WEATHERPROOF IN THE HEART OF THE DOLOMITES

Extreme weather incidentsare historic in the heart of the Dolomites. According to tradition, Messensee, located above Strassen in the Puster valley was flooded and destroyed in the 12th century. However, even if Eastern Tyrol is a weather intensive region by nature – one must only know how to protect oneself.

Complete safety in all weather conditions.

When building the home of Dr. Walder, the builders used the roof and facade panel FX.12 made by aluminium specialist PREFA. Engineer Karl Josef Mair from the responsible contractor Frey explained: “As the residential building did not have any porch roof and the building is susceptible to weather, a continuous combination of both FX.12 panels was the ideal solution. The roof and facade now form one unit and protect the residential building against all weather conditions.” Due to the ventilated facade, there is also a continuous stream of air between the supporting surfaces and facade cladding at the rear ventilation level, The advantage: if moisture occurs, it keeps the construction dry or, at high temperatures, transports the associated heat away from the interior of the rooms. “This protects the residential building against the cold in winter and the heat in summer”, said Mr. Mair.

Simple and quick installation.

No other material has so many advantages as aluminium: it is unbreakable, non-corrosive, exceedingly strong yet lightweight, and it can be formed easily with little effort. Thanks to its clever connecting details and the offset that can be selected individually, FX.12 can be mounted extremely quickly. “Our products do not only comply with all demands on functionality and safety, but also make work easier for the roofing plumber”, said PREFA technical adviser Johann Kummer. “That is why we are proud to be able to offer such a well-versed product with FX.12 that is also easy and quick to install.”

Mounting direct on the full casing.

Roofing plumber Roland Maurer confirms: “The basic advantage with PREFA products is the fastening. Thanks to the additional angled edges of the upper fold the FX.12 does not require any adhesives and can be fixed direct to the sub-construction or as with the building at Messensee, directly on the full casing using the pre-punched holes. Thus, working with FX.12 is much easier and more accurate.“ Next to the unique installation technique, PREFA products are also characterised by their durability and variety of colours. The last point offers particularly interesting visual options with modern construction methods in rural areas.

Technical Details.

With reference to the conical angled fold, PREFA technical adviser Johann Kummer emphasises another special feature of FX.12: it offers an ideal protection against driving rain and moisture, absorbs transverse extensions and improves self-cleaning thanks to washing away the impurities. FX.12 is available in two formats: 1,400 x 420 mm or 700 x 420 mm. In order to obtain the individual surface over the total surface area, no angled fold (vertical fold) should rest directly above another. When installing FX.12 as discontinuous roofing, a minimum offset of 220 mm must be observed. The minimum inclination with the FX.12 is 17°.

The installation starts at the eaves and is carried out from the right to left side. The PREFA strip edge is attached straight using a chalked line and fixed using PREFA ribbed nails. In doing so, care must be taken that nails are driven into all pre-punched nail holes without exception. Next, the roofing elements are secured. In the event of overlapping, accordingly longer PREFA ribbed nails are used. Due to the identical colouring in the long-term behaviour, only PREFA coloured aluminium straps are used for all linings and flashings on the PREFA roof and on the facade. The right accessories are decisive - this is why PREFA offers their customers a wide spectrum.

Individual look thanks to irregular angled edges.

The FX.12 has something really special to offer for the sunny Eastern Tyrolian days: thanks to the irregular edges, the panels will show a different face depending on the position of the sun, setting an impressive stage for any building. During production, particular care is taken that each item is provided with a unique embossment. The edge sample does not repeat itself and therefore stays irregular even on large surfaces. The result is an impressive interplay of light and shade. Next to their aesthetic purpose, the angled edges also fulfil a functional one: the panels are thus reinforced, attaining greater resisting force at the same material thickness.

Construction information panel:

Architect: Bauunternehmung Dipl.-Ing. Walter Frey GmbH
Material: Facade panel FX.12/PREFALZ
Colour: P.10 light grey
Person installing: Roland Maurer, Silian