GB2581179A

GB2581179A - Construction panel system with adaptable surface

Info

Publication number: GB2581179A
Application number: GB1901662.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Parsons Tristan
Original assignee: Sapphire Balconies Ltd
Current assignee: Sapphire Balconies Ltd
Priority date: 2019-02-06
Filing date: 2019-02-06
Publication date: 2020-08-12
Anticipated expiration: 2039-02-06
Also published as: WO2020161191A1; GB2581179B; GB201901662D0

Abstract

A constructional panel system includes at least one panel 50 and at least one facing element 60. The panel is an extruded metal panel having an upper region 52 and a lower region 54 covered by the upper region. The panel has a longitudinal extrusion direction Panda lateral direction L perpendicular to the longitudinal extrusion direction, wherein the lower region 54 is provided with at least two legs formed integrally with the panel, each leg extending longitudinally along the lower region of the panel and being for supporting the panel. The facing element 60 is removably attachable to cover at least part of the upper region of the panel. Also claimed is a method of installing and refurbishing the panels.

Description

CONSTRUCTION PANEL SYSTEM WITH ADAPTABLE SURFACE

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a construction panel system with an adaptable surface and to methods for installing and/or refurbishing construction panels. The invention relates particularly, although not exclusively, to construction panels such as decking and cladding, intended for use at the exterior of buildings.

Background

It is known to provide a balcony for a building in the form of a balcony cassette. The building is first constructed, typically leaving balcony attachment points at positions on the exterior of the building at which it is intended to affix balconies. Subsequently, balcony cassettes, assembled off site, are lifted into position and attached to the building at the balcony attachment points. The balcony cassettes typically have an arrangement of beams (also referred to as joists or rafters) which provide support for a balustrade, decking and soffits. It is the balustrade, decking and soffits which provide the balcony with its external appearance.

The decking of the balcony provides support to a user standing and walking on the balcony. It is necessary for the decking to be weather resistant and to provide a substantially continuous underfoot surface without substantial gaps and yet providing suitable grip. Furthermore, it is desirable for the decking to present an upper surface which is aesthetically pleasing, particularly where the building is to be used for residential accommodation. Previously, suitable decking for balconies has used plastics or engineered wood. Such materials are useful because they can be manufactured at low cost and can provide the benefits mentioned above. However, in the light of increased scrutiny of fire safety performance, it is necessary to consider the combustibility of such materials.

Building products are commonly expected to have a 60-year service life when they form part of the structure of a building, but many existing decking products would not meet this. In normal circumstances, a deck fitted at ground level or onto an existing level surface such as a flat roof presents little problem with replacing the products during the 60-year span. Balcony decks, however, present a safety issue with replacing the decking, as the process of removing the decking panels could put the operative at risk of falling from height.

Existing decking products can be affixed to the rafters of the balcony using screws through the decking panel and into the rafters. More elegant solutions use clips which attach to the rafters at gaps between adjacent decking panels and which thereby fasten the decking panels with respect to the rafters, and yet which are substantially hidden from sight when the decking is assembled and ready for use. However, such approaches result in relatively slow installation.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic partial cutaway view of a known balcony construction attached to a building. Note that the balcony would in reality have a balustrade (not shown). Floor slab 10 provides anchor points (not shown) for attachment of balcony beams 12, 14. Rafters 16 extend between the balcony beams, in this arrangement extending perpendicularly away from the building. The rafters support an arrangement of decking panels 18 extending substantially perpendicularly to the rafters. The decking panels are arranged in parallel and adjacent relation in order to provide a substantially continuous underfoot surface for a user to walk on. Panel clips 20 are provided on the rafters 16, the panel clips 20 being operable to hold the decking panels 18 with respect to the rafters 16.

Fig. 2 shows a partial schematic cross sectional view of two adjacent decking panels for use in the construction of Fig. 1. Panel clip 20 is attached to the upper surface of the rafter 16 and has a shank portion 22 and a head portion 24. Head portion 24 has a shape such that it can be inserted in one orientation into a gap between adjacent panels. Panels 18 have a side surface groove 26 to receive the head portion 24 when the clip is rotated from an insertion orientation to a fixing orientation. In this way, the clip 20 holds the panels 18 with respect to rafter 16 but remains out of sight in use, except on close inspection of the gap between adjacent panels. Fig. 2 includes some dimensional information, for context. Note that the decking panels 18 in Fig. 2 have an engineered wood construction. The upper surface has grooves formed in it, to provide drainage and grip. The lower surface has a rebate formed in it, to suppress warping of the panel in use.

