Structural Glazing System

Competition is the main reason that motivates people to come up with unique ideas. Every building owner would want their structure to stand out in a crowd. And for this end, they hire the best engineer who can design a new and innovative structure. One way to bring in unique appeal to your building is by adopting structural glazing system.

What is Structural Glazing?

In layman terms, structural glazing means curtain wall of glass. This advanced modern innovation allows building owners to have huge glass windows as walls. Under structural glazing, the glass walls are bonded directly into the building. The good news of structural glazing method is that in the process of installing the glass or anchoring it to the building no obstructions are used. The glass walls are joined to the building frame either by using strong silicon sealant or attached by means of rods or cables joined to aluminum plates.

Why use structural glazing?

Structural glazing design is an example of healthy living, which has been adopted by building owners worldwide. The structural glazing design gives buildings a clean and sleek look. This enhances the overall appeal of the building making it unique. Aluminum structural glazing is better as it doesn’t corrode and also aluminum is environment-friendly. Sealants used in bonding the glass to structure are specially designed for this purpose. Use of such sealants in structural glazing transfer the wind flow on to the structure and thereby withstand thermal pressure. Further, Glass panels used in structural glazing that are independent will provide safety to the building.

What other accessories do you need for structural Glazing?

For effective installation of structural glazing you need some kind of accessories to support the structure. Apart from silicon sealant, you need other accessories such as mullion, transoms, setting blocks and location blocks. Mullions are used to transfer the load of a curtain wall and transoms are strengthening crossbars provided in between mullions. Apart from this setting and location blocks are used to provide support to the glass to prevent its movement.

Different types of Glazing

1. Stick Built:

   Is the oldest method of structural glazing that is in practice. Under this method, the curtain is fixed piece by piece on the site. As the name suggests silicon sealants are used to bond the glass to structure rather than using aluminum pressure plates.

2. Unitized:

   the next type of glazing is unitized, under this method the entire system is pre-assembled. This method allows the glazing material to cure and set in the shop without any weather interruptions. Unitized method usually uses multiple materials and glazing type to achieve the desired end. Using lightweight materials in glazing reduced the weight of the building and that the reason why aluminum glazing system is preferred.

3. Point-supported glass system:

   Under this glazing type, the designer use point support rather than aluminum plates. This provided the building residents to enjoy the uninterrupted view of the outside. And also this type of structural glazing work is the lightest of all.