It is lightweight, durable, non-flammable, resistant, does not condense water vapor, does not heat up and dampens noise. Swisspearl EuroFala W 130-9 (B59) corrugated board is made of fiber-cement, a material that in Western European and Scandinavian countries is the first choice for residential, agricultural and industrial roofs. There the argument is also that fiber-cement roofs do not need to be maintained.
Fiber-cement is a material with more than 100 years of history. It is used by Switzerland's Swisspearl to produce roofing and facade panels. Fiber-cement was used in the construction of: the Expo Pavilion in New York by Gustav Peichl, the Church am Steinhof in Vienna designed by Otto Wagner or the Ortsstockhaus houses in Braunwald by Hans Leuzinger and the Maison Blanche in La Chaux-de-Fonds by Le Corbusier.
As a material for roofs or facades, fiber-cement inspired designers such as Max Bill, Haefeli Moser Steiger, Herzog & de Meuron, Rafael Viñoly, Morphosis and the aforementioned Le Corbusier. The people who created recognizable buildings with history were fascinated in fiber cement by the fact that, as a wet material, it becomes easily moldable and, when dry, is strong and resistant.
EuroFala panel
© Swisspearl
This board doesn't pretend to be anything, it performs wellin difficult mountain weather conditions, and it looks good too, says architect Norbert Mech, who used EuroFala W130-9 on the roof of his single-family house of wooden logs, located in the Low Beskid Mountains.
Mech used corrugated board manufactured by Swisspearl. The choice of material was determined by its resistance to heavy rain, autumn storms, snow in winter and strong sun in summer.
Fiber-cement board gives me, first of all, that I have a quiet home and nothing rumbles on the roof during storms and downpours. Two, this slab doesn't heat up like sheet metal, which means it's a good thermal insulator. Third, the raw nature of the concrete slab emphasizes the beauty of the wood from which the house was built," Norbert Mech concludes.
The designer stresses that having tested the properties of EuroFala on his own house, he knows that he can suggest this solution to clients. That's why he recommended the fiber-cement corrugated board for the roof of a stable for a homestead development at a nearby stud farm.
EuroFala panel
© Swisspearl
The fact that EuroFala performs well in harsh weather conditions is due to the properties of fiber-cement, which consists of cement, cellulose, recyclable water, synthetic fibers and air. Swisspearl corrugated sheets are made from Portland cement combined with a formula of the highest quality mixed synthetic and cellulose fibers, further hardened with reinforcing strips. There is no asbestos in the composition of the board. This is an argument for many people who are looking for an alternative to an asbestos roof. Cement, cellulose and reinforcing fibers are mixed with water to make a raw mass. This pulp is then carefully rolled, pressed, cut, dried and dyed, with continuous quality control. The combination of these elements results in a lightweight and durable - by comparison - material for roofs and facades. When you touch it, you can feel the homogeneity of the material and the quality of the surface. Visually, it has a unique character and, depending on the processing technology, an individual texture.
EuroFala is also used on farm buildings, where the greatest expectation of customers is that water should not condense and drip inside. This property of corrugated board is pointed out by Henryk Mokwa, who first used the material 20 years ago on his farm in Pomerania.
EuroFala board
© Swisspearl
I put EuroFala on four cow barns, each barn is seventy meters long and sixteen wide. These are retrofitted buildings, and properties such as non-condensation in buildings with gravity ventilation, sprinklers, foggers are particularly important for animal welfare and comfort. For me as a farmer it is also important that in hot weather the fiber-cement board does not heat up and insulates the entire building well," says Henryk Mokwa.
Mokwa has tested the properties of EuroFala and recently used the material once again on his farm. This time to cover the roof of the barn, where he stores bales of straw and hay. In this case, the choice of material was determined by the properties due to the fact that fiber-cement is a natural material that copes better with moisture, algae, mosses than other roofing materials.
My buildings look good, because both on this roof, which was modernized twenty years ago, and on the new one, I don't have an infestation of mosses or algae, which are usually seen on roofs covered with sheet metal," emphasizes Henryk Mokwa.
Fiber-cement roofing is the material of first choice in Scandinavia, where, due to harsh weather conditions and high humidity, the use of any other material could force frequent material maintenance or even replacement.
EuroFala panel
© Swisspearl
Maciej Mrowinski lives by the sea and initially planned a stable, but eventually changed the building's purpose to a candle factory. He points out that for him the criterion for choosing materials was the difficult weather conditions in the coastal strip.
We are close to the sea, which means it's humid, blowing hard. I, on my gabled roof made of EuroFala, do not see corrosion, and I know that inside it is quiet and dry, because water does not condense. After three years of using fiber-cement, I am satisfied with this choice," he adds.
Swisspearl EuroFala corrugated panels are used in new construction, but also on modernized and renovated buildings. Many existing buildings built between 1960 and 1990 have roofs that need to be replaced.
In such situations, it is useful that the EuroFala roofing system is designed so that the formats, shapes and profiles fit for use on existing, old buildings.
Swisspearl's EuroFala corrugated sheets come in a variety of profiles, sizes and colors, and reinforcing strips, beveled corners
and pre-punched holes.
Swisspearl EuroFala W 130-9 (B59) corrugated board is available in two versions:i coated with water-based acrylic paint in a choice of 8 colors, or as gray unpainted. Painted boards have a fire resistance rating of A2, unpainted boards have a fire resistance rating of A1. The strength class for all is specified at BY2.
For more information, visit the company's {tag:Manufacturer} page on the A&B portal.