As mentioned above, however, it is necessary to revisit the format of such decking in the light of the need for improved fire safety performance. The present invention has been devised in light of the above considerations.

Summary of the Invention

In view of the potential fire safety implications of plastics or engineered wood, the present inventors have devised an approach that allows the use of extruded metal panels in place of known plastics or engineered wood panels. The use of metal, such as aluminium, addresses the fire safety implications of plastics or engineered wood. The ease of extrusion forming of metals such as aluminium permits the manufacture of panels having a precise and uniform cross sectional shape.

The present inventors have realised that the general concepts of the present invention apply not only to decking panels but also to other constructional panels such as cladding panels. Accordingly, the general expression "constructional panels" is used sometimes in the disclosure below.

Extruded metal panels, such as aluminium panels, can provide suitable structural integrity exceeding 60 years. However, the surface finish of an extruded metal panel is likely to fail or wear out in that time. Although this does not necessarily imply a safety problem -the structural integrity of the panel and its fire safety should remain acceptable -the aesthetic appearance and possibly the grip provided by the surface is likely to degrade over extended periods of time. It is therefore desirable to be able to address this issue. However, if the panels are to be replaced in their entirety, the delivery of and installation of full rigid length panels would be costly and would entail significant health and safety considerations, particularly for elevated balconies. Furthermore, the removal and disposal of the existing (structurally sound) panels could be wasteful and costly.

Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a constructional panel system including at least one panel and at least one facing element, wherein the panel is an extruded metal panel having an upper region and a lower region covered by the upper region, wherein the panel has a longitudinal extrusion direction and a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal extrusion direction, wherein the lower region is provided with at least two legs formed integrally with the panel, each leg extending longitudinally along the lower region of the panel and being for supporting the panel, and wherein the facing element is removably attachable to cover at least part of the upper region of the panel.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method of installing construction panels, including the steps: providing a constructional panel system including at least one panel and at least one facing element, wherein the panel is an extruded metal panel having an upper region and a lower region covered by the upper region, wherein the panel has a longitudinal extrusion direction and a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal extrusion direction, wherein the lower region is provided with at least two legs formed integrally with the panel, each leg extending longitudinally along the lower region of the panel and being for supporting the panel; attaching the panel to a support member on a building via the legs of the panel; and attaching the facing element to the panel to cover at least part of the upper region of the panel, the facing element being subsequently removable.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method of refurbishing construction panels, including the steps: providing a constructional panel system including at least one panel and at least one facing element, wherein the panel is an extruded metal panel having an upper region and a lower region covered by the upper region, wherein the panel has a longitudinal extrusion direction and a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal extrusion direction, wherein the lower region is provided with at least two legs formed integrally with the panel, each leg extending longitudinally along the lower region of the panel and being for supporting the panel; and in a state in which the panel is already attached to a support member on a building via the legs of the panel, attaching the facing element to the panel to cover at least part of the upper region of the panel, the facing element being subsequently removable.

In this manner, the facing element, initially a separate part of the system, can be selected and used to provide the upper surface of the panel, without significantly affecting the structural integrity of the panel.

The constructional panel system may include a plurality of panels and a plurality of respective facing elements. In use, the panels may be installed adjacent and parallel to each other. For example, in such an arrangement, there may be a lateral gap between adjacent panels. However, preferably, this gap is not more than 1 cm.

The panel may be a cladding panel. However, in preferred embodiments, the panel may be decking panel. Of particular interest are decking panels for balconies.

The facing element is not intended to provide significant structural integrity to the panel compared with the panel alone. Instead, the intention of the facing element is to provide a user-visible surface (designated here as the "upper surface") when installed on the panel. The ease of installation, removal and replacement of the facing element therefore provides a means to refresh the appearance of the panel, without the need to remove and replace the entire panel. Such refreshing of the appearance may be necessary in order to deal with scratches, wearing and/or weathering on the panel. Furthermore, at least in the case where the panel is a decking panel, the intention is to provide a surface that presents to the user a secure and substantially non-slip underfoot surface for walking on. Such characteristics of a decking panel may degrade over time due to wearing and/or weathering, and so refreshing the panel using the facing element provides an easy solution to this problem.

