Building Envelope

Building Envelope serves as a barrier between the exterior and interior environment of a building. It also improves the stability of the structure and enhances its aesthetic appeal. Different components and materials are used to provide firm protection against the changing climatic conditions.

What is building envelope?

In construction, Building Envelope refers to a shield that disjoints interior and exterior environments of a building. This protection layer offers resistance against harsh weather conditions, luminosity of light and noise. The setup includes an insulated base and walls, drainage set up and weather protection. The components, materials and design structure plays an important role when opting for the type of building envelope. Its application serves three primary purposes:

Safety

Foremostly, building envelope act as a physical blockage from seasonal changes, humidity, heat, and rainfall to maintain a sustainable living environment.

Support

A high-performance building envelope provides structural support to a building for additional durability and stability.

Finish

The functionality of building envelope is not limited to protection and support but also adds aesthetic appeal to the structure.

Essential Components and
Materials in Building Envelope

The term building envelope is not only limited to exterior walls only but also encompasses multiple components including:

Walls

Enveloping walls with a barrier provides support and weather controls to the building as well as enhances the appeal of the structure. The materials used for wall insulation may vary as per the climatic condition, location, and design of the building. However, the standard components in wall assembly include:

  • Cladding: wall cladding refers to a sheet of covering used on the base material to provide protection as well as improve aesthetics. It protects the interior from sunlight, snow, fire, rain, wind and other weather calamities. There are various types of cladding materials including laminates, aluminum sheets, wood, cement boards, bricks, glass, porcelain, and many others.
  • Sheathing: wall sheathing refers to encasing walls in a protective covering. This layer also provides strength and rigidity to the walls while providing a solid base for cladding materials.
  • Heat Insulation: heat insulation refers to a wide variety of thermal boards to insulate wall cavities, internal walls, and wall frames. These heat insulation sheets protect buildings from harsh weather conditions and improve energy efficiency by keeping the building warm during winters and cold in summers.
  • Vapor Barrier: vapor barrier is a sheet material that provides damp proofing to diffuse moisture. Plastic and foil sheets are the best examples of vapor barriers.

Roof

The roof is one of the most vulnerable parts of the building through which heat, humidity, and moisture can easily penetrate through. Placing an insulation sheet on the roof is of utmost importance to protect the building from harsh weather conditions. The materials used for roofing sheets are:

Exterior shingles/ Vapor barriers: shingles are the most type of roofing style in which each individual element overlap the other to prevent water seepage. Roofing shingles are available in a variety of materials, textures, and colors to improve aesthetics as well. However, their primary function is to reflect sunlight, prevent fire damage and algae growth.
Spray foam insulation: Spray foam is used as a specialty packing material as it not only prevents heat penetration but also seals air passage. It is proven to be one of the most durable energy efficient roofing systems due to its excellent performance in extreme heat and cold.

Windows and Doors

Doors are the biggest puncture in the envelope of a building as it gives way to light and heat to pass through. Using glazing panels and glass sheets improves the thermal efficiency of a building as it does not let the heat penetrate through doors and windows.

METCO’s Building
Envelope Services

METCO Engineering Inc. offers building envelope services across Dallas. Our trained engineers conduct an in-depth analysis of energy consumption and other factors such as building size, design structure, and components; to select the appropriate materials that ensure energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and safety. We hold expertise in providing durable insulated panel walls, roofing sheets, doors, and ductworks to protect your building from weather severities.

Benefits of Building Envelope

Continuous Insulation

Building envelope offers continuous insulation by sealing all parts of the structure to improve thermal performance.

Limited Maintenance

Building envelope prevents building systems from corrosion thus reducing the risks of repairs to ensure minimal maintenance.

Sustainable solution

Building envelope protects mechanical systems such as pipelines and electrical appliances from corrosion and decay which reduces maintenance cost and improves the building’s performance.

Why Choose METCO?

With highly trained professionals having more than 10 years of experience, METCO provides exceptional building envelope services. We aim to offer cost-effective, premium quality materials to protect your building from heat, moisture, noise, and light to maintain the interior environment. We have been serving industry leaders of multitude sectors such as residential, commercial and government offices.

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