COMPOSITE WOOD GRAIN PANELS

Superior Wood Aesthetics Without the Drawbacks: Introducing StoCast Wood

For decades, natural wood cladding has been a go-to choice for commercial buildings seeking a warm, charming aesthetic. While wood offers natural beauty, biodegradability, and some insulation, its extensive drawbacks—including high maintenance, pest vulnerability, fire risk, and volatile costs—often deter modern builders.

StoCast Wood offers a revolutionary alternative. This durable, resin-cast system delivers the authentic look and texture of real wood without the inherent structural and maintenance issues, making it the superior, cost-effective, and sustainable solution for commercial projects.

The Hidden Costs & Risks of Natural Wood Cladding

To make an informed decision, it's crucial to understand the challenges that impact the long-term integrity and budget of projects using real wood:

• Expensive and Extensive Maintenance: Wood siding requires significant, costly upkeep, including routine inspections, cleaning, treatments, and restaining. Sunlight and weathering cause it to curl, cup, and crack, leading to moisture leaks and expensive repairs over time.
• Fire and Pest Vulnerability: Wood is naturally susceptible to fire. Even with initial treatments, fire retardants dissipate, increasing risk. Furthermore, wood provides an entry point and food source for pests like termites, rats, and squirrels, which cause structural damage, create fire hazards by chewing on wiring, and introduce disease.
• Volatile Material Costs: Recent lumber shortages have caused prices to spike to near all-time highs. This cost volatility creates budget uncertainty and can significantly inflate total construction expenses, making financial planning difficult.
• Moisture Damage: When wood's moisture content exceeds $20\%$, it creates an ideal environment for damaging fungi and mold, which weaken the structure and pose health risks.

StoCast Wood: Performance Meets Authentic Design

StoCast Wood is engineered to eliminate the risks of natural timber while providing unparalleled design flexibility and longevity. It is the best exterior wood cladding system for commercial projects requiring both beauty and high-performance building science.

1. Durable, Low-Maintenance Performance

• Superior Durability: Coated with StoColor® Wood Stain, StoCast Wood provides UV-resistant and freeze/thaw-resistant coatings that prevent warping, chipping, or efflorescence—common failures of natural wood.
• Fire Safety: StoCast Wood is designed to comply with NFPA 285 Acceptance Criteria for flame spread, offering a safer solution than treated wood whose retardants degrade over time.
• Sustainability: Thin and lightweight, StoCast Wood requires tremendously less energy for manufacturing and transport, reducing its environmental footprint and contributing to greener building goals.

2. Unmatched Design & Application

• Authentic Appearance: Architects can achieve the look of authentic wood cladding using our range of 45 unique wood grain patterns and 15 StoColor® Wood Stain colors.
• Flexible Application: StoCast Wood can be applied as a finish layer to any Sto cladding system or directly onto common substrates like CMU or drywall.
• Easy, Fast Installation: The lightweight, prefabricated shapes are quick and straightforward to apply, cut simply with a utility knife, and do not require fasteners. This minimizes specialized training and is ideal for fast-track construction timelines.

3. Integrated System Integrity

StoCast Wood integrates seamlessly with Sto’s comprehensive wall cladding systems, ensuring full wall integrity under a single warranty. By using StoCast Wood with systems like EIFS, stucco, or rainscreen, you achieve:

• Continuous Control Layers: A robust, wood-like aesthetic combined with high-quality liquid-applied continuous air and moisture barriers and continuous insulation (like EPS or mineral wool).

In summary, StoCast Wood offers the aesthetic appeal of natural wood while delivering improved long-term integrity, lower lifecycle costs, and better overall building performance