Any home will make sure to see that certain elements that make a home safe are firmly in place. On the exterior, the ones that are affected first is roofing, cladding and waterproofing. Usually, these jobs are left to the contractor and most home owners are quite ignorant about the materials and prefer not to deal with it.
There are various trends emerging here too. Piyush Nahar, GM, marketing, Tata Bluescope Steel, says, “Residential roofing is now focussing on aesthetics and sustainability. Solar compatible roofing system is preferred by specifiers and home builders. Roofs that perform well under terse environments like wet hilly terrains, high wind zones, arid environments, and have greater load bearing capacity, offer greater thermal efficiency along with superior aesthetics, have gained importance. Lately, this sector has witnessed greater acceptability for colour coated steel roofs. With multiple colour options and patterns to choose from; our DURASHINE roof is a compelling choice that combines superior aesthetics, design flexibility, thermal efficiency with greater performance; giving the home-owner an assured peace of mind.”
Similarly with cladding systems, sustainability has crept in here too. Ashwani Khanna, AVP, marketing, FunderMax India, says, “High-rises, commercial and residential buildings, office spaces, government buildings all benefit by appropriately designed cladding. To add to the sustainability factor, Fundermax provides rain screen façade system that improves building protection by enhancing functionality of façade with respect to heat and noise reduction, and better weather protection. A well-designed façade reduces the thermal bridges, condensation of water vapour, protects the building and increases sustainability. Some benefits can be: sustainable and durable façade; structurally designed façade to sustain harsh exterior conditions; and considerable reduction in energy costs for heating and air-conditioning.”
One cannot forget the importance of waterproofing here. Himanshu Kapadia, CEO, construction chemicals, large user business and services, Pidilite Industries, says, “The golden rule in any successful waterproofing is using the selection of right product and right applicator. Waterproofing being an applicator’s job, selection of the right applicator plays an important role in ensuring successful waterproofing. Similarly, selection of right system and right products based on the specific requirements of the project is also important in ensuring the right waterproofing. Most common failures occur at construction joints, junctions of horizontal and vertical members and cut outs. They all require proper designing and use of correct materials.”
Make it nice
Market demand for building products is usually determined by growth in infrastructure, SME and retail segment. Of late India has emerged as one of the key markets for pre-engineered buildings. Warehousing and industrial segments being the main drivers, the PEB market size is estimated to grow at a double-digit CAGR for next five years. Nahar says, “Personal consumption is expected to revive and likely to be around FY20 levels in FY22 subject to how vaccinations improve. Retail would be resilient for some time. Government and private projects are now subdued but expected to revive in FY22. Favorable policies like PLI scheme could attract foreign investment and increase private manufacturing capex. Robust infrastructure projects for next 5-6 years are visible in Metros, freight corridors along with National Infrastructure Pipeline.”
Speaking about how cladding has evolved, Lakshay Jindal, director and CMO, Jindal Mecho Bricks, says, “In the past, cladding tiles have been used in bedrooms, lobby area, entrance foyer, dining area, kitchen, study, living area, verandah and many more. Our cladding tile wall is also used to highlight artifacts or photos. The tiles are one of the most preferred materials for owners of premium luxury spaces. This is because of negligible maintenance of these tiles, the subtle colors, endless design options and easy installation.”
One of the new solutions from FunderMax, the Max Lato series aims at providing better visual comfort to occupants. These shading systems come in different sizes and configurations and can be used to mitigate the effects of glare and heat ingress in different kind of buildings located across the country. Max Lato is an effective way to reduce air conditioning loads. Khanna says, “It offers designers an opportunity to create a distinctive architectural impact. This new-age shading system has slats made of Max Exterior panels of Fundemax that can be fixed at any position according to the building location. Another new system in the offering is the rivetless soffit system from Fundermax, FS01. The objective is to achieve a seamless and unhindered view with smaller strips (width of panels), and closed grooves.”
Waterproofing needs to be designed as per requirement.
Kapadia says, “For example, a waterproofing system for a bridge should also be able to take care of continuous movement of the vehicles and proper bonding of waterproofing layer to the bituminous concrete, in addition to ensure complete waterproofing to the structure. Similarly waterproofing to the basements of a hospital or a mall should be designed considering the usage as service area, which may not be the case for residential basements. Precast and composite deck slabs need a better system of waterproofing when compared to an in-site concrete building because of structural requirements.”
Pidilite maintains an in-house expert design team to design the right system of waterproofing. They believe in offering an entire solution under one umbrella and have a range of products for projects, repairs and maintenance catering to the requirements of all types of buildings, industries and infrastructures.
Whatever be the case, owners and developers must ensure that the job is done right.
