Bolt fixed glazing curtain wall system

Bolt fixed or planar glazing is typically specified to glaze areas of the curtain wall building which an architect or client has reserved to create a special feature, like entrance lobby, main atrium, scenic lift enclosure, and shop front. Rather than having infill panels supported by a frame on 4 sides of aluminium mullions and transoms, the glass panels are supported by bolts, typically at the corners or along the edge of the glass. Bolt fixed glazing curtain wall systems are highly engineered components capable of spanning significantly large panes of glass between points of support. The glass panels are delivered to site with pre-drilled holes along with the stainless steel bolt fittings. And the system is then assembled on site. The different types of glazing specified for use in traditional curtain wall systems (i.e. toughened, insulated, laminated glass) can also be used in bolt fixed glazing curtain wall if the manufacturer is sufficiently skilled to have developed and tested such technologies. Nevertheless, annealed glass is not used in bolt fixed glazing because the holes in the glass are too weak. The thickness of the glass will typically be thicker too, due to the minimal number of support points. Fixings which attach through the holes in bolted glazing curtain wall system are designed to allow relative movement between the glass and the building structure. Movement could be caused by settlement, live load or thermal expansion and contraction. In most cases, bolt fixed glazing curtain wall system tends to require a structural frame to support itself, which could be a steel trusses, glass fins or stainless steel tension systems. Since the performance of the glass is critical to the overall performance of curtain wall facade system, it is important that risk assessments are undertaken to ensure the failure of one glass panel cannot lead to the progressive collapse of the entire structure. In addition, once installed, the bolt fixed systems are typically weather proofed by a silicone weather seal applied between the adjacent glass panels. In the current market, bolt fixed curtain wall systems can be offered in a variety of forms ranging from complete systems in which the glass and fittings are designed, manufactured, and supplied from a sole source, through to products which are designed by a structural engineer and sourced as individual items. If you are sourcing bolt fixed glazing as individual components, it is essential that the system is evaluated and coordinated by a suitably qualified contractor or engineer.