Capped Facade Systems
The capped facade is the most reliable stick curtain-wall system. Glass units sit on an aluminium vertical and horizontal frame and are held from the outside by aluminium pressure plates and decorative cover caps with EPDM gaskets.
Flat, almond, blunt-almond and angled aluminium covers give the elevation depth. Covers can also be used on the verticals only, or on the horizontals only, with a silicone joint in the other direction.
Capped Facade Installation Sequence
Adjustable steel or aluminium anchors, sized for wind load and building movement, are fixed to the slab edges. Storey-height mullions are hung plumb and level, with movement joints and expansion sleeves. Transoms are fixed between the mullions to the architectural module, on setting blocks. EPDM seals and drainage channels are formed at the profile joints so condensation and any rain that enters can leave the system. Continuous inner EPDM gaskets are pulled into the glazing rebates. Load-bearing EPDM setting blocks are placed and the double or triple insulating glass units are set into the frame. PVC or polyamide isolator profiles break the thermal bridge between the outer air and the inner frame. Aluminium pressure plates, fitted with outer EPDM gaskets, are tightened with stainless torque-controlled screws. Flat or almond decorative covers with a 50 mm face width then snap onto the pressure plate, hiding the screw heads.
Cost and Maintenance Compared with a Structural Silicone Facade
A broken glass unit does not need chemical silicone to be cut on the facade, and it does not need a new cassette bonded in the workshop. The decorative cover and pressure plate of that module are removed from outside and the new glass is set in a short time, which lowers the building's operating cost. Because the system does not need two-component structural bonding or aluminium cassette fabrication in the factory, the cost per square metre is lower. Locking the glass to the frame on all four edges with mechanical pressure plates gives high strength on buildings exposed to high wind load and severe weather.