It is also of interest to allow the user to select specific features of the facing element according to requirements and/or taste. Accordingly, there may be provided a selection of available facing elements for the panel, these differing in terms of the pattern, image or ornamentation presented at their upper surface. The available facing elements may additionally or alternatively differ in terms of their texture presented at their upper surface. This is of interest for aesthetic reasons, for example, but is also of interest in order to provide a suitable non-slip surface for a user to walk on. Going further, the facing element may even provide a carpet-like upper surface. Alternatively, the facing element may provide an artificial grass upper surface, in order to give a balcony a lawn-like impression.

The facing element may attach to the panel by mechanical cooperation. For example, the panel may be provided with longitudinally extending features that cooperate with corresponding longitudinally extending fasteners on the facing element.

In one embodiment, the upper region of the panel has a longitudinally extending upwardly-facing channel. The channel may be bounded laterally by upstanding longitudinal extensions. The facing element is then dimensioned to fit into the channel so that the upper surface of the facing element is flush with the upstanding longitudinal extensions. The channel may extend laterally under the upstanding longitudinal extensions in order to provide a recess under one or each upstanding longitudinal extensions. In order to cooperate with this recess, the facing element may have a fastener at a lower region of the facing element, the fastener being shaped to be received and retained in the recess. In this manner, the facing element can be clipped into the panel.

In another embodiment, there is provided a longitudinally extending groove at a lateral surface of the panel. The facing element has one or more fasteners at a lateral side of the facing element, adapted to clip into the groove and thereby retain the facing element with respect to the panel. In this embodiment, it is not necessary for the panel to have upstanding longitudinal extensions, with the effect that the facing element can extend across the full lateral width of the panel and thereby provide a complete covering to the upper region of the panel.

As will be understood, the panel typically has a flat configuration. It is therefore typical for the upper surface of the facing element to have an installed configuration that is correspondingly flat, notwithstanding the surface texture features that the facing element may have. However, it is advantageous for the facing element to have a different transport configuration. For transport of the facing element (or for storage of the facing element), it is of interest for the facing element to be provided in a roll. Typically, the circumferential direction of the roll corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the facing element when unrolled for the installed configuration.

In order to provide such a transport configuration, it is necessary to consider the rollability of features of the facing element. The upper surface of the facing element may be provided by one surface of a plate region of the facing element. Rolling of such a plate region is straightforward. However, the fasteners of the facing element present a further challenge to rollability. Therefore it is desirable to use fasteners that are capable of rolling up with the plate region and unrolling ready for redeployment.

In some embodiments, the fasteners have a bi-stable functionality. In the transport configuration, the fasteners may therefore roll with the plate region in a first stable configuration. When unrolled for deployment, the fasteners may then "snap" into a second stable configuration, for attachment to the panel.

In one embodiment, the fasteners may be provided by a metal strip attached to the plate region, the metal strip having the first stable configuration when rolled and the second stable configuration when unrolled, the second stable configuration having a curvature in a direction substantially parallel to the lateral direction of the facing element. This curvature of the fasteners has the effect of reinforcing the facing element against returning to the rolled configuration. The curvature of the fasteners allows them to project away from the plate region of the facing element. Such fasteners can engage with the recesses formed under the upstanding longitudinal extensions, described above. In effect, this allows the fasteners to clip in to the upper region of the panel, against the urging provided by the curvature of the fasteners.

Such fasteners can be formed using a spring steel band, for example.

In another embodiment, the fasteners may be provided by castellated projections from the lateral sides of the facing element. When deployed for attachment to the panel, the projections project away from the plate region of the facing element, to clip into the longitudinally extending groove at a lateral surface of the panel, described above. The purpose of the castellation (i.e. gaps formed between adjacent projections) is to allow the facing element to be rolled up. The castellafion allows the projections to move relative to each other in order to accommodate the rolled configuration of the facing element.

The invention includes any combination of the aspects and/or preferred features described except where such a combination is clearly impermissible or expressly avoided.

