Facade Engineering

Facade Engineering
That Gets Signed Off

Balustrade, curtain wall, window and stone cladding design and certification — plus NCC Performance Solutions for external cladding systems that fall outside the Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions. Registered Design Practitioner DEP0001529 (Facade).

Request a Facade Review 0434 283 703
DEP0001529 Registered Design Practitioner — Facade
DEP0001529 Registered Design Practitioner (Facade)
Modern apartment facade with composite cladding, balustrades and curtain wall Facade DPP & CPEng
Why It Matters

Facade Compliance Is Where Most NSW Projects Get Stuck

Facade work crosses three of the trickiest NCC clauses (F3, B1, C2), three Standards (AS 1288, AS 4284, AS 5146.3), the F3V1a risk assessment table and the DBPA design declaration regime. Getting any of them wrong stops construction. Here's the failure pattern we keep cleaning up.

Cladding Outside DtS, No PS Pathway

An architect specifies a cladding system that doesn't have a CodeMark certificate or a clear Deemed-to-Satisfy pathway. The certifier flags it, work stops, and someone scrambles to engage a Performance Solution engineer at the eleventh hour. We document the PS pre-construction so the certifier never raises the flag.

Balustrade Certificates Without Proper Calcs

Generic balustrade certificates with no AS 1170.1 line-load calculation, no glass design to AS 1288, no fixing capacity check. Certifiers are increasingly rejecting these — and they should.

Wind Pressures Pulled From the Wrong Place

Cladding zone pressures used for everything, ignoring the Kl local pressure multiplier for windward edges (Kl=1.5) and side edges (Kl=2.0). Cladding rated to 2.5 kPa, actual peak local pressure 3.8 kPa. Reads compliant on paper, fails in service.

What We Design & Certify

Facade Engineering Services

Comprehensive facade engineering covering everything from a single balustrade certificate to a full Performance Solution report for a 12-storey apartment building.

External Cladding & Performance Solutions

NCC Performance Solutions for external cladding systems that fall outside the Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions — under the A2G2 Expert Judgement pathway, with F3V1a risk assessment and project-specific wind pressures.

  • Composite, fibre cement, stone and AAC panel PS
  • F3V1a weatherproofing risk assessment
  • CodeMark verification against project conditions
  • DBPA-compliant design declaration

Curtain Wall & Window Wall Certification

Structural and weatherproofing certification of unitised and stick-built curtain wall systems to AS 4284 — including SLS deflection limits, ULS structural capacity and water-penetration test verification.

  • Unitised & stick-built curtain walls
  • AS 4284 / AS 2047 verification
  • Deflection & structural sizing
  • Water-penetration test witnessing

Window & Sliding Door Certification

Compliance certification of glazed window and sliding door systems — wind loading to AS 1170.2, glass selection to AS 1288, water penetration to AS 2047, and Performance Solutions for windows in wet areas.

  • AS 1288 glass design
  • AS 2047 wind & water rating verification
  • Sliding door selection & sizing
  • Wet-area window Performance Solutions

Balustrade Design & Certification

Balustrade design and certification to NCC D2.16, AS 1170.1 line loading and AS 1288 glass — for residential, commercial, podiums, balconies and pool surrounds.

  • Glass, post-and-rail, framed & frameless
  • Line load & point load verification
  • Fixing capacity to AS 5216
  • Pool fencing compliance to AS 1926.1

Stone Cladding Engineering

Mechanical fixing design, substrate verification and seismic restraint design for natural stone, engineered stone and porcelain panel cladding systems — with project-specific wind and seismic loading.

  • Natural stone & engineered panels
  • Mechanical kerf, undercut anchor & back-fixed systems
  • Restraint & seismic load design
  • Substrate & structural backing verification

Facade Audits & Compliance Reviews

Independent facade audits of existing buildings — cladding combustibility review, weatherproofing performance assessment, remediation strategy development for legacy stock.

  • Combustible cladding identification
  • Cladding Product Safety Panel (CPSP) reviews
  • Weatherproofing risk assessment
  • Remediation specification & cost-banding
Our Process

How We Work

From the first set of architectural drawings to the final design declaration — a clear, staged engineering process.

1

Brief & Scope

Tell us about the project. We'll review the documentation, define a fixed-fee scope of works and turn around a quote — usually within 24 hours.

2

Engineering Work

Our engineers carry out the design, calculation, inspection or assessment to the relevant Australian Standards, NCC provisions and project-specific requirements.

3

Report & Documentation

We deliver clear, signed engineering documentation — drawings, specifications, compliance certificates or reports — built to satisfy certifiers, councils, insurers and the courts.

4

Ongoing Support

Construction support, certifier RFIs, site inspections, post-issue revisions — we stay engaged through to project completion, not just until the document is issued.

Real Projects

Selected Facade Projects

A snapshot of the kinds of facade engineering we deliver across NSW, VIC and QLD.

Circular Quay high-rise unitised curtain wall facade Curtain Wall · CBD Sydney

12-Storey Unitised Curtain Wall — Sign-Off in 9 Working Days

A developer's curtain wall sub-contractor needed structural and weatherproofing sign-off on a unitised system for a CBD office redevelopment. The original engineer's package had AS 4284 test data missing for the head-jamb interface. We picked up the package, ran the gap analysis, and worked with the manufacturer to obtain the missing CWCT-equivalent test data — all without re-mobilising the test rig.

