Dri-Design Bellara

Bellara is a steel siding system in the Dri-Design range that reproduces the look of wood planks on prefinished galvanized steel. The system is supplied by Vicwest, a Dri-Design sister company, and the Bellara Plank is the Vicwest basis-of-design product. It is a single-skin, concealed-fastener metal siding and can also be used as soffit. Planks can be installed vertically or horizontally.

Bellara belongs to the Bellara architectural wall systems family and is applied to commercial buildings.

Bellara Plank is made in three widths, all 12 feet (3657.6 mm) long. Each plank has a 15.5 mm (0.61 inch) profile height.

• BEL90: coverage width 92.6 mm (3.64 inches); total profile size 142.8 mm by 15.5 mm (5.62 by 0.61 inches); 12 pieces per carton
• BEL135: coverage width 135.5 mm (5.34 inches); total profile size 185.7 mm by 15.5 mm (7.31 by 0.61 inches); 10 pieces per carton
• BEL200: coverage width 199 mm (7.84 inches); total profile size 249.2 mm by 15.5 mm (9.81 by 0.61 inches); 8 pieces per carton

BEL135 is also available with a shop-applied, pre-punched perforated pattern of 3.175 mm by 12.7 mm (0.125 by 0.5 inch) holes at 19.05 mm (0.75 inch) spacing.

The product brochure illustrates a plank that covers 5 1/4 inches by 12 feet and has a 5/8-inch architectural profile. The profile drawing gives 0.59 inch (15 mm), 5 1/4 inches (133.35 mm), 7.26 inches (184.4 mm) and a 96 degree angle.

The substrate is zinc-coated (galvanized) sheet steel to ASTM A653/A653M, with a minimum metallic coating designation of Z275 (G90). Nominal steel thickness is 0.47 mm (26 gauge) or 0.59 mm (24 gauge). Panel weight is approximately one pound per square foot.

Trim and flashing are 0.47 mm (26 gauge) material, finished to match the siding.

The 26-gauge Expressence build-up has these layers:

• Corrosion-resistant, paint-adhering pre-treatment
• G90 zinc coating on both faces of the steel
• Corrosion-resistant protective backer coat
• Expressence Fluroprime basecoat
• Expressence Fluropon decorative ink
• Expressence Fluropon low-sheen clearcoat

The coating includes Kynar 70% PVDF resin and FEVE and contains no VOCs. Bellara meets AAMA 2605 for color retention, chalk resistance, erosion resistance, salt spray, humidity and warranty. The sheet is evaluated as non-combustible to CAN/ULC S114. The panels are 100% recyclable.

Wood-grain finishes use Sherwin Williams Expressence in PVDF or silicone modified polyester coatings. Imagery is taken from real boards with high-resolution imaging and etched onto copper plates before being coil coated onto the steel. Each carton holds five different plank patterns, and each wood finish contains a minimum of four pattern variations in different shades.

• Rosewood, a smooth planed-wood grain: Warm Rosewood 18-3271 and Dark Rosewood 18-3280
• Barnboard, with knots and reclaimed-plank grain: Brindle Barnboard 18-3277, Smoked Barnboard 18-3275 and Obsidian Barnboard 18-3273
• Circle Sawn, a rough fresh-sawn texture: Whitewashed Circle Sawn 18-3269 and Charred Circle Sawn 18-3267
• Classic Woods, simple wood grains: Deep Walnut 18-2768, Mountain Cedar 18-2772, River Rock Gray 18-2770 and Natural Maple 18-2991

Two solid-color lines use Sherwin Williams Weather XL silicone modified polyester. Signature Matte has a subtle texture with a muted, low-sheen look, in Ebony 9822, Graphite 9821 and Espresso 10276. Signature is a neutral palette of Cambridge White 56161, Regent Gray 56082 and Stone Gray 56071.

The finish is applied to the roll-formed locking mechanisms, so the side and bottom locks close without a gap in color or grain. The planks snap together and the fasteners are hidden.

The fastening track has slots of 4.76 mm by 16 mm (3/16 by 5/8 inch) at 51 mm (2 inch) spacing, which allows for thermal expansion and adjustment during construction. Fasteners are #10 self-drilling pancake head screws into steel subgirts and #10 fully threaded self-tapping pancake head screws into wood supports. Screws pass at least 9.5 mm (3/8 inch) below a wood substrate or at least three threads past steel. Subgirts are galvanized sheet steel of minimum 1.21 mm (0.048 inch) to ASTM A653 Grade 230 (Grade 33) with Z275 (G90) coating, made in 3048 mm (10 foot) lengths.

Color-matched trims are offered:

• Inside Corner TM01-301 and Outside Corner TM04-304
• Drip Edge TM22-322 and Conversion Molding TM15-315
• J-Trim TMMLD-313 and 2-piece J-Trim TMMLD-350A and TMMLD-350B
• Perforated Rodent Starter Strip TMMLD-351 and Starter Strip TMMLD-352
• Partition Molding TM21-321, Universal Starter TMMLD-USTART and Z-58 Support Trim TMMLD-Z58

The system is designed to CAN/CSA S136 or ANSI/AISI S100, with wind deflection not exceeding L/180 of the siding span. The reference standards are ASTM A653/A653M, CAN/CSA S136, ANSI/AISI S100, CSSBI 20M, CSSBI 23M, ASTM E1592, ASTM A370, ASTM E8 and CAN/ULC-S135. Installation tolerance is a maximum variation from plane of 3 mm in 10 m of length, and a maximum offset of 1 mm (0.039 inch) between adjacent members.

A 40-year warranty is listed for Bellara. For Weather XL finishes, the coating will not chip, crack, peel or lose adhesion for 40 years from the date of purchase. Chalk will not exceed a rating of 8 by ASTM D4214 Method D659, and color change will not exceed 5.0 Hunter delta E by ASTM D-2244, for 30 years from installation. For Expressence print finishes, the coating will not show cracking, chipping or peeling that is apparent on ordinary outdoor observation for 40 years from installation, chalk will not exceed a rating of 8 for 30 years, and the print coat remains intact and distinguishable for 20 years. Minute fracturing in fabrication and failure due to substrate corrosion are not covered.