Water is given a path, not a seal
Every edge has a designed exit. Sealant is the last line, never the first.
If skippedA sealed joint that fails in year three lets water into the frame, and the stain appears inside, not outside.
Facade and soffit:
the only work
the weather tests
Interior metalwork fails on appearance. Envelope metalwork fails on water. The details that matter are the ones nobody sees once the building is finished.
Fabricated in 304 or 316L in our own factory in Foshan, then trial-assembled before packing.
- Order size
- 800–6,000 m²
- Lead time
- 50–90 days
- Drawing check
- 48 h
- Water
- Drained, not sealed
01
What a facade package contains
Envelope work is the only one of the six where the metal meets weather. Everything else is a finish problem; this is a physics problem.
| Element | What it is | Hard part | What we control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rainscreen panelA folded tray fixed to a sub-frame | Folded on four sides with a return, hooked or screwed to the frame. | The return has to be deep enough to stiffen the panel and hide the frame. | Fold line ±0.3 mm, diagonal ±1 mm |
| SoffitThe underside of a canopy or overhang | Flat or folded panels, often with a lighting channel. | It changes direction, and the change must not read as a splice. | Joint 3 mm ±0.5 mm |
| Canopy edgeThe visible edge of an overhang | Folded fascia, returns, sometimes a drip profile. | Water must leave at a designed point, not at the nearest one. | Drip line per approved detail |
| Column shroudA non-structural cover around a column | Four-sided box, ventilated top and bottom. | It has to move with the building without oil-canning. | Panel flatness 1.2 mm / m |
| LouvreFixed blades for screening or ventilation | Blades on a carrier, angle set per drawing. | Blade angle is what makes it work; it is also the first thing value-engineered out. | Angle ±1° |
02
How an envelope job runs
Slower than interior work, because the sub-frame and the water path are decided before the first panel is cut.
D0
Package intake
Drawing team
Questions in 48 h
D1–10
Frame and water path
Detailers + your engineer
Approved 1:5 details at every edge
D11–20
Prototype panel
Sample cell
One panel, one corner, one drip test
D21–60
Cut and fold
Laser · 5 brakes · V-groove
Fold record, diagonal check
D61–80
Finish
PVD · powder · anodise
Colour record per elevation
D81–90
Trial fit and crate
Trial crew
Elevation-by-elevation trial fit
03
What goes wrong on an envelope
Panels are folded, not just cut flat
A return on four sides is what makes a 1.5 mm panel behave like a stiff tray.
If skippedFlat panels with no return oil-can in sunlight and read as a dented wall from forty metres.
One corner is built and tested first
The full junction is fabricated and water-tested before the run starts.
If skippedThe junction is invented on site by two trades who have never met, at height, in the rain.
04
Photographs for this package
Four photographs from one envelope job: the finished canopy, the soffit, a corner, and the underside as built.
01Finished canopy over the entrance, in service
02A gold-toned metal soffit seen from below, its flat panels set in a grid of joints
03The finished canopy against the glass facade
04The canopy fascia and edge, seen from the paving
All four are the same canopy. Ask and we send the full set at full resolution, untrimmed.
Send the drawing.
In 48 hours you get a price
and a list of problems.
PDF, DWG or DXF. You get a price, and a list of every detail we think will fail on site — whether you order or not.