HPL facade panels in Batumi: subframe, fixing, price

HPL facade panels: what the material is

HPL is high-pressure compact laminate: layers of kraft paper impregnated with resin and pressed into a dense board 6–10 mm thick, with a decorative layer and UV protection on top. On a facade such panels look like timber, stone or a plain colour, do not rot, are not affected by salt and need almost no maintenance. That is why HPL facade panels are chosen when you want the look of wood without its upkeep, or clean modern architecture with large planes.

The panels are only ever hung on a ventilated facade subframe, with insulation, a membrane and an air gap behind them. How the subframe itself works and why it is aluminium by the sea is described on the ventilated facade page.

Which panels to use outdoors

• exterior grade, with a UV-protective layer on the face, not interior laminate;
• 8 mm thick for normal subframe spacing, 6 mm only for small areas and canopies;
• fire-retardant FR grade for multi-storey buildings, hotels and walls by escape routes;
• from one batch and with one pattern direction for the whole wall, especially for wood decors;
• with a manufacturer's data sheet and colour warranty.

Standard HPL burns, if slowly. On a private house this is acceptable with proper fire breaks, but on a building with several floors and shared escape routes we use only FR panels and build fire barriers into the gap at every floor slab.

Fixing that allows for movement

HPL changes size slightly with humidity and temperature, and a panel fixed rigidly at every point bows over time. So each panel has one or two fixed points, and the rest are sliding: the hole in the panel is larger than the rivet, so the board can move. Joints between panels are left at 8–10 mm. Fixing is either visible, with rivets or screws with heads in the panel colour, or concealed, on anchors in the back. Concealed fixing costs more, but the facade reads as a single plane.

Layout and junctions

Before ordering we draw the panel layout for the facade: where the joints run and how they line up with windows, corners and floor slabs. Panel sizes are chosen to reduce offcuts and to keep joints on the axes of the openings. Reveals and sills are made from the same HPL or from colour-matched aluminium, and corners from whole panels showing the edge or with an aluminium angle. Compact laminate edges need no protection: the material is uniform through its thickness.

Wood-look HPL is often combined with render, glass and real timber. If you want real wood and are ready to look after it, see the timber facade, and for a smooth metallic look composite panels.

Care and repair

An HPL facade is washed with water and a mild cleaner once a year or less, without abrasives or solvents. Surface scratches are not painted over: the decor of HPL is in the top layer. A damaged panel is replaced whole, so when ordering we advise keeping a reserve from the same batch, 3–5% of the area.

How much an HPL facade costs

A ventilated facade of HPL panels on an aluminium subframe with insulation and materials costs from 505 ₾ per m²: subframe, mineral wool with membrane, 8 mm panels on rivets, cutting to the layout. Installation with the client's materials from 135 ₾ per m². For comparison: a thermowood facade from 360 ₾, aluminium composite cassettes from 380 ₾ per m². Reveals and sills from 54 ₾ per linear metre, scaffolding from 18 ₾ per m² of facade. The final cost is set after choosing the panels, drawing the layout and agreeing the estimate.