Corten Facade

The images we posted last week were close ups of the siding panels, a few days after they were delivered. 

Corten is a weathering steel facade that naturally rusts over time, producing a striking oxide finish. The rust creates a protective coating that constantly forms allowing the facade to self heal, creating a highly durable and low maintenance option. 

The Holly Hill house siding material will change appearance in the next year or so due to sun, rain, humidity and otters factors until it will reach a point of stability that creates the beautiful rust color.

Close up of the but joint and panel attachment

Corten panels

Corten panels

What is this and where it will be used on the house?!?

The Owners have approached local artist Kate Kirby (http://www.hartregionalartscouncil.org/?artist_photography=kate-kirby) to photograph a few samples of this material because it will weather in time and change appearance. The process and evolution are spectacular. 

These are a few shots by Kate after just a few days on site. 

Can you guess what it is and where it will be used?

Update 2 years later

We realized we have been really bad at sharing the construction progress and we decided to pick up where we left off, two years ago, and show you how the construction evolved since then since the house is almost COMPLETE.

The Owners have been managing the entire construction process and they are doing an unbelievable job at making sure every details if PERFECT as intended!

Below are a few pictures with the butterfly roof after the TPO was installed.  A few reasons we selected TPO roofing:

1. highly reflectable
2. recyclable
3. high albedo

Exterior Trim

The owner is staining the ipe trim for the house himself! It's looking great!

Corten Siding Progress

We have progress on the Corten steel panels! 

Corten steel is chemically designed to develop an exterior layer of rust as it weathers. The outer layer of rust acts as a protective coating to the steel itself. Corten stands for "CORrosion resistance" and "TENsile strength." The weathering actually strengthens the steel for structural applications.

The Holly Hill House siding protects the house from water intrusion just as well as any typical siding (such as wood, brick, stucco, etc.) and it does not need to be painted. The rust that develops is a nice patina.

We have tested the weathering on material samples and mock-ups and now we are excited to watch the weathering progress on the actual siding!

Material sample to test the corten steel weathering.

Site Visit

Nice progress from our recent site visit...

View from the living room in the main wing of the house.

Window framing details

 The exterior trim is being stained by the owner.

LEFT: A shot of the bridge that connects one wing of the house to main wing.

RIGHT: Stairs lead down to the basement. 

View from the deck and the bridge looking toward Lake Hartwell

One of the bridges that connects a wing of the house to the main wing.

View through the bridges

Bedroom

Bedroom deck

View of main wing from the bedroom deck

Subtle wiring detail

The team!

Siding

The house will be clad in CorTen steel.

 The first panels are being installed.

The CorTen requires a well detailed drip edge.

CorTen is intended to weather and develop a layer of rust. The patina acts as a protective layer for the the steel. The image above is a material sample left on site to show how the finish will look.