Summary of the Figures

Embodiments and experiments illustrating the principles of the invention will now be discussed with reference to the accompanying figures in which: Fig. 1 shows a schematic partial cutaway view of a known balcony construction.

Fig. 2 shows a partial schematic cross sectional view of two adjacent decking panels for use in the construction of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic partial perspective view of a decking panel for use in an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic cross sectional view of the decking panel of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic perspective view of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic perspective view of another system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention Aspects and embodiments of the present invention will now be discussed with reference to the accompanying figures. Further aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention provide improvements to existing decking panel systems. However, it will be apparent that the present invention may be embodied in other constructional panel systems, such as those used for attaching cladding panels to buildings. Such cladding panels are typically attached to be upright rather than horizontal.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic partial perspective view of a decking panel for use in an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 4 shows a schematic cross sectional view of the decking panel of Fig. 3. The decking panel 18a is an extruded aluminium product. Extrusion of metals such as aluminium is a well known process in which a feedstock metal is pushed through a die of a specified shape corresponding to the cross section of the extruded product.

As shown in Fig. 4, decking panel 18a has upper region 30. Upper region 30 provides an upper surface (intended to be walked on by users) with an arrangement of longitudinal grooves 34 to provide grip and to assist with drainage. Decking panel 18a also has lower region 32. Lower region 32 is covered by upper region 30 and so when the decking panel is installed, the lower region is typically out of sight.

The decking panel has a principal axis P corresponding to a longitudinal extrusion direction, evident from Fig. 3. The decking panel has a lateral direction L, perpendicular to the principal axis P. Lower region 32 is provided with an arrangement of legs formed integrally with the panel. Each leg extends longitudinally along the lower region of the panel. In Figs. 3 and 4, there are central legs 36 and side legs 38. These each comprise a foot portion 42, for contact with a support member (e.g. rafter -not shown) and a web portion 40 linking the foot portion to the upper region 30.

The legs 36, 38 are laterally (i.e. in direction L) elastically displaceable with respect to the upper region of the panel. This is possible primarily due to the construction of the web portions 40 as relatively thin. It is the elastic displacement of the legs that permits the panel to be affixed with respect to the support member using a clip (or clips). Suitable clips (not shown) can be attached with respect to the support member and the panel pressed onto the clips to allow engagement between the legs and the clips to secure the panel with respect to the support member.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic perspective view of a system according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 6 shows a schematic perspective view of another system according to an embodiment of the invention. These embodiments will now be described in further detail.

In Fig. 5, decking panel 50 is an extruded metal panel having an upper region 52 and a lower region 54 covered by the upper region 52. The panel has a longitudinal extrusion direction P and a lateral direction L perpendicular to the longitudinal extrusion direction P. The lower region 54 is provided with (in this embodiment) four legs 56 formed integrally with the panel. Each leg 56 extends longitudinally along the lower region 54 of the panel and supports the panel with respect to a support member (not shown) such as a rafter of a balcony. The panel has a facing element 60 which is removably attachable to cover at least part of the upper region 52 of the panel 50.

In use, it is intended that the panel 50 (without facing element 60) is attached to a support member on a building via the legs of the panel. Subsequently, the facing element 60 is attached to the panel to cover at least part of the upper region 52 of the panel 50. In some embodiments, it is intended that the facing element is subsequently removable.

It is possible to implement an embodiment of the invention to refurbish construction panels. In this case, the panel is already attached to a support member on a building via the legs of the panel. A facing element may be attached to the panel to cover at least part of the upper region of the panel. In some embodiments, it is intended that the facing element is subsequently removable. Where present, a previous facing element may first be removed from the upper region of the panel. In this manner, the facing element, initially a separate part of the system, can be selected and used to provide the upper surface of the panel (optionally replacing a previous facing element), without significantly affecting the structural integrity of the panel.

It is intended that the constructional panel system includes a plurality of panels and a plurality of respective facing elements. In use, the panels may be installed adjacent and parallel to each other. For example, in such an arrangement, there may be a lateral gap of about 6 mm (typically in the range 4-7 mm) between adjacent panels.

In the embodiments described here, the panel is decking panel such as for a balcony.