Sign-off issued in 9 working days, project handover not delayed. Certifier accepted the chain-of-evidence approach.
Royal Prince Alfred hospital facade Performance Solution review Performance Solution · Healthcare

BASROC Mineral Wool ETICS Cladding PS for Healthcare

A healthcare-fitout architect specified a BASROC mineral wool ETICS render system for a non-DtS facade scope. The certifier asked for an A2G2 Performance Solution covering F3P1 weatherproofing. We worked the system through F3V1a, verified the project ULS wind pressures (including local Kl) sat under the CodeMark CM70139 Rev 3 limit, and issued the PS report against the cert's three conditions.

PS report issued, certifier accepted, project proceeded to construction without spec substitution.
Vaucluse waterfront residence frameless glass balustrade Balustrade · Vaucluse

Frameless Glass Balustrade for Cliffside Residence

A Vaucluse cliffside residence required a 24 m run of frameless glass balustrade — exposed C2 wind class, no top rail per the architect's brief. We sized the glass to AS 1288 with full impact loading, designed the embedded shoe channel for the AS 1170.1 line load, and verified fixing capacity into the suspended slab below.

Compliant frameless design issued. Builder used our detail set as the construction documentation directly.
St Ives stone clad apartment facade Stone Cladding · St Ives

Engineered Stone Veneer System — Sub-Frame & Restraint Design

A high-end apartment build adopted a 30 mm engineered stone veneer panel on a sub-frame — outside the manufacturer's DtS substrate scope. We designed the sub-frame, restraint locations, and seismic ties for the project's wind and earthquake actions, with bond-strength verification testing on site.

System installed, witnessed pull-tests confirmed design assumptions, OC issued without re-work.
Who We Help

Facade Engineering for Every Stakeholder

From owner-builders doing one balustrade to developers delivering 200-unit facade packages.

Owners Corporations & Strata Managers

Common property scopes, capital works planning, defect investigations and compliance certification for Class 2 buildings.

Builders & Developers

Design declarations, Performance Solutions, certification packages and staged inspections — built to satisfy the certifier on the first submission.

Architects & Consultants

Specialist engineering input on facade, waterproofing and structural elements where Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions don't apply.

Homeowners & Investors

Practical engineering advice on renovations, defects and pre-purchase risk assessments — translated out of jargon.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

When do I need a Performance Solution for facade cladding?

Any time the cladding system you've specified can't be matched to a Deemed-to-Satisfy provision in NCC Vol 1 (typically F3D5, AS 3700, AS 4773, AS 5146.3 for AAC, or a current CodeMark certificate). Common triggers: HardieTex blueboard render, BASROC mineral wool, render-on-FC, Equitone NV3, non-CodeMark composite panels. If unsure, send us the proposed system and we'll confirm in writing within 24 hours.

Do you issue DBPA design declarations for facade work?

Yes. Jimmy Tran is a Registered Design Practitioner under DEP0001529 in the Facade Engineering class. We lodge declarations directly via the NSW Planning Portal — for full PS reports, curtain wall packages, balustrade certificates and stone cladding systems.

How do you calculate wind pressures for facade design?

We use the AS 1170.2 site-specific wind procedure (V_R for the regional speed, multipliers M_d / M_z,cat / M_s / M_t), and crucially apply the local pressure factor Kl from Table 5.4 — typically Kl=1.5 on windward edges (WA1 zone) and Kl=2.0 on side edges (SA2 zone). Most facade failures we see in service trace back to using general-surface pressures and ignoring Kl.

Can you do a Performance Solution for a window in a wet area?

Yes — this is one of the most common scopes we see. AS 3740 Deemed-to-Satisfy prohibits glazing in wet areas under certain conditions. Where the architectural brief requires a window over a bath or in a shower zone, we document the PS pathway under F1V1, with specific waterproofing detailing at the sill and reveal.

How long does a facade Performance Solution take?

Typical timing: drawing prep (1–2 days), wind assessment (1 day), F3V1a risk (1 day), PS report (3–5 days), drawing markup and references (1–2 days). Most jobs ship inside 2 weeks from brief. Faster on simple single-system scopes.

Do you do facade audits of existing buildings?

Yes. We carry out post-Grenfell-style facade audits for owners corporations and councils — cladding identification, combustibility assessment, remediation strategy and cost banding. For NSW, this includes Cladding Product Safety Panel (CPSP) reviews and remediation orders under the Building Products (Safety) Act.

Do you cover all of Australia?

Yes. We have offices in Sydney (Surry Hills), Melbourne (Cremorne) and the Gold Coast (Bundall), and regularly carry out facade work across all states. For interstate work travel costs are quoted separately.

What's the difference between a CodeMark cert and a Performance Solution?

A CodeMark certificate is a third-party product-level certification — it confirms a specific system meets a stated NCC clause when used within stated conditions. A Performance Solution is a project-level engineering assessment — it demonstrates the project's actual conditions meet the NCC Performance Requirement. A CodeMark cert often supports a Performance Solution: the PS verifies that the project's wind pressures, risk score and detailing fall within the CodeMark's conditions of use.

Need a Facade Engineer?

From balustrade certificates to full PS reports — tell us about your project and we'll come back with a fixed-fee scope.

Get in Touch