Sandwich panels are gaining popularity and are increasingly used for lining walls and roofs, mainly in public utility buildings. They are used for thermal and acoustic insulation – but these are not their only advantages
Composite panels are used both for lining walls and roofs (mainly as soffits). Their unique construction makes them lightweight and at the same time they have excellent thermal and sound insulation properties, which increase the comfort inside the building. Find out what composite panels are and how to use them!
A sandwich panel is a material that consists of two metal facings with an insulating filler in between. Panels used for soundproofing usually have only one metal facing. Because of their specific cross-section – metal, insulating material, metal – they are called panel sandwich in English. This term has also been adopted in Polish nomenclature
Sandwich panels are used in construction of many buildings, especially industrial and warehouse buildings (they ensure proper thermal insulation even in freezers and cold stores), as well as in service and commercial centers and office buildings. Their number of applications is growing year by year, which makes them more and more popular
A specific composite panel application depends on the insulation material used. Between metal facings there may be PUR and PIR foams (the latter show better properties as they combine strength, fire-resistance and good thermal insulation), foam glass, phenolic foams, mineral wool, rock wool and glass wool, and even styrofoam. Sandwich panels made of polystyrene are characterized by the greatest lightness, and those filled with different types of wool provide the greatest sound insulation
In DIY stores you can find three types of sandwich panels divided according to their destination – facade, wall and roof panels. They differ in waterproof parameters, weight, fire resistance, tightness, thermal and acoustic insulation
Sandwich panels gain more and more supporters as the range of possibilities of their use expands. The most important factor, however, is that water does not have to be used during construction – and there are industries where it is impossible to use wet technology, i.e. concrete mortar on water, because certain humidity standards must be met (e.g. pharmaceutical industry). Sandwich panels are also resistant to moisture, so they are also used in agricultural buildings (pigsties, henhouses, cowsheds) as they are resistant to mould and fungi
Building in traditional technology is also much more expensive due to expensive transport of materials and labor time. A building made of composite panels, which are screwed to a metal frame, can be constructed in just one month! In comparison, a masonry building of the same size could take up to seven months
Sandwich panels are inexpensive and also easy to transport
Main photo: PIRO4D/pixabay.com