The facing element 60 is not intended to provide significant structural integrity to the panel compared with the panel 50 alone. Instead, the intention of the facing element is to provide a user-visible surface (designated here as the "upper surface" 62) when installed on the panel. The ease of installation, removal and replacement of the facing element therefore provides a means to refresh the appearance of the panel, without the need to remove and replace the entire panel. Such refreshing of the appearance may be necessary in order to deal with scratches, wearing and/or weathering on the panel. Furthermore, at least in the case where the panel is a decking panel, the intention is to provide a surface that presents to the user a secure and substantially non-slip underfoot surface for walking on. Such characteristics of a decking panel may degrade over time due to wearing and/or weathering, and so refreshing the panel using the facing element provides an easy solution to this problem.

The facing element 60 attaches to the panel 50 by mechanical cooperation. As shown in Fig. 5, the upper region 52 of the panel 50 has a longitudinally extending upwardly-facing channel 70. The channel 70 is bounded laterally by upstanding longitudinal extensions 72, 74. The facing element is then dimensioned to fit into the channel so that the upper surface 62 of the facing element is flush with the upstanding longitudinal extensions 74. The channel 70 extends laterally under the upstanding longitudinal extensions 72, 74 in order to provide a recess 76, 78 under each upstanding longitudinal extension 72, 74. In order to cooperate with this recess, the facing element 60 has a fastener 80, 82 at a lower region of the facing element. The fastener 80, 82 is shaped to be received and retained in the recess 76, 78. In this manner, the facing element can be clipped into the panel, by sliding along direction P. In the alternative embodiment shown in Fig. 6, there is provided a longitudinally extending groove 90 at a lateral surface 55 of the panel 50a. The facing element 60a has fasteners 94 at lateral sides of the facing element, adapted to clip into the groove 90 and thereby retain the facing element with respect to the panel. In this embodiment, it is not necessary for the panel to have upstanding longitudinal extensions, with the effect that the facing element 60a can extend across the full lateral width of the panel 50a and thereby provide a complete covering to the upper region of the panel.

As will be understood, in each of these embodiments, the panel has a flat configuration. It is therefore typical for the upper surface 62 of the facing element to have an installed configuration that is correspondingly flat, notwithstanding the surface texture features that the facing element may have.

However, it is advantageous for the facing element to have a different transport configuration. For transport of the facing element (or for storage of the facing element), it is of interest for the facing element to be provided in a roll. This is shown schematically in Figs. 5 and 6, in which the facing elements are shown in partially unrolled form. The circumferential direction of the roll corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the facing element when unrolled for the installed configuration.

In order to provide such a transport configuration, it is necessary to consider the rollability of features of the facing element. The upper surface 62, 62a of the facing element 60, 60a is provided by one surface of a plate region 63, 63a of the facing element. Rolling of such a plate region is straightforward. However, the fasteners of the facing element present a further challenge to rollability. Therefore it is desirable to use fasteners that are capable of rolling up with the plate region and unrolling ready for redeployment.

In the described embodiments, the fasteners have a bi-stable functionality. In the transport configuration, the fasteners therefore roll with the plate region in a first stable configuration. When unrolled for deployment, the fasteners then "snap" into a second stable configuration, for attachment to the panel.

In the embodiment of Fig. 5, the fasteners 80, 82 are provided by a metal strip attached to the plate region, the metal strip having the first stable configuration when rolled and the second stable configuration when unrolled. The second stable configuration has a curvature in a direction parallel to the lateral direction L of the facing element. This curvature of the fasteners has the effect of reinforcing the facing element against returning to the rolled configuration. The curvature of the fasteners allows them to project away from the plate region 63 of the facing element 60. The fasteners engage with the recesses 76,78 formed under the upstanding longitudinal extensions 72, 74, described above. In effect, this allows the fasteners to clip in to the upper region of the panel, against the urging provided by the curvature of the fasteners. Such fasteners can be formed using a spring steel band, for example.

