Stick-type curtain wall glazing system is a type of Structural Glazing where the frame verticals or the mullions and the glass panels are erected and connected piece by piece. It is one of the oldest curtain wall types. The vertical mullions are attached first to the floor slabs and then the horizontal mullions are attached to the vertical ones. The glass panel between the vertical and the horizontal mullions along with the spandrel which can be either glass or aluminium are then installed into the erected grid work. The visual effect of stick framing is often taken into account since there will be more vertical mullions taking the wind load than other glazing systems.
Generally, stick-type glazing is preferred for buildings that are not that tall, usually less than 3-4 floors. Air, wind, and heat can play a vital role the stability and the stick glazing method takes these factors while they are built. Usually, the glass units between the aluminium frame slide when there is a thermal factor. This factor is taken into consideration and provisioned when the glazing is done.
Advantages of Stick Glazing
- It is simpler a glazing system when compared to other curtain wall glazing systems.
- The glazing can be fabricated off-site. This allows for less erection time than other curtain wall glazing system.
Limitations of Stick Glazing
- Stick glazing usually has lower load-bearing capacity than other curtain wall glazing systems.
- Generally, stick glazing type of curtain wall glazing system requires more time to assemble and hence is more time consuming when compared to other curtain wall glazing systems.