Every facade cladding system is attached to the building somehow, and the method of fixing has a direct effect on appearance, installation speed, maintenance access, and cost. The two primary approaches are concealed fixing - where fasteners are hidden from view - and face fixing, where screws or rivets pass through the visible face of the panel. Neither is inherently better. The right choice depends on the project.
What Is Concealed Fixing?
Concealed fixing means no fasteners are visible on the finished facade. The panels are secured using interlocking profiles, clips, hook-on brackets, or other mechanical connections that sit behind the cladding face. The result is a clean, uninterrupted surface with no exposed screw heads or rivet patterns.
Valmond & Gibson’s interloQ interlocking rainscreen system is a concealed-fix product by design. Each extruded aluminium panel has pre-punched fixing slots that engage with the subframe, and the interlocking connection between adjacent panels conceals those fixings behind the next panel in the sequence. The fixings are structurally there - they just are not visible.
The 165CW unitised curtain wall system also uses concealed connections. Units hang on a hook-on bracket system with 3D installation adjustment, and all structural connections sit behind the glazed or spandrel face.
What Is Face Fixing?
Face fixing is exactly what it sounds like. Screws or rivets pass through the outer face of the panel and into the subframe or substrate behind. The fastener heads are visible on the finished facade.
This is a simpler installation method. The panel is positioned, drilled or aligned to pre-punched slots, and fixed directly through its face. There is no sequencing dependency between adjacent panels - each panel is independently secured, which makes installation faster and panel replacement straightforward.
element13 solid aluminium panels are commonly face-fixed using colour-matched rivets or screws through pre-punched fixing slots. The rivets can be closely matched to the panel colour, reducing their visual impact. element13 can also be installed with proprietary concealed clip systems where the project demands a fastener-free appearance, giving specifiers flexibility within the same product.
How Does Each Method Affect the Look?
Concealed fixing delivers a seamless appearance. Without visible fasteners, the facade reads as a continuous surface of material and shadow lines. This suits projects where a refined, contemporary aesthetic is the priority - commercial buildings, institutional work, and residential developments where the facade is a prominent design element.
Face fixing creates a different character. Visible rivet or screw patterns can be a deliberate design choice, particularly on industrial, educational, or warehouse buildings where an honest, functional expression is appropriate. Some architects actively prefer the rhythm that a regular fastener pattern introduces across a panel face.
The distinction is not always absolute. conneQt aluminium battens are typically face-fixed to the subframe, but the battens themselves become the visible facade element. The fixing is technically face-fixed, but the finished appearance is clean because the battens are the architecture - the fastener is concealed by the design intent rather than the fixing method.
Which Is Faster to Install?
Face fixing is generally faster. Each panel is independent - position it, fix it, move on. There is no requirement to install panels in a specific sequence, and no need to engage interlocking profiles or align concealed clips.
Concealed interlocking systems like interloQ require panels to be installed in sequence so each panel conceals the fixings of the one before it. This adds a degree of coordination but is well understood by experienced installers and does not significantly slow a well-organised site.
What About Panel Replacement and Maintenance?
This is where concealed systems sometimes raise questions. If fixings are hidden, can you replace a single damaged panel without pulling the facade apart?
With interloQ, yes. The interlocking design allows individual panel replacement. The damaged panel is disengaged by pushing it up and releasing the interlock, then the replacement panel is slotted in. Adjacent panels do not need to be removed.
Face-fixed panels like element13 are even more straightforward for replacement. Each panel is independently fastened, so removing and replacing a single panel involves backing out the rivets or screws on that panel alone, with no effect on its neighbours.
Cost Considerations
Face fixing is typically the lower-cost method. The installation is simpler, the subframe detailing is less involved, and the labour time per panel is shorter. For projects where budget is a primary driver and the aesthetic of visible fasteners is acceptable, face fixing is efficient and well-proven.
Concealed fixing costs more in both product and installation. The interlocking profiles or clip systems add material cost, and the installation sequence requires more precision. The trade-off is a cleaner finished appearance and - in the case of interlocking rainscreen systems like interloQ - integrated weather performance through the panel-to-panel connection.
How to Choose
The decision comes down to four questions:
- What does the design intent require? If the facade must present a seamless, fastener-free surface, concealed fixing is the answer.
- What is the budget? If cost is tight and visible fasteners are acceptable, face fixing delivers savings without compromising structural performance.
- How will the facade be maintained? Both methods allow panel replacement, but face fixing makes individual panel access marginally simpler.
- What is the building type? Commercial and residential projects tend toward concealed for aesthetic reasons. Industrial, educational, and warehouse projects often suit face-fixed systems.
Both methods are structurally sound when designed and installed correctly. The fixings, whether concealed or visible, are engineered to the same wind load and serviceability requirements.
Valmond & Gibson supplies products across both fixing methods. If you are specifying a facade and weighing up the approach, get in touch - we can talk through which system and fixing method suits your project.
Related Reading
- Rainscreen vs Direct-Fix Cladding: Which Approach Suits Your Project?
- interloQ Specification Guide: Everything You Need to Know
- element13 Specification Guide: Solid Aluminium Cladding for Australian Projects
- How Builders Evaluate Cladding Suppliers
Last updated: 4 April 2026