The weathering design of these suites follows recognised international curtainwall design principles - rainscreen pressure equalisation and system drainage - which requires primary and secondary weathering. The rainscreen acts as a primary water-stop, the second airseal and cavity acts as a backup to collect and drain away any water that manages to penetrate the primary rainscreen barrier.
All internal cavities of the system are designed to be pressure equalised (ie no pressure differential between the outside face and any internal cavity). This feature allows the water which penetrates the rainscreen to drain freely back to the exterior. The rear air seal is critical to the system's weathering performance as air infiltration acts as the medium which transports water through to the building's interior, i.e. it is the prime cause of any leakage.
Sizing of modules is generally only limited on the project design requirements, economic considerations, transport and site crane installation limitations. We would be happy to discuss what these might be on your project.
Integrated Elements
Almost an unlimited type of materials can be integrated into a unitised panel, including different glass types, metals, brackets to receive externally mounted fins, louvres, venetians or building signage for example. The PW400 can accommodate opening sashes suitable for highrise installations.
Installation
PW or Panelwall systems are pre-fabricated and glazed in a factory environment, stored and only transported to site when needed.
These pre-fabricated and glazed panels are delivered to the floors in crates and positioned by floor mounted cranes or monorail units. The panels have interlocking legs, requiring sequential placement around the building floor before the next level can be installed.
It is highly recommended that the units are installed from ground up in predetermined directional order to maintain the best detail connection between panels. Special methodologies need to be considered when recladding a building demands a top down approach.
Curtainwall is almost always hung from the top of each floor section (dead loaded) and attached at the base of the unit to resist windload. The Thermosash specific engineered brackets attach at each floor either on the top of the slab, to the edge of the slab or under the slab as necessitated by the project design and engineering requirements of the selected system.
Section Sizes
The PW400 is available in various mullion sizes to suit your project: 75mm / 100mm / 150mm / 200mm with the ability where neccesary to structurally supplement the sections where the suite is exposed to high floor to floor spans or high wind zones, thus potentially reducing the need for additional primary or secondary structure to be provided by the Main Contractor.
Engineering
We custom design all our suites to suit our projects to maximise the efficiencies within the suite and often to incorporate added elements or unique building structures, building movements or floor heights.
Performance / Testing
Thermosash owns and operates the largest façade testing facility in New Zealand where we test our systems and custom designed suites to ensure compliance with the below codes or project specific requirements:
- AS/NZS1170 (Structural Design Actions)
- NZS4223 (Glazing in Buildings)
- NZS/AS4284:2008 (Water / Air Pressure/ Air Leakage - Meets and exceeds minimum requirements)
All the Thermosash suites are independently laboratory tested to IANZ (International Accreditation New Zealand). Test certificates are available on request.
Maximum Spanning Ability
Thermosash specifically engineers the best suite option for your project taking into consideration span, structural system, and environmental loads (e.g. wind). The spanning ability will vary depending on the above.
Thermosash Suites are recognized as having the largest spanning systems on the market due to our specific engineering capability and the customised nature of the work we complete.
Warranty
The standard warranty is 10 years from the date of practical completion for these products. This covers workmanship and weather tightness, providing the subcontract includes fabrication, installation and glazing of all components.
Maintenance
Maintaining glass, metals and stone are all particular to the environment that they are placed in, eg marine, environmental pollution, exposure to natural washing, etc.
It is recommended by almost all material suppliers that building washing should occur every 3-6 months to prevent staining to glass and environmental pollutants from corroding metals and to maintain the material warranties.
A full maintenance manual is provided on completion of a project for all the elements integrated within a project.
