FAQs
Q. What are the principal attractions of membranes over traditional building materials such as wood, steel, stone and glass?
A. Foils and fabrics are versatile, flexible, lightweight, translucent and offer limitless opportunities for shape and surface enclosure.
Q. How early on in design of a new building/retrofit project should membrane specialist be consulted, if membrane material is to form part of the building?
A. As early as possible because the placing and nature of the membrane’s supporting structure and its load bearing requirements etc generally affect the construction of other parts of the building’s structure. Early consultation prevents the need for costly modifications at a later stage.
Q. How long does a tensile structure last?
Q. How long does a tensile structure last?
A. Many of the specialist modern membrane materials can have a design life of 25 years plus, depending on material type.
Q. What is the membrane material made of?
Q. What is the membrane material made of?
A. They are mainly either PVDF/PVC-coated polyesters, PTFE-coated glass fibres or ETFE foil. Fluorpolymers, such as PTFE or ETFE, are extremely fireproof, non-stick as far as dirt is concerned and so are largely self-cleaning.
Q. Can the membrane materials be cleaned?
A. Yes, by specialist environmentally friendly cleaning detergents. Fluorpolymers such as PTFE or ETFE do not need to be cleaned, if sufficient and direct rain water access is available.
Q. How much would a membrane roof or façade cost, say, in comparison with a traditional one?
A. This is a difficult comparison to make, as membrane is not simply a substitute for a conventional roof or façade, it is part of an entire design engineering solution for the whole building. Savings in terms of structural requirements, installation time, ease of erection and reduced maintenance, coupled with competitive membrane costs, means that over the life of the building a membrane solution is normally significantly more economic.
Q. How long does a membrane structure take to build?
A. This, of course, varies according to the complexity and size of the project. But from the ideas and design stage through to hand over, the time required would be on average 6-9 months, but some Hightex projects have been completed within as little as 9 weeks.
Q. What maintenance is involved?
A. Very little as the membrane does not corrode or weather; nor is retensioning any longer required as it was in the industry’s early days, due to more sophisticated installation and connection techniques. The structural elements will require the normal maintenance such as painting.
Q. Is it possible to heat or cool a building with a membrane envelope?
A. Yes, some membrane materials are laminated and have in-built insulation, while double-skin options are also available where inflatable sections provide effective cushion insulation. Design is modified according to thermal requirements. Membranes are also ideally suited to be combined or integrated with solar technologies such as solar cooling.
Q. What colour options are there?
A. A wide variety of coloured fabrics are available in some types of membrane, however this depends on quantity required, design life expectations and many other factors.
Q. How long does installation take?
A. As all parts are pre-manufactured to very tight tolerances in the factory, no cutting or welding is required on site. Installation times are thus reduced to a fraction of those required for other materials.
Q. How big an area can be spanned?
Q. Can the membrane materials be cleaned?
A. Yes, by specialist environmentally friendly cleaning detergents. Fluorpolymers such as PTFE or ETFE do not need to be cleaned, if sufficient and direct rain water access is available.
Q. How much would a membrane roof or façade cost, say, in comparison with a traditional one?
A. This is a difficult comparison to make, as membrane is not simply a substitute for a conventional roof or façade, it is part of an entire design engineering solution for the whole building. Savings in terms of structural requirements, installation time, ease of erection and reduced maintenance, coupled with competitive membrane costs, means that over the life of the building a membrane solution is normally significantly more economic.
Q. How long does a membrane structure take to build?
A. This, of course, varies according to the complexity and size of the project. But from the ideas and design stage through to hand over, the time required would be on average 6-9 months, but some Hightex projects have been completed within as little as 9 weeks.
Q. What maintenance is involved?
A. Very little as the membrane does not corrode or weather; nor is retensioning any longer required as it was in the industry’s early days, due to more sophisticated installation and connection techniques. The structural elements will require the normal maintenance such as painting.
Q. Is it possible to heat or cool a building with a membrane envelope?
A. Yes, some membrane materials are laminated and have in-built insulation, while double-skin options are also available where inflatable sections provide effective cushion insulation. Design is modified according to thermal requirements. Membranes are also ideally suited to be combined or integrated with solar technologies such as solar cooling.
Q. What colour options are there?
A. A wide variety of coloured fabrics are available in some types of membrane, however this depends on quantity required, design life expectations and many other factors.
Q. How long does installation take?
A. As all parts are pre-manufactured to very tight tolerances in the factory, no cutting or welding is required on site. Installation times are thus reduced to a fraction of those required for other materials.
Q. How big an area can be spanned?
A. Very large spaces, up to thousands of square meters, can be covered with minimal structural support due to the lightweight nature of membranes and its superior mechanical properties.
Q. How translucent is the membrane?
A. Up to around 60% of the ambient light can pass through woven, coated and laminated materials, up to 96 % through foils. Translucency resp. transparency will vary according to the components of the membrane material. By night, stunning effects can be achieved through projection of light onto the surface, internally or externally.
Q. Can membranes avoid the danger to the human skin by aggressive UV light?
A. Yes, even the fully transparent ETFE foils block the dangerous short wave length spectrum from 0 to 250 Nanometer
Q. Are there economies of scale? Is a larger structure more cost effective?
A. Yes, generally the larger the span of membrane, the smaller the pro rata cost per square metre compared to other construction options.
Q. How translucent is the membrane?
A. Up to around 60% of the ambient light can pass through woven, coated and laminated materials, up to 96 % through foils. Translucency resp. transparency will vary according to the components of the membrane material. By night, stunning effects can be achieved through projection of light onto the surface, internally or externally.
Q. Can membranes avoid the danger to the human skin by aggressive UV light?
A. Yes, even the fully transparent ETFE foils block the dangerous short wave length spectrum from 0 to 250 Nanometer
Q. Are there economies of scale? Is a larger structure more cost effective?
A. Yes, generally the larger the span of membrane, the smaller the pro rata cost per square metre compared to other construction options.