FIBER CEMENT COMPOSITE ARCHITECTURAL PANELS - SWISSPEARL®
From high-rise air towers to schools to high-end residential, since 2004, working on more than 350 projects, our staff has helped architects, builders, and owners to achieve a high-end façade aesthetic backed up by the longest warranties in the industry at low lifetime costs and virtually maintenance free.
The harsh Southern sun beats down relentlessly on building facades. It creates a costly, ongoing battle to stay ahead of fading, cracking, and peeling. In the Northwest, buildings are rain-drenched for weeks at a time.
For forty years, Swisspearl®, the leader in cement composite panels, has invested in extensive research and development. The result is a truly impressive fiber cement architectural panel that is brilliantly suited to protect buildings from severe weather – especially our harsh sun, melting heat, heavy or persistent rain, and fierce hail storms.
Swisspearl® architectural panels deliver superior results compared to other high-density fiber cement panels.
Color
Swisspearl® offers the widest range of through-finish colored panels – the color is consistent from the core to the face (Carat panel line). Through-finish colors have excellent color retention and panel integrity and never need painting – for a beautiful aesthetic at a low lifetime cost.
With more than 60 colors available, finding the right color for your project is easy. Custom color is available for larger projects when you want an exact match. For darker shades, a factory-applied “HR” coating is available; it provides anti-graffiti protection, extra UV protection, and scratch resistance. Each color has been ASTM G155 tested and warranted for colorfastness.
Test Results and Quality Standards
Swisspearl® submits its fiber cement (cement composite) panels to comprehensive product and program testing. The results are impressive.
- ASTM 136: Non-Combustible – Passed
- NFPA 285 tested Buildings above 40 feet – Passed
- ASTM E84 tested Surface Burn – Passed
- ASTM G155 tested UV resistance for color fastness – Passed
- ASTM E330 tested Wind Load including TAS 203-94 Miami Dade Building Code – Passed
- ASTM C1185 tested heat/rain exposure and freeze/thaw resistance – Passed
- ASTM D1308 tested resistant to acid rain – Passed
- ABIP Spec. 00a tested hail impact resistance up to 3-inch hailstones
- EU 5A rating (their highest rating) with a standard life expectancy of greater than 50 years
- Swisspearl® warrants that the product is free of efflorescence (no other manufacturer warrants this)
- A “lifetime” seal by Swisspearl® on the face, back, and all four edges to ensure a balanced panel (unbalanced panels typically warp or ‘oil can’)
- Panels are rot-resistant
- Well-developed, printed installation guidelines and technical services are available
- Installation training is available from Swisspearl®
- Swisspearl® is the only fiber cement product in which a warranty inspection is done.
With their proven high quality, Swisspearl® fiber cement panels look and perform beautifully for decades, and are virtually maintenance-free.
Panel Integrity
Swisspearl® panels are manufactured in an “air-cured process” for four weeks (compared to two days for other manufacturers), making it 50% more dense than autoclaved panels. Air curing enables Swisspearl® to use their proprietary colorfast components and unique reinforcing fibers. You only have to pick up a sample from the other guys to feel the difference in weight. Swisspearl® panels are unrivaled in their components and capabilities. Swisspearl® fiber cement (composite) panels are THE ONLY fiber cement panel to receive the EU’s 5A rating – the highest class rating (according to European CE conformity (EN 12467)) – giving Swisspearl® fiber cement panels a standard life expectancy of greater than 50 years!
Installation Approach
Install Swisspearl® fiber cement panels using a rear ventilation system. A rear ventilation or rainscreen system protects the building structure and the whole building from the elements for decades. On hot, sunny days, a rainscreen system vents hot air out of the cavity between the panel and the next layer of the wall – preventing the heat from building up. On wet days, airflow dries moisture – keeping the building envelope dry.
Contact us today to discover whether cement composite panels are the best product for your new building’s façade.