Revitalization of Boletice Panels with the DEKMETAL System

State Environment Fund, Prague

From 1970 to 1990, the construction of administrative buildings from lightweight system façades (hereinafter referred to as LOP) such as the Boletický panel (hereinafter referred to as BP) or Kord type gained great popularity in our country. The modern system that enabled rapid construction has long become outdated. Buildings of this nature exhibit structural defects after a relatively short period of existence and do not meet current required energy efficiency standards for buildings. Moreover, in the construction of some buildings, health-damaging asbestos-cement material was used. These facts led the company DEKMETAL s.r.o. to utilize its façade system during the revitalization of these already inadequate building structures.

Before Reconstruction	After Reconstruction

The characteristic appearance of buildings with modular grid patterns and glass fill-ins of façade sections can be seen in almost every city or municipality and are not exactly treasures of our architecture. The most common use has been for public facilities, schools, kindergartens, health centers, offices, and administrative buildings. Some of these structures have already been revitalized or demolished in the past, but the majority are still awaiting urgent reconstruction.

The technical solution for the revitalization of LOP BP is the creation of a new façade using the DEKMETAL^® system. The manufacturing company DEKMETAL s.r.o. (www.dekmetal.cz) is part of the DEK a.s. group and has been active in LOP structures in the Czech market since 2003. Currently, over 250 façade projects have been realized. The system supply includes a complete façade structure consisting of supporting grid elements, all flashing and terminations (parapets, cornices, perforated ventilation strips, foundation profiles, lintels, sills, corners, transitions to other systems, etc.), external visible panels or profiles, anchoring and fastening materials.

The variability of the DEKMETAL^® system offers several different types of visible elements and supporting grids that can be combined in various arrangements. Visible panels are always made to measure for the façade and don’t require any modifications on-site.

Types of visible elements:

• DEKCASSETTE^® (rectangular panels of various sizes)
• DEKLAMELLA^® (longer rectangular slats)
• DEKPROFILE^® (trapezoidal and corrugated profiled sheets)
• DEKPROFILE for architect^® (atypically profiled sheets according to the architect's vision)

Types of supporting grids:

• DKM2A (two-way grid for horizontal placement of visible elements)
• DKM1A (one-way grid for horizontal placement of visible elements)
• DKM1B (one-way grid for vertical placement of visible elements)

The principle of external reconstruction lies in the creation of a new cladding using the existing steel frame structure of the panels. The new visible façade is attached to the supporting grid and is constructed as ventilated with an air gap. Concurrently with the external façade, an internal reconstruction is almost always carried out using standard plasterboard constructions with inserted additional thermal insulation.

The process of reconstructing the external façade BP using the DEKMETAL^® system:
The company DEKMETAL closely collaborates with architects and designers from the very beginning of the revitalization project and is capable of offering comprehensive technical support regarding the façade. Based on experience, a host of standard and atypical details have been developed, which are available during design. The installation documentation itself is then processed by the technical department of DEKMETAL and is consulted with the architect (designer) of the building as per requirements.

A detailed article on the execution of these revitalizations will be published in the magazine DEKTIME 01/2010, which is regularly sent to all participants of the DEKPARTNER^® program. Members of this program have free access to all technical details of the company DEKMETAL, among other benefits.

We believe that our company’s considerable experience with these structures and the variability of the DEKMETAL^® system will help address technical problems related to the revitalization of many dilapidated buildings in the future.

> www.dekmetal.cz
> https://www.prevetravanefasady.sk/temy-blog/boleticke-panely/