San Francisco High-Rise Windows Failed Before Windstorms

Most of the 31 high-rise window failures reported during March’s windstorms in San Francisco were found to have occurred long before the storms hit. This is according to an investigator’s report presented to the San Francisco Building Inspection Commission. Broken glass from compromised windows at several high-rise buildings crashed into the streets of downtown San Francisco during fierce windstorms this past winter. The winds, topping 75 mph, wreaked havoc on windows that were apparently already damaged [more]

Houston Butterfly Exhibit Transformed Following Renovation

The Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Cockrell Butterfly Center underwent renovations earlier this year to make it more accessible to visitors and enhance the quality of life for the exhibit’s plants and butterflies. Renovations on the three-story all-glass facility began in September 2022. Officials say the biggest part of the renovation included replacing 535 lites of glass. According to Julio Fuentes, of Houston-based Lakeview Glass and Mirror Inc., the project was a unique feat of architectural ingenuity [more]

IW 63 Constructing ‘Statement Piece’ Glass Training Facility

A new “glass house” is slowly rising in Chicago. Though not technically a house, the building will be home to the Ironworkers (IW) Local 63 Training School’s newest curtainwall and window wall training center. IW 63 officials say the center will focus exclusively on training for curtainwalls, metal panel installations, storefronts, cranes and window walls. The new facility is an expansion of the current campus, which trains members to erect unitized curtainwall systems, steel stairs and [more]

Technology and Proper Procedures Help Glaziers Minimize Callbacks

Glaziers deal with numerous challenges, from learning how to deal with many suppliers and parts to coping with different job conditions. Technology has helped alleviate some of the burden, which, in turn, has reduced the number of errors leading to callbacks. This is especially true for projects that require glass railings. While uncommon, callbacks still occur despite the many systems that counter human error. Reasons for callbacks range from trade damages to measurement miscalculations to changing [more]

Glass Product and Manufacturing Prices Drop for Second Straight Month

Prices for glass and glass product manufacturing continue to trend downward. This is according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) August 2023 Producer Price Index (PPI). The DOL reports that glass and glass product manufacturing prices declined by 0.8% from July to August. This follows a revised 0.6% decrease from June to July. The sector’s prices have declined in four of the past five months. However, year-to-year prices for glass and glass product manufacturing remain [more]

Nonresidential Glass-Related Construction Positive at Mid-Year Point

The value of nonresidential architectural glass- and glazing-related construction remained higher in July compared to the previous year, according to Key Media & Research (KMR), a leading information provider to the glass industry. Glass and glazing activity in nonresidential building projects increased just under 12% from July 2022 to July 2023 at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate. KMR’s glass and glazing spending figures are adapted and modified from private and public construction spending data, with proprietary weighting [more]

Nothing to See Here, Literally, in sedak’s Latest Launch

“Almost nothing” is what sedak officials told contract glaziers, architects, consultants and others involved in the glass and glazing industry to expect. But what they found on the 101st floor of 30 Hudson Yards in New York could change how the industry looks at glass. The company used the opportunity to introduce what it says will be its new standard in tempered glass. Kevin Berni, head of sales at sedak, explained that while glass is a [more]