What we work on · Glazing & Curtain Wall
The Perimeter, Not the Glass
Glazing systems are designed to manage water that gets past the outer seal. When they leak, the drainage path is usually blocked rather than the seal being absent.
Where it appears inside, when it happens, and what has already been tried. That is enough to plan an investigation.
Test first
Water testing before scope, not sealant and hope
Uphill
Water enters above where it appears, almost always
Systems
The envelope fails at transitions, not in the field
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
These systems are meant to let some water in
A curtain wall is a drained and pressure-equalized system: water that passes the outer seal is collected and directed back out through weeps. When those weeps are blocked — by sealant, dirt or a well-meaning repair — the water has nowhere to go and appears inside. Sealing the outside more thoroughly makes it worse.
What to check
- Weeps, and whether anybody has sealed them shut.
- Gaskets and their condition at corners and joints.
- The perimeter seal between frame and wall.
- Sill pans and end dams, frequently missing on older work.
- Any previous repair, which is often the cause.
Where curtain wall leaks come from
Curtain wall is a drained and vented system rather than a sealed one. It is designed on the assumption that some water will get past the outer face, and it manages that water through internal gutters and weeps that carry it back out. Understanding that changes what a leak means: water inside the system is normal, and water inside the building means the drainage path is blocked or the seal at a specific gasket or joint has failed.
The practical consequences follow directly. Weeps blocked by sealant, debris or a well-meaning repainting job will cause leaks in a system that is otherwise sound. Gaskets harden with ultraviolet exposure and stop sealing long before they look failed. And sealing the outside face of a drained system — a common instinct — traps the water it was designed to release and makes the problem worse rather than better.
How we handle it
- 01Water test to find the actual path before scoping.
- 02Clear weeps and restore the drainage path.
- 03Replace gaskets and seals where they have failed.
- 04Correct perimeter conditions properly.
- 05Retest after the work, not just at handover.
Check whether somebody has sealed the weeps. It is a common well-intentioned repair, it converts a drained system into a bucket, and it makes a small leak substantially worse.
Said plainly
Where we stop
We are not a glazing manufacturer and we will not modify a system in ways that void its performance. Where a system needs a manufacturer's involvement, we will say so.
FAQ
Common questions
- Why does more sealant make it worse?
- Curtain walls are drained systems. Sealing the weeps turns one into a bucket.
- Is water inside a glazing system normal?
- Some is expected and it is meant to drain back out. Blocked drainage is the failure.
- What are sill pans?
- A drainage detail under a window opening. Frequently missing on older work.
- Do you do the glazing itself?
- We investigate and repair the interfaces; some work needs the manufacturer.
Our approach
Investigate First
Water enters an envelope somewhere other than where it appears inside, and the only reliable way to find where is to test.
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Test After Repairing
A repair is not finished when it is installed. It is finished when it has been tested and the water has not come through.
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Systems, Not Products
Envelope materials work as systems, and a repair that introduces an incompatible product creates the next failure.
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Warranties
Owners treat a warranty as protection against leaks. It is generally protection against material defects, which is a much narrower thing.
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Maintain, Not React
Envelopes are maintained reactively, when something leaks. A program costs a fraction of what reactive repair and interior damage cost.
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More what we work on
Commercial Roofing
Low-slope commercial roofs fail at penetrations, terminations and parapets. The field of the membrane is rarely the problem.
Read more →
Walls & Stucco
Stucco is a water-shedding surface over a system that is meant to handle what gets through. When it leaks, both have failed.
Read more →
Sealants & Joints
Sealant joints have a service life measured in years, and almost no building has a program for replacing them before they fail.
Read more →
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.