THE BENEFITS OF PREFABRICATION

Project developers, building owners, architects, and general contractors alike all derive significant benefits from prefabricated panels, including the following:

Design flexibility: Wall assemblies can be designed in custom sizes and shapes with multiple finish options, including stucco, stone, masonry, and metal appearances.

Code compliance: Fully tested wall assemblies meet or exceed current building and energy codes requirements for water and air resistance, fire resistance, and energy efficiency.

Lightweight/reduced structural requirements: The lighter weight of the EIFS panels makes installation faster, safer, and more efficient. Panels typically weigh 8 pounds per square foot or less, compared to 25 to 50 pounds per square foot for traditional masonry construction.

Addresses skilled labor shortages: Skilled work is handled in the fabrication shop, reducing the need for on-site skilled labor.

Quality assurance: Building wall assembly panels are fabricated in a controlled, temperature-moderated environment, leading to consistent high-quality construction.

Extending the construction season: Building on-site in cold climates is always challenging. Prefabricated panels allow for installation regardless of weather or temperature, thereby extending the construction season.

Compress the construction schedule: Prefabricated panels can be completed while the construction and framing of the structure itself is underway, allowing for quicker enclosure and enabling the building to open sooner.

Reduce the amount of scaffolding: Building with panels allows a reduction or elimination of scaffolding, substantially reducing costs. An additional benefit, particularly in urban settings or other hard-to-scaffold construction, is the elimination of space conflicts or costly sidewalk rental fees.

Just-in-time workflow: Prefabricated panels can arrive ready to attach to the building and be scheduled to suit a just-in-time process.

Reduced job site congestion: Because all of the application is done off-site and delivered when needed, job site conditions are less congested and cluttered. This overcomes issues of limited access or staging area on project site.

Increased property value: Based on increased lease space due to panels attaching on exterior of structure, commercial buildings have the potential for increased revenue.

PANELIZED CLADDING FOR A TIGHT CONSTRUCTION SITE

Project: Le Meridien – The Joseph Boutique Hotel
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Developer: Pizzuti
Design Architect: Arquitectonica
Architect: ESG Architects
General Contractor: Brasfield & Gorrie
Panel Fabricator: Little Construction
Panel Installer: Reitter Stucco

The Project: Located in the heart of the Columbus, Ohio, arts and entertainment district, Le Méridien – The Joseph Hotel takes advantage of the unique shopping, many dining options, and the high-spirited energy of High Street. The 13-story boutique hotel was designed by architect Arquitectonica with modern architectural features. For facade materials, the architects initially envisioned conventional stucco on the 10 topmost floors plus a brick veneer accented with metal panels.

The Challenge: The initial stucco exterior design posed several issues. First, it did not comply with state energy code requirements for continuous insulation (CI). Second, it could not be installed over the specified light-gauge metal framing of the wall system. This prompted the design and construction teams to investigate other options.

Another huge factor was that the property was located on a major city street intersection that could not be blocked off for any extended period of time, meaning that on-site staging space was very limited. As a result, scaffolding could only be used behind and in front of the building for a short period of time. “To the north and the south, we were actually working over someone else’s building,” explains Rob Little of Little Construction. “The city wasn’t going to allow us to close the two roads down for eight months, which is how long it would have taken if we went with a field-applied facade.”

The Solution: After looking at alternatives, high-performance EIFS lightweight prefabricated panels were decided upon. These panels can be finished with any EIFS texture, including the look of custom brick, metal, or stone, which were all used on this project. “There is a huge difference in the wind load requirements of EIFS systems and the dead weight of the foam compared to the stucco,” Little says. In fact, at about 1 pound per square foot, the EIFS system selected is more than 75 percent lighter than stucco.

Prior to starting the project, Arquitectonica tasked the contractors and suppliers with creating a custom EIFS brick color to match the brick specified for the first two floors of the hotel. Based on specified samples of the brick and mortar, the EIFS custom brick finish and grout were a perfect match. The panels featuring the metallic finish created the look of metal panels, which were quite authentic in appearance from street level. In addition, the 3-inch-thick rigid foam in the prefabricated EIFS panels provided superior energy efficiency for the hotel—exceeding code requirements with an R-12 energy rating.

The Construction: Nearly 45,000 square feet of an air- and water-resistive barrier was applied immediately after the wall sheathing was installed as well as a liquid-applied flashing system at all rough openings. This allowed interior work on the 13-story hotel to begin much sooner than if another type of construction method had been used. Once the windows were set, Little Construction took field dimensions and fabricated the exterior wall panels at its factory, saving time, reducing the need for on-site fabrication space, and assuring quality control. “You do all the steps—the back wrap, base coats, primer, and finish—in your warehouse,” Little explains. The panels were constructed with extruded aluminum channels, which were installed into routed joints in the insulation foam boards. At upward of 9 by 5 feet and just 90 pounds each, the panels—1,250 in total—were easily installed over the air and water barrier on the building in just three months by two workers using Z-clip fasteners and adhesive. “It was a very fast job,” Little says. “It seemed slow in the beginning because they were getting measurements, but then all of a sudden they would set 20 to 30 panels in a day.”

A final component of the EIFS panelized system was the acrylic-based exterior finish, which included 15,000 square feet of custom brick EIFS, 12,000 square feet of metallic EIFS, and 5,000 square feet of limestone appearing EIFS.

The Results: Compared to a brick-and-metal panel facade, the EIFS panelized system provided a significantly faster installation process, resulting in time and cost savings. “The prefabricated system was a lot easier to install, especially because they created quite large panels,” says Robert Aitcheson, project manager for Arquitectonica. “It would have taken a lot more time and been more difficult to do with brick veneer and metal panels, and thus more expensive.”