Curtain Walling

Curtain walling systems are increasingly specified in the world’s most modern commercial and industrial buildings. In fact they have come to be expected of many buildings today, not only because of their numerous practical advantages but also because of their appearance.

Curtain walls are installed on the outside of a building, on their own frame. Though the frame is secured to the main building’s slabs at certain points, curtain walls stand entirely on their own structure. They are installed from the outside and the effect is an outside view that can almost look like seamless glass.

Features & Benefits of Curtain Walling

• Curtain walls have the primary purpose of keeping air and water out of the building, essentially acting as both a buffer and an insulator.
• Curtain Walling is Lightweight – Due to it being non-structural, the material used to make it can be lightweight. This reduces the costs of production and construction, making it an extremely worthy investment.
• The additional use of glass within curtain walling brings the added advantage that natural light can flow throughout buildings.
• Reducing Building Sway – A curtain wall isn’t intended to provide for structural stability, but it does reduce the sway of the building overall, thereby making the structure more secure.
• Slowing the Spread of Fire – Curtain walls are additionally able to slow the spread of fire between floors, by acting as a barrier and preventing the fire from easily transferring across the surface of the building.
• Thermal Efficiency- When properly treated and glazed, curtain walls also vastly improve the thermal efficiency of a building.
• Additional glazing can reduce UV light, which will keep items within the building from fading or degrading quickly.

Flush glazing vs Pressure Glazing

There are two types of curtain walls: pressure glazed and flush glazed versions.

In a flush glazing (sometimes called pocket glazing) wall you see just the glass outside, with a little silicon join between the panes. The glass is set in a recess in a frame; If any stops are used they are also recessed; so the glazing is flush with the frame jamb surface.

On a pressure glazed curtain wall, the aluminium frame holding the glass is exposed, so you see the framing from the outside. The system is used extensively in high – performance commercial applications requiring durability, sound weathering characteristics, aesthetic impact and demanding technical performance.