CDC Curtainwall Design Consulting Inc. used more than 50,000 self-drilling, self-tapping screws to hold 200-lb slabs of Sardinian granite onto the exterior of Miami’s 570,000-sf Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, designed by architectural firm Pelli Clarke Pelli. Six DrilFlex selectively hardened fasteners from Elco Construction Products were used to hold each of the 2.5x4-ft stone slabs. According to the cladding consultant, the use of dissimilar metals in the project could have led to hydrogen-assisted stress corrosion cracking (HASCC) of standard self-drilling screws, which can cause the heads of even code-approved fasteners to pop off. According to the manufacturer, Elco’s selectively hardened fasteners resist HASCC at the molecular level and have a corrosion-preventive coating to prevent galvanic reaction. “Corrosion protection is a requirement for long-term structural integrity of the stone anchor,” said CDC senior project manager Tom Wallace. For a technical note on selectively hardened and bi-metallic fasteners, go to www.BDCnetwork.com/fasteners. Elco Construction Products
Dual heat-treated alloy steel screws hold granite cladding in arts center
