Ibiranga amabuye

Would seem a pretty simple question right? And yes, it’s a pretty simple answer – cladding made from stone.  However from the meetings I have with contractors and surveyors, I see it often gets over-complicated in designers’ minds and confused with traditional stone masonry.

Natural stone is one of the oldest materials used by man in construction.  We only have to look at buildings such as the Taj Mahal completed in 1648 using white marble, or the Great Pyramid thought to have been completed in 2560BC made predominantly out of limestone to appreciate the longevity of stone as a material.  (Imagine the architect specifying the Design Life for the Pyramid….)

Uburyo bwubwubatsi biragaragara ko bwahindutse kuva bubaka Taj Mahal, kandi tubikesha imirenge nubucuruzi butandukanye mubikorwa byubwubatsi byambukiranya imiyoboro hamwe nuyoboro mu myaka yashize, ntitugomba kongera gushyira amabuye aremereye hejuru yundi kugirango dushyire ahagaragara y'inyubako ikomeye. 

Traditional stone masonry (not something we do here at AlterEgo by the way), is loaded onto the building’s foundations and uses stones and mortar, tied back with wall-ties – think brickwork.

Ibigezweho bya kijyambere byambitswe kurundi ruhande bimanikwa ku nyubako, kandi bigashyirwa hamwe kimwe na sisitemu yimvura yicyuma. 

Urabona, kwambika amabuye, ni a ibara ryimvura sisitemu kandi igomba gufatwa nkiyi. 

Looking through a cross section of a typical stone cladding build-up you’ll see lots of familiar components: spreader bars, helping-hand brackets, rails and T-bars.  It’s only the facing material which is interchangeable. 

There are a few nuances when working with natural stone for the first time, but nothing that a day’s training and our on-site support won’t cover.

So if you’re a contractor used to installing aluminium and steel cladding or you specialize in terracotta; don’t be afraid of stone! Check out this video showing the simplicity of our EGO-02S system EGO 02s INSTALLATION BETA – YouTube

Mugihe cyo gutunganya ikibaho cyometseho amabuye kumurongo wubufasha, hari uburyo bubiri bwingenzi bwo gutunganya:

Inkingi

With an undercut anchor system, typically used for larger format panels, holes are pre-drilled into the back of the stone, a sleeve and bolt inserted and fixed onto a hanging clasp and horizontal system.  This method is good for natural stone panels with a thickness range from 30-50mm and can be used in both stack and stretcher bond layouts, typically in a portrait layout.   Undercut anchors are always used in soffit situations.

Nkuko ibyakosowe byose biri inyuma yikibaho, ubu buryo ni ibanga-gukosora rwose, nta gukosora kugaragara.

Carve

The kerf method of fixing stone is where a continuous groove is cut in the top and bottom of the stone, and the stone simply sits on a rail or clasp at the bottom and restrained at the top.  A kerf system works particularly well for horizontally laid panels in either stack or stretcher bond.

Umuvuduko nubworoherane bwo kwishyiriraho kandi ufatanije nuburyo panne ishobora gushyirwaho bidakurikiranye bituma ubu buryo bukoreshwa cyane sisitemu yo kwambika amabuye.

Uburyo bwombi bwo kwishyiriraho burakinguye, icyakora kwerekana ingingo hamwe na kashe itari iyimuka irashobora gutanga isura yinyubako gakondo. 

If you’re considering stone for your next project, please get in contact.