The three most common problems related to acrylic domed or flat skylights…

…some sort of impact, such as a tree limb falling off a tree during a wind-storm…

…which isn’t extremely common, but we’ve seen it. Number two is that acrylic…

…seems to grow brittle from the effects of the ultra-violet rays from the sun & begins to crack.

And number three is that the glazing may fail at some point.

Any of these three scenarios can and often does result in water penetration.

Understandably, this is when we are called upon…

…to apply our expertise, such as Brandon, our technician did here.

The Columbian Newspaper Building in Vancouver, Washington.

Someone took the corner a little too soon and ran into the building instead.
If you look closely at the above photo, you can see that the window/door assembly is bent towards the interior.

Actually, they think someone was trying to break in by pushing on the structure with their vehicle.

But what they lacked in the intelligence it takes to decide to try something like that, they made up for with their apparent lack of fortitude?fortunately.

What is somewhat amazing is that none of the plate glass broke.

The challenge for us was deglazing this glass that had so much pressure brought to bear upon it, without it breaking on us.

So the work was a little tedious until we had all the affected glass removed.

Then came putting it all back together. Obviously, we had to replace the aluminum threshold that was twisted.

But other than that, all the original components were reused, including all the glass.

Tadaaa!

A popular complex of Condos up in the west hills.

A ground floor unit with Aluminum Framed windows that are leaking.

More than one set of windows. There’s a pattern established.

We deglazed the glass from the frames. We detached the frames from the rough-opening.

We installed a “Sill-Pan” beneath both window assemblies, and then reassembled everything. Problem solved.

A condominium complex up in the west hills.

One of a number of the 5 buildings we’ve been called upon to work on for various reasons over the years.

The back side of this building has had some water penetration issues related…

…to these aluminum windows.

Flashing these windows correctly…

…to the masonry structure was not really (in our professional opinion) ever properly designed.

Caulking is not an adequate long-term barrier against water penetration.

It is also our professional opinion that “caulking” should not be considered as being much of anything other than a cosmetically-based finish product for filling seams, spaces and holes.

So at our recommendation, we were employed to remove this window assembly, install a “sill-pan” and then reinstall the window assembly.

A properly designed and properly installed “sill-pan” provides a RIGID-DAM at the interior bottom edge of the window opening that should trap and re-route any moisture back out to the exterior.

An old commercial building on N.W. Naito Parkway with a broken window.

The building has been converted into a parking garage for the condos built nearby.

Not only is the glass broken, but the painted aluminum framing components that glazed-in the glass to the frame are missing.

Finding the missing components would take a miracle. But with a little two-part welding glue and an ounce of creativity…

…we fabricate an aftermarket glazing component comprised of wood-sticking that is…

…then clad with aluminum, all of which is held fast with the two-part glue.

Whoever has to replace the glass next time may be cursing at us when they try to remove what has become a not-so -removable framing component…

…but they probably won’t lose them either.
We mask off the aluminum angle just before painting them to match the original aluminum framing.

The Veritable Quandary…what has no doubt become a Portland Icon and landmark.

In fact, V.Q. has been a mainstay of the Downtown Eatery and Refreshment scene for so long that some of the surrounding terrain has begun to show its age. You might gain a better view of the damage on the tree and the size of the limb that detached itself, if you enlarge the photo.

Resulting in the four broken panes of glass and the need for a new gutter.

The laminated wire glass pretty much held together despite the damage, as per design.

As is the idea behind safety glass.

Fortuitously, the event occurred after hours, and no one was hurt.

After removing the damaged glass, our technician Phil prepares the aluminum structure for glazing in the new glass…

…while Brandon carefully oversees the process from his lofty and floral-laden perch.

The replacement glass is carefully lifted up to Steve Hilt for installation. You might enlarge the photo to get a better view of the “wire-glass,” if you so desire.

The pre-lunch-hour, early morning mission is completed; the site cleaned-up and all evidence of our little covert endeavors are removed before the civilians begin to show up, as was the plan. Officially…we were never there.

A commercial property out on Northeast Columbia Blvd.

Note the mirror-glass. A bit unusual application here that was perhaps employed for structural integrity related to wind-load in the east counties near the gorge.

We have anodized bronze aluminum storefront window frames mulled together by means of steel tubing.

Reportedly, after 20+ years of having no problems, they have begun to leak. And the tenant wants to get new carpet without having to worry about it being ruined.

As you can see, the problem has been going on now for some time. Remember that you can click on the photo to enlarge it.

We did perform a water test before we generated our proposal and we determined the caulking between the aluminum jambs and the steel tubing had simply deteriorated from 20 years of being exposed to ultraviolet rays.

This is of course, one of the reasons that a proper flashing system should not rely on caulking as its only line of defense between whether or not you are going have a water penetration problem.

And frankly, it is doubtful that the existing caulking lasted 20 years. People like to say those kind of things in hopes that a remedy will be a simple and relatively painless affair. As opposed to having to remove all the window assemblies and installing proper sill-pans.

So we documented our concerns in writing, gave our client the options they asked for. These options included the respective limitations of physics that should be expected. The option our client chose was to remove all the original caulking and replace it with new polyurethane caulking.

Approximately a week after we are finished with the job, we came back and performed another water test. No leakage.

Commercial buildings account for a substantial percentage of our work.

We install and repair Solariums, Skylights, Windows, Doors, Storefronts, Failed Glass, Aluminum-Glass Doors and Hollow-Metal Steel Doors…

…not to mention adjusting, repairing or replacing all the brands and types of commercial Hardware known to modern man.

I believe the problem here was that the property management company was growing tired of sending folks out to slather on another layer of caulking every time a leak developed.

So they hired us to remove the glass, clean off 20 years or so of caulking from the glass and the frame components and then reglaze the glass back into the jambs.

Another Revamped Solarium Structure.

Cathedral School in Northwest Portland. Existing commercial-grade aluminum window assembly currently sports an awning-function window.

For reasons left unexplained, we were asked whether or not they could somehow acquire an in-swinging window that hinges at the bottom…what is known as a “hopper-window.” After considering replacement options, we suggested a modification option.

This was due to the costs that would be associated with replacing the arched-top window assembly that currently matches others along the same exterior wall. After securing the opening, the aluminum-sash is taken back to our shop whereupon David Castro cuts the aluminum frame components in preparation for creating a smaller sash.

This is necessary to facilitate the smaller opening on the interior side of the frame, AKA a jamb. The window-sash is stepped, