Session · Enclosures · Designers and consultants · Builders and trades

Rainscreen Sub-Framing Systems: Essential to Envelope Success

Kica Loliyong, exo-Surfaces · September 17, 2026 · Chapter · PHDC (Passive House DC)

Ventilated rainscreen walls improve moisture management, thermal performance, and durability. Kica Loliyong of exo-Surfaces on the design and specification of rainscreen sub-framing: principles, materials, thermal bridging, moisture, and structure, comparing steel, aluminum, stainless steel, and FRP systems across wall assemblies.

Key points

• What rainscreen sub-framing does in a modern ventilated facade.
• How sub-framing design affects moisture, thermal performance, structure, and long-term durability.
• The strengths and limits of common sub-framing materials and attachment systems.
• Applying building science when specifying rainscreen assemblies to cut thermal bridging and build resilient enclosures.

Topics: Insulation and assemblies, Thermal bridges, Vapor control