Trippy architecture up on Skyline Blvd.. I like it.

High exposure, high wind locations clearly seem to translate into the severe testing of anybody’s and everybody’s window products.

Personally, I suspect the flexing of the large glass panes, as it relates to wind load translating into the tearing of the airtight membrane on the edges.

When the center of the exterior pane in pushed in at the center…where it’s the least supported, then the periphery edges of the glass are going to be prone to flex the opposite direction. I propose that this could…

…result in the tearing away from the butyl or silicone membrane. Opponents of this theory would likely point out how minute this would be because of its attachment to the spacer-bar.

I understand the point, although I suspect that it might not take more than a minute amount to translate into a tear, given the relatively delicate nature of the membrane.

In any regard, that’s my 2 cents worth. There were no signs that the glazing between the glass & the aluminum cladded frames had failed, which would have allowed moisture to get in around…

…the membrane, which can also translate into failure of the membrane and the consequential introduction of humid air between the panes that then condensates to the glass, or what folks call “fogging-up.”

Note the manpower it took to get these extremely large and heavy insulated glass units down and up the scaffold. And then there was the issue back in the corner where there wasn’t room for the scaffold, so we fabricated a…

…custom scaffold segment made of 2X12s nail-lamed together horizontally and vertically. It’s all part of the problem solving skills required to do this work.

Southwest Portland, above Macadam & the Water Tower district.

A glass replacement job with some logistical challenges related to height & gravity.

Sure, there’s always scaffold. Although one would be risking their life & limb just in trying to get the scaffold down there to set it up.

Fortunately, decades of experience afford us opportunity to consider alternative options.

The only reason we had need to access the exterior on this particular project had to do with the vinyl snap-bead on the exterior.

To remove it and then to re-install it. Now as you can see, this was Nate’s sole function in our company…to provide a counter-balance …

…against falling out of a window by grabbing your harness & stepping on your feet.

We jest of course. This here was probably the scariest and most difficult aspect of the project.

Pushing the original glass out, after cutting the glazing-tape, turning it into position to pull it back into the house…

…and then lifting the new glass out through the same opening, rotating it & then pulling it back against the jamb & the newly applied glazing tape.

This is a continuation of Project 24842 Phase One, for those so interested. Above we see Steve Hilt employing the use of a Laminate Trimmer set up with a standard 1/2 inch straight-cut carbide router-bit removing of all the original putty glazing from the wood jambs, after we removed the original single-pane glass. For the corners, we used a special carbide-coated Fein Tool Blade.

Above we have Bruce modifying the original exterior wood stops to compensate for the new thicker double-pane glass.

Per our client’s request, the one 88 inch wide by 84 inch tall opening that was on the side of the house was split in half vertically. There were several reasons for this. One was to make handling the new double-pane glass a bit more manageable, but also to make replacement in the event of breakage or seal failure less costly. To facilitate this change, we fabricated a replica of the original wood mull-posts that separated all the other direct-glazed glass.

Brandon and Steve position one of the new insulated units for installation on the main-floor.

A temporary piece of plywood is fastened to the adjoining wood mull-post to allow the new insulated unit to safely and securely lean out slightly until the upper insulated unit was installed on top of it.

Brandon and Jared install the upper insulated glass unit on top.

The wooden vertical mull-post cover on the right is installed

Masking tape is applied as needed to insure a professional finish caulking job.

All seams are dressed and sealed-up as needed.

An interior close-up photo showing how the insulated glass looks along the edges and its relationship with the horizontal aluminum double-channel mull piece. You can click on the photo if want a better view.