A pain point in commercial building or city planning projects can be the purely functional structures that often distract from historic architecture, natural surroundings, or the modern design of a new building. Things like parking garages have previously been seen as necessary concrete eyesores with little to no opportunity for design customization, which can ruin the aesthetics of a city block or skyline. That’s where garage cladding comes in.

What is Garage Cladding? 

Garage cladding is a system of decorative screens affixed to the exterior of a commercial parking garage. The screens are often made of aluminum and can be designed to complement or contrast surrounding architecture. Screens can be made from perforated aluminum, grille systems, wire mesh, extruded metal, tension mesh, or even corrugated metal. 

These screens provide more than just aesthetics, however. Functionally, they can prevent falls, provide protection from inclement weather, create a windbreak while still allowing for necessary ventilation, and provide privacy and security for those parking in the lot. 

Of course, with any large-scale project like garage cladding installation, the budget is typically the deciding factor. Any garage cladding solution should optimize not only design but the ease of installation and cost of labor as well. 

Quite a few factors go into the manufacture of your structure’s garage cladding panels. The panels should be small enough that they can be easily manufactured and transported to the installation site, but not so small that the individual pieces will take an exorbitant amount of time to install. However, they can’t be too large or the installation will require more heavy machinery and manpower, drawing out the installation timeline and driving up the cost. 

With all of that to consider, the support structure for these panels is the last thing you should have to worry about. That’s why we recommend Unistrut for garage cladding support structures. 

Why Use Unistrut for Garage Cladding Support? 

Unistrut metal framing is an ideal solution for supporting decorative cladding, screens, and perforated metal panels. As an all-bolted solution, Unistrut support structures don’t require welding or specialty tools for installation, saving on both time and manpower. The lightweight materials have multiple attachment points, so the panel installation can be dictated by the overall design instead of where the supports can handle it. And Unistrut’s bolted connection allows for on-the-spot changes or customizations should the installation require them. 

Additionally, our team at Unistrut Midwest can prefabricate the supports needed for your project and then deliver them to the job site for a quicker installation than traditional welded steel frames. 

Are you interested in learning more about how a Unistrut system can work for your garage cladding project? Contact our team at Unistrut Midwest to go over the specifics.