In the embodiment of Fig. 6, the fasteners are provided by castellated projections 95 from the lateral sides of the facing element 60a. When deployed for attachment to the panel, the projections project away from the plate region 63a of the facing element, to clip into the longitudinally extending groove 90 at the lateral surface of the panel, described above. The purpose of the castellation (i.e. gaps formed between adjacent projections 95) is to allow the facing element to be rolled up. The castellation allows the projections 95 to move relative to each other in order to accommodate the rolled configuration of the facing element 60a. * ;The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or in the following claims, or in the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for obtaining the disclosed results, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof. ;While the invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments described above, many equivalent modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art when given this disclosure. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention set forth above are considered to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. ;For the avoidance of any doubt, any theoretical explanations provided herein are provided for the purposes of improving the understanding of a reader. The inventors do not wish to be bound by any of these theoretical explanations. ;Any section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described. ;Throughout this specification, including the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise" and "include", and variations such as "comprises", "comprising", and "including" will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. ;It must be noted that, as used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from "about" one particular value, and/or to "about" another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by the use of the antecedent "about," it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. The term "about" in relation to a numerical value is optional and means for example +/-10%. *

Claims

Claims: 1. A constructional panel system including at least one panel and at least one facing element, wherein the panel is an extruded metal panel having an upper region and a lower region covered by the upper region, wherein the panel has a longitudinal extrusion direction and a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal extrusion direction, wherein the lower region is provided with at least two legs formed integrally with the panel, each leg extending longitudinally along the lower region of the panel and being for supporting the panel, and wherein the facing element is removably attachable to cover at least part of the upper region of the panel.
2. A constructional panel system according to claim 1, including a plurality of panels and a plurality of respective facing elements, the panels being for installation adjacent and parallel to each other.
3. A constructional panel system according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the panel is a decking panel.
4. A constructional panel system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the facing element provides a user-visible upper surface when installed on the panel.
5. A constructional panel system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the facing element attaches to the panel by mechanical cooperation.
6. A constructional panel system according to claim 5 wherein the panel is provided with longitudinally extending features that cooperate with corresponding longitudinally extending fasteners on the facing element.
7. A constructional panel system according to claim 6 wherein the upper region of the panel has a longitudinally extending upwardly-facing channel bounded laterally by upstanding longitudinal extensions, the facing element being dimensioned to fit into the channel so that the upper surface of the facing element is flush with the upstanding longitudinal extensions, the channel extending laterally under the upstanding longitudinal extensions in order to provide a recess under one or each upstanding longitudinal extensions, the facing element having a fastener at a lower region of the facing element, the fastener being shaped to be received and retained in the recess, so that the facing element is capable of being clipped into the panel.
8. A constructional panel system according to claim 5 wherein the panel is provided with a longitudinally extending groove at a lateral surface of the panel, the facing element having one or more fasteners at a lateral side of the facing element, adapted to clip into the groove and thereby retain the facing element with respect to the panel.
9. A method of installing construction panels, including the steps: providing a constructional panel system including at least one panel and at least one facing element, wherein the panel is an extruded metal panel having an upper region and a lower region covered by the upper region, wherein the panel has a longitudinal extrusion direction and a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal extrusion direction, wherein the lower region is provided with at least two legs formed integrally with the panel, each leg extending longitudinally along the lower region of the panel and being for supporting the panel; attaching the panel to a support member on a building via the legs of the panel; and attaching the facing element to the panel to cover at least part of the upper region of the panel, the facing element being subsequently removable.
10. A method of refurbishing construction panels, including the steps: providing a constructional panel system including at least one panel and at least one facing element, wherein the panel is an extruded metal panel having an upper region and a lower region covered by the upper region, wherein the panel has a longitudinal extrusion direction and a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal extrusion direction, wherein the lower region is provided with at least two legs formed integrally with the panel, each leg extending longitudinally along the lower region of the panel and being for supporting the panel; and in a state in which the panel is already attached to a support member on a building via the legs of the panel, attaching the facing element to the panel to cover at least part of the upper region of the panel, the facing element being subsequently removable.
11. A method according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the facing element has an installed configuration in which the upper surface of the facing element is flat, and the facing element has a transport configuration in which the facing element is rolled.
12. A method according to claim 11 wherein the panel is provided with longitudinally extending features that cooperate with corresponding longitudinally extending fasteners on the facing element and the fasteners have a bi-stable functionality so that in the transport configuration, the fasteners roll in a first stable configuration and when unrolled for deployment, the fasteners snap into a second stable configuration, for attachment to the panel.