Today’s building industry must contend with increasing extreme weather events, like tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, high and low temperature, and wildfires. All of these situations can significantly slow production time and cut the net profits of a building envelope construction project. It’s important to know that weather delays impact 45 percent of construction projects worldwide yearly, costing billions of dollars.
Severe weather conditions can impact a construction job site by:
- Slowing, if not stopping, a construction project
- Threatening workers safety
- Disrupting supply chains which can slow construction and increase the cost of building materials
- Damaging construction equipment and materials
The increasing frequency and intensity of weather events due to climate change has threatened to accelerate weather-related construction delays. Therefore, the construction industry must consider innovative materials and methods to reduce weather delays, like prefabricated wall systems and a weatherproofing plan.
Prefabricated Exterior Wall Panels
Prefabricated finished exterior wall panels are manufactured through partnerships between leading contractors, fabricators, and manufacturers like Sto Corp. Fully engineered and tested panels are custom-built in off-site fabrication shops under controlled conditions, using advanced machine technology meeting specific quality standards.
Indoor prefabricated or modular construction can lessen jobsite weather delays. It can also cut production time in half and reduce waste by 50 percent. A recent University of South Australia study concluded that prefabricated (modular) construction could lessen building costs by 0.6 percent – a significant savings considering the average construction profit margin is only 4.2 percent.
What Are Prefab Wall Panels?
Prefab wall panels include exterior finish (like brick, wood, textured finishes, metal, concrete or other materials), air/water/vapor barrier control systems, flashing, insulation, and structural framing. Some, like StoPanel Classic NExt ci, include fenestration.
Prefab wall panels include exterior cladding (like stone, wood, stucco, or other material), fenestration, air/water/vapor barrier control systems, flashing, insulation, and structural framing. After transporting the prefabricated wall systems to the job site, workers simply lift and install the panels according to the architect’s plans. Prefab panels makes construction easy.
NOTE: The success of a prefab project depends tremendously on early planning, the application of proper prefabricated building techniques, and good communication between the architect, GC, and panel manufacturer.
Sto Panelized Wall Construction
Jersey Panel, a member of the Sto Panel Technology Affiliate network, replaced the metal panels of this college dormitory with StoPanel® Classic ci panels. Prefabricating the panels off-site allowed for the completion of the exterior building envelope before winter, which allowed for interior work during the region’s cold temperatures and heavy snowfall.
Sto’s prefabrication solution, Sto Panel® Technology lessens construction costs, contributes to sustainability, improves quality control, lessens onsite labor needs, and enhances job site safety.
Sto prefab wall panels lessen construction costs by minimizing weather delays, accelerating project delivery time, reducing subcontractor scheduling, minimizing waste, lowering security costs, and reducing the number of skilled labor installers required on the job site.
Sto prefabricated wall panels contribute to sustainability by cutting raw material waste, recycling materials, and improving the energy efficiency of the wall system. In addition, the use of prefab wall panels significantly lessens equipment, labor and waste on the job site and decreases the amount of traffic, dirt and noise for the surrounding community.
Manufacturing of Sto prefabricated finished exterior wall panels occurs in quality-controlled factories through partnerships forged between leading contractors, fabricators, and Sto Corp. Experienced crews and precise machine equipment ensure uniform quality between the sub-assemblies of the structure and conformity to building code, which improves quality construction. In addition, fabricators can work out flaws in the prefab walls in the factory setting before any product reaches the job site.
Sto prefabricated panels improve the safety of workers by reducing the risk of worker injury and lessening workers’ exposure to dangerous rain, wind, lightning, and changing ground conditions. In addition, prefabricated wall panels come to the job site pre-assembled to drop into place with a crane, which eliminates scaffolding hazards and other onsite building methods for a multi-floor wall.
In the depths of a Canadian winter, SkyRise Prefab Building Solutions engineered, manufactured, and quickly installed 17,000 ft2 of StoPanel Classic NExT ci panels without the use of scaffolding.
Easy to install, fully-engineered, tested, and code-compliant Sto Panel® Technology prefabricated finished exterior wall panels provide the building industry with benefits that can reduce high-performing building envelope installation time without sacrificing quality.
The StoPanel® system contains cold-formed metal framing and other valuable features, including continuous insulation, air and water-resistive barrier, glass mat sheathing, sub-framing, and various aesthetic surface options, including precast resin shapes (StoCast), metal, brick, natural stone, and modern, energy-efficient lightweight textured finishes and coating systems.
Implement a Weatherproofing Plan to Reduce Weather Delays
A weatherproofing plan can help you reduce weather delays and stay on time and budget. A waterproofing plan can also help protect your materials and equipment and ensure the safety of the site and workers against severe weather events. Here are a few tips to include in your weatherproofing plan for your construction job site:
- Cover the flat roof area with a polyurethane liquid membrane
- Onsite materials should be stored in shady, covered areas in moderate temperatures (between 50 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Keep the water pumps close to the job site to eliminate any excess water
- Provide a dry space for masonry kits, especially during the winter
- Use hessian sheets to protect brickwork and large blocks from rainwater
- Provide personal protective equipment to the construction crew
- Utilized safety mechanisms, like guardrails
- Provide quick access to emergency kits
Reducing Weather Delays for Your Building Envelope Construction Projects with Sto Prefabricated Panels
Sto Panel Technology’s fully-engineered, tested, and warranted prefabricated finished exterior wall panels help you reduce weather delays for your next building envelope construction project. Sto Panel® Technology is a less labor-intensive solution that reduces building envelope installation time without sacrificing quality.
Get in touch with StoPanel® professionals today for more tips on reducing weather delays, or learn more about panelization for your next building envelope construction project by downloading The Acceleration of Panelization.
