image and values of their companies and businesses.

Page {current_page} of {total_pages}