Arriving at the Job Site
As an industry leader, Wiedehopf offers installation services throughout Southern Ontario. Our Cladding products are fabricated in Vaughan, and arrive on the job site expediently, along with installation specialists ready to get to work. The slim design of our panels maximizes the amount that can be carried by a single truck, easing the process of getting cladding materials to where they need to go.
Preparing the Base Wall
Preparations must be accomplished before we can get to the fun part: hanging the panels themselves. For proper waterproofing, a building wrap (often Blueskin) must be applied to the base wall as a first step.
The wrap is adhered to and fastened with self-tapping screws. Then, it is time to refer to the design plans and chalk up a grid accordingly. This grid not only measures where panels will go but also the lines and points where extrusions and brackets will connect the base wall to the cladding.
Extrusions/Fastening
Extrusions are the connecting link between the base wall and cladding panels. As their name suggests, they create an extrusion off of the building’s envelope, which facilitates a proper rain screen setup. Extrusions are fastened to the base wall along the lines of the chalked grid, in a particular order so that the sum of the extrusions is a uniform frame.
Installers are sure to use screws that are best accommodated to the base wall material in use, whether metal, concrete or wood. Clips are attached to each extrusion to fill the gap between them and the base wall.
Paneling
Once extrusions form a solid frame across the base wall, the exterior is ready to be clad with panels. Installers lock the panels onto the wall, matching the brackets on the cladding with the extrusions fastened to the wall.
The best practice is to start with the bottom corner and install paneling out from there. This mitigates error and ensures a snug fit between one panel and the last.
The Peel
All of our panels are protected by a protective film, which stays on during fabrication, shipping, and installation. This protects the material from any scratches or dirt that may be incurred in the process. Thanks to this protection, the installation process finishes with them still looking brand new.
The moment the protective film is peeled off the panels is always gratifying. Installers pull away from the veil, to reveal the exterior design that was once just an idea in your head.