Support Clip Substructure | Stoneclip – Mechanical Fixing for Stone and Cladding

Support Clip Substructure

Using the Slimline Supportclip with an adjustable substructure the most common asked question by Architects is “do you have one”?


shows the back of a prepared tile with the Slimline Supportclip epoxied into place and ready for erection .The fixing on this tile ( 600 mm x 300 mm x 10 mm thick ) as shown is the 6 mm Trapezoid base plate ready to be installed onto a 41 mm x 41 mm channel , but the trouble with this method is that any correction in the vertical alignment of the face of the tile installed is only possible by shimming OUTWARDS –thus it is limited to rocked face or tool worked thin panels and not for polished or ceramics				shows the installed 41 mm x 41 mm x 2.5mm thick wall channel that has been ERECTED for the installation of the 600 mm x 300 mm x 10 mm ceramic panels to be used in the test Whereas in the installation of the panels shown in photo 1 — these channel had to be installed perfectly plumb at 300 mm centers to accommodate the Supportclips that were to fix onto them . On the adjustable substructure in the following photo’s, the panels are installed onto the horizontal fully adjustable Aluminium channel

shows the vertical channel with the 12 mm Trapezoid base plates with the 12 mm x 100 mm long shafts with the 6 mm x20 mm deep hole screw loosely into place to accept the bottom channel to fix onto them . The channel nuts securing them are 12 mm				shows the Aluminum channel ( 50 mm x 25 mm deep x 3 mm thick ) fixed with the 6mm pan headed screw fixed through it into the end of the shaft .On the top of the channel can be seen the back washer ( 40 mm in diameter ), which has an insulation this nylon washer on one side of it to stop electrolysis between materials .This was also strengthens the front channel where it fits to the Stainless Steel shaft

shows the first channel being installed level onto the two shafts . At this point it is where you align for the right cavity you want to work to . The 41 mm deep channel allows you 35 mm adjustment inwards , so you are advised to start in relation to the plumb of the channel that you have erected . The threads are fully adjustable inwards and outwards by leaving the lock nuts loose till it exactly in place . To effect different cavity widths , you can shorten the shaft .In this case the overall cavity is 140 mm on the bottom and opens out to 150 mm on the top at 900 mm high				shows a look into the back section of the channel after the installation and locked into place ready to accept the Slimline Supportclip to hold the bottom of the panel that is to be installed .The 12 mm shaft is installed so as to sit in the middle of the channel

shows the bottom horizontal channel with the Slimline Supportclip fixings installed onto it . These clips are fitted so as the top of the frame of the clip is level with the top of the channel and then the fitted panel to go onto this clip will finish in about the middle of the channel, as the position of the installation point is always 27 mm up from the bottom of the panel being installed (set by the Supportclip cutter ) . It also shows the horizontal channel to accommodate the top fixing of the first piece of ceramic tile in place . The position of the top of this panel is the exact distance above the panel below + the joint width and in this case , seeing the panels are 300 mm deep and the joint width is 3 mm = 303 mm . The top of this channel can vary a little bit in vertical measurement upwards when it is installed and it won’t effect the placement of the ceramic panel as it is primary there to screw the Supportclip base to , but the more accurate the better . When installing the vertical channels in this case , they were 415 mm apart , so the horizontal channels were fixed 92.5 mm from each end with the 12 mm shafts on the 600 mm long pieces of horizontal channel. The panels of ceramic were fixed onto the channel at 150 mm in from each end of the panel AND this then kept the fixing points of the vertical channel fixing and the supportclip fixing points in a separate alignment				shows the first installed ceramic panel and where it will be secured to the horizontal channel through the top parts of the Supportclip (predrill these holes prior to securing with the 12 gauge screw )

shows the next row of Trapezoid bases ( 2 off )installed in place ready to accept the next piece of channel to secure the next piece of ceramic tile to . These vertical channel would be all installed prior to the start of installation, to a layout to suit the panel lengths . The horizontal channel would be installed in lengths to suit the project , but both come in lengths of 6000 mm long . Placement of the vertical channel would be relevant to the size of the panels and their weight , but there is 2 needed / panel .Loadings for the system are in accordance with the loadings of the 12 mm StoneSub brackets minus the weight of the Aluminum channel / lin meter				shows a back view of the installed bottom and top horizontal channel supporting and restraining the bottom panel in place

shows the first 2 panels of ceramic installed . The bottom one is secured and the second one is in place to be screwed to the Aluminum channel .It shows the slight variance in horizontal height the channel can be installed at and still be in the right plane to accept fixing point of the Slimline Supportclip onto it .The bottom fixing point on the panel is where you install a silicone sealer in preference to an epoxy . This ensures movement of the panels in extreme situations instead of fracture if all rigidly held together				shows a view of the top of the fixing with the predrilled hole (4.5 mm ) to accept the countersunk screw to secure it to the channel

shows the level against the substrate and it is leaning inwards 10 mm in 1000 mm high				shows the level on the front face of the second installed panel –nice and plumb

shows the 3 panels installed and level and plumb . The top panel is yet to be secured with the screws				shows behind the finished façade . Showing the channel fitted onto the adjustable shafts and the fixings installed on the vertical channel

shows the cavity achieved =150 mm , which is made up of 10 mm thick tile , 5 mm thick Slimline Supportclip , 3 mm thickness in horizontal channel,89 mm for the shaft and back plate to the face of the 41 mm vertical channel =total of 150 mm . The panel weight for the 600 mm x 300 mm x 10 mm thick panel is 5 kgs and the channel weight is .4 kgs/ 600 mm long piece , so the total loading is 2.7 kgs/ clip @shaft length of 75 mm				shows a clean view behind the channel and the fixing screw from the Supportclip protruding . The positioning of the adjustable 12 mm brackets onto the vertical channel IS related to the size of the panels and the cavity they are going to be installed at . All of the panels would have their brackets installed prior to erection –a time of 12- 15 hrs is needed to give epoxies time to cure . 5 minute epoxies are good but are down on strength in relation to the 24 hr cure ones The load of the 50 mm x 25 mm x 3 mm thick channel is 750 grams/ lin meter and this adds to the load on the brackets supporting the panel–2 / panel. See chart for load capacity of the shafts . The cladding of the panels is covered by 2 separate sections — the 12 mm shaft load strength and the Slimline Supportclip carrying capacity when attached to the horizontal channel . The wind load capacities are stated on the chart and if panels are installed in situations above 10 mts high and a stated wind pressure of 2.53 kPa is exceeded , then extra installation of Supportclips are needed —side fixings ( lateral clips ) are necessary . The costing of the lightweight substructure / m2 when installing 1200mm x 600 mm x 9-12 mm thick Ceramic Panels ( up to 25 kgs) @a cavity of 60 mm –120 mm cladding area with a maximum loading/ clip of 13 kgs , using 3 Supportclip fixings/ panel is $53.00/ panel =$76.00/ m2 . The cost of of the lightweight substructure / m2 when installing 1200mm x 1000mm x 15 mm thick panels ( 50 kgs) @ a cavity 50 mm- 70 mm cladding area with a maximum loading/ clip of 17 kgs, using 3 Slimline Supportclips/ panel and 2 side fixing Supportclips/ panel = $70.00/ 1.2M2 PANEL =$ 56.00/ m2