Interface Guidelines For Curtainwall

Full Description

Air leakage and water penetration performance has been established for most building enclosure material and assembly components that are commonly used in the building construction industry. However, air leakage and water penetration performance at the interface of materials and assemblies is often missed or misunderstood. Continuity of a building’s air and water control layer(s) lies heavily on how well the building enclosure components are interfaced. It is critical for the design professional to establish which components of the building enclosure will comprise the building enclosure air and water control layer(s). These components may include, but are not limited to, air barriers, waterproofing (WP), fenestration, roofing, precast and cast-in-place concrete, prefabricated panel/unitized systems, insulation, miscellaneous and structural steel components and more.

The relationship between components and trades that is required to ensure continuity of the building enclosure’s air and water control layer(s) may not be immediately apparent or intuitive if the contract documents are unsuccessful in presenting the building enclosure as a contiguous and cohesive assembly, composed of inter-related parts. Furthermore, if the contract documents fail to clearly represent the building enclosure’s continuous air and water control layer(s) and trade relationships, the related subcontractor’s obligation will be limited to the installation and performance of their material, system or assembly alone. This paper will focus primarily on curtain wall glass glazing systems and the integration with adjacent building enclosure air and water control components.