BEYOND THE FACADE | PART 3: Is your coating performing as specified?
Measuring what protects the building envelope
Protecting the building envelope is paramount. When a facade leaves the factory, its coating is more than a finish - it is a technical specification. It is a defined barrier against corrosion, UV degradation, and weathering, with a thickness that has been engineered to meet industry standards and project requirements. But once that facade is installed and in service, how do you know the coating is still doing its job?
At Henriksen Studio, we have invested in precision coating measurement capabilities - because we believe that verifying coating performance is as important as verifying structural performance.
Why coating thickness matters
For both aluminium and steel facades, coating thickness is a critical quality indicator. Coatings that are too thin may fail to protect against corrosion, particularly in exposed or coastal environments. Coatings that are excessively thick can be prone to cracking, adhesion failure, or may not comply with the relevant specification.
Industry guidelines set clear benchmarks:
Steel facades: paint and lacquer coatings must meet minimum dry film thickness requirements as defined under relevant ISO and EN standards, with additional requirements for primer and topcoat layers where specified.
Aluminium facades: powder-coated finishes are typically required to meet a minimum total film thickness (commonly 60 microns or greater), and anodised layers are assessed against class requirements for coating weight and minimum local thickness.
Ensuring these thresholds are met is not simply a matter of quality control - it has direct implications for warranty validity, long-term durability, and the longevity of the building's envelope.
How we measure the coating of your facade
We use a dual-method coating thickness gauge capable of performing both amplitude-sensitive eddy current measurement and magnetic inductive measurement.
This makes the tool highly versatile, allowing us to assess a wide range of substrate and coating combinations:
ISO on NF (non-ferrous): paint, lacquer, or plastic coatings on aluminium, copper, or copper alloy substrates
ISO on NF: anodised layers on aluminium
ISO on FE (ferrous): paint, lacquer, or plastic coatings on iron or steel substrates
NFE on FE: non-ferrous metallic coatings (such as zinc, chromium, or copper) applied to iron or steel.
The instrument delivers rapid, non-destructive readings directly on-site or on samples received for inspection - meaning no damage to the surface and no need to cut away sections of the finished product.
What this means in practice
By incorporating coating measurement into our facade assessments, we are able to provide clients and project teams with objective, data-backed evidence of coating compliance.
This is particularly valuable at key stages of a project:
Pre-installation inspection: confirming that coated panels delivered to site meet specification before they are fixed in position.
Quality assurance reviews: supporting factory witness inspections or third-party auditing of coating application processes.
Post-installation verification: assessing existing facade coatings as part of condition surveys, maintenance planning, or due-diligence reports on existing buildings.
Dispute resolution: providing independent measurement data where coating performance is in question.
Built for longevity
Facades are long-term assets. A well-specified and correctly applied coating can protect a building's envelope for decades; a coating that falls short of specification may require costly remediation within just a few years. Investing in the right measurement and verification at the right time is one of the most effective ways to protect a client's investment and ensure the building performs as intended throughout its design life.
At Henriksen Studio, our coating measurement capability sits alongside our broader facade engineering and inspection services - giving clients a single point of technical expertise across the full life of their building. Whether you are specifying a new development, assessing an existing asset, or managing a dispute, we can provide the measurement evidence you need with the technical authority to interpret it.
To find out more about our facade assessment services, get in touch with the team at Henriksen Studio.
