MC026-05 Bracket and Fixing Design for Cladding Systems
Enrolment open — Course starts 24 September 2026
The Five-Step Design of Rainscreen Brackets and Fixings — From the Rail Capacity to the Anchor in the Structure and the Pull-Out Test on Site
About This CPD
This practical technical CPD takes the most critical single element in any cladding system — the bracket and its fixing — and works through the design in five steps: bracket spacing from the rail capacity, force collection with the eccentricity moments included, bracket selection from manufacturer tables, fixing design for every substrate, and proof-load testing on site.
Presented by Eugene Korch (IAST), the course treats manufacturer data — load tables, European Technical Assessments, anchor design software — as the working tools they are, and closes with the common errors from real projects and the checklist that catches them. The course is released on demand and available from 24 September 2026.
This course covers:
The rainscreen bracket system — helping hand brackets, T-rails and L-rails, fixed and sliding points, and how a round or slotted hole decides which is which
Step 1: bracket spacing — starting from the rail capacity and its deflection limit, and reconciling the answer with the panel module and the structure
Step 2: force collection — dead load and wind over the tributary area, and the eccentricity moments that are so often ignored
Step 3: bracket selection — manufacturer load tables, the correct entry for length and substrate, and the paired-bracket solution for heavy cladding
Step 4: fixing design — screws in light steel framing, anchors in concrete from their European Technical Assessment, cast-in channels, and force distribution in a fixing group
Step 5: site verification — proof-load pull-out tests, when they are essential, and how to specify them before work begins
Thermal bridging at brackets — thermal break pads and their structural consequences
Materials and corrosion — aluminium, stainless, galvanised steel, and the galvanic pairs to avoid
Edge cases — heavy cladding, long brackets on highly insulated facades, mixed substrates, and setting out from the real building
The common errors from real projects — and the checklist that catches themonto one
Using worked force-collection examples and clear diagrams, this CPD focuses on the practical goal: a bracket and fixing design you can carry out, check, and defend.
Target Audience
This course is designed for design professionals working on residential, commercial, and mixed-use developments where the bracket and fixing design determines whether the cladding stays on the building.
This Short Course is designed for:
Architects
Architectural Technologists
Envelope Designers
Facade Specialist Contractors
Junior Facade Engineers
Building Envelope Consultants
Structural Engineers
Developers
Project Managers
Building Control Officers
Regulators
Cost Consultants
Design Managers
Speaker
Eugene Korch
Programme Director, IASTEugene is a facade engineer and educator who leads educational initiatives through the Institute for Architectural Science and Technology (IAST) and Facade Intelligence, delivering training to construction professionals.
Course Details
Format: On-demand video course
Available from: 24 September 2026
Duration: Approximately 1.5 hours
CPD Points: 1.5 hours structured CPD / 1 Learning Unit
Certificate: CPD certificate provided upon completion
Access: Available on demand to members
MC026-05
Bracket and Fixing Design for Cladding Systems
This course provides with practical knowledge of structural support and fixing design for rainscreen and overcladding systems – where the challenge is repetition, substrate variability, , and installation quality at scale.
Enrolment open — Course starts 24 September 2026
Course Fee £120
Free for FI Pro Members
