Curtain Wall System

Introduction

Curtain walls are an exterior wall system that is attached to the structure of a building by ‘hanging’ the system off the structure. It transfers its dead load (own weight of the system) onto the connection point it hangs from, while the wind load is transferred to the dead load anchor as well as partially onto the connection point below as well.

Main Design Levels

Two main types are custom and standard.

Custom

Designed specifically for a project. Many times they start with a ‘standard’ product and introduce modifications in order to accommodate certain design parameters like new profiles, caps, etc.

Standard

Uses components out of a catalog. Typically there is little or minor modification done to the components and in this curtain wall there are individual components assembled. While there are lots of different levels of standard curtain wall systems, the typical applications for these are typically lower end, such as fast food restaurants and mid-cheap office buildings.

Two Main Types of Assembly

For both stick and unitized systems, the vertical mullions are attached to the floors or beams at every floor. Attachment devices allow the vertical mullions to be adjusted in three dimensions to account for building frame tolerances and erection tolerances. This allows for a perfectly plumb and straight line for the entire height of the building.