# Terracotta Cladding Panel — Baguettes and Tiles

> Terracotta cladding is extruded and fired clay, made as hollow rainscreen panels hung on aluminium rails or as solid or hollow baguette rods used for shading. Its colour comes from the clay body and the firing rather than a coating, so it does not chalk or fade, and fired clay is classified A1 non-combustible under EN 13501-1.

## What it is

**Extruded and fired clay**, produced as hollow-section rainscreen panels or as
solid baguette rods. Panels hang on horizontal aluminium rails within a
ventilated cavity; baguettes clip into vertical or horizontal carriers in front
of the facade line.

The colour comes from the clay body and the firing, not from a coating.

## Specification at a glance

| Property | Typical specification |
| --- | --- |
| Product | Extruded hollow panel, or solid / hollow baguette |
| Panel thickness | 18mm — 30mm typical for hollow sections |
| Fire class | A1, non-combustible, to EN 13501-1 |
| Finish | Natural, engobe, or glazed |
| Fixing | Aluminium rail with clips; concealed |
| Water absorption | Low; specified by product to EN 1304 family methods |

## Why it gets specified

**Permanent colour.** A fired clay body does not chalk or fade. On buildings
where facade access for recoating is difficult or expensive, this is the
strongest argument for the material.

**Genuine depth.** The extruded section gives a shadow line and surface relief
that flat panels reproduce only graphically.

**Solar control without losing the view.** Baguette arrays cut direct gain on
east and west elevations while remaining visually open — relevant on Indian
elevations where the sun is low enough that overhangs do little.

## What drives the cost

Panel format and section depth · finish, with glazed costing more than natural
or engobe · panel size and the number of special shapes such as corners,
reveals and closers · rail and clip system · baguette length and support
spacing · handling and breakage allowance · building height and access.

Terracotta sits **above ACP and HPL**, and typically **below natural stone**.

## Where projects go wrong

- **Support spacing set by appearance.** Baguette spans and panel rail spacing
  follow from the wind pressure for that building under IS 875 Part 3, not from
  what looks even on an elevation drawing.
- **No breakage allowance.** Fired clay chips at corners in transit and
  handling. Order and programme should assume it.
- **Special shapes ordered late.** Corners, reveals and closers are extruded to
  order with their own lead time; leaving them to site measurement delays the
  whole elevation.
- **Cavity barriers omitted** because the panel is non-combustible. The panel
  is not the assembly.

## Standards referenced

Reaction-to-fire classification to **EN 13501-1**. Clay product requirements
in the **EN 1304** family. Wind loading on cladding and its supports to
**IS 875 (Part 3)**.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why choose terracotta over a painted metal panel?

Because the colour is the fired clay body, not a coating applied to it. There is no paint film to chalk, fade or need recoating, so a terracotta elevation looks substantially the same after twenty years as it did on handover. On a building intended to hold its appearance for decades without facade maintenance access, that changes the whole-life cost calculation.

### Is terracotta non-combustible?

Fired clay is classified A1, non-combustible, under EN 13501-1, which makes the panel itself uncontroversial in a fire submission. As with any rainscreen the assembly still needs cavity barriers at every compartment line and non-combustible insulation, because the ventilated cavity behind the panel is a fire path regardless of what the panel is made from.

### What are terracotta baguettes used for?

Baguettes are extruded solid or hollow rods fixed horizontally or vertically in front of glazing, acting as solar shading and visual screening while keeping the view out. They are widely used on east and west elevations in India, where low-angle sun defeats a horizontal overhang and a vertical fin array does the shading work instead.

## Sources

- [EN 13501-1](https://standards.cencenelec.eu/ords/f?p=CEN:105) — Reaction to fire classification
- [EN 1304](https://standards.cencenelec.eu/ords/f?p=CEN:105) — Clay roofing and cladding products
- [IS 875 (Part 3)](https://standards.bis.gov.in/website/published-standards/department-wise) — Wind loads on buildings

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Source: https://hagerstone.com/materials/terracotta-cladding-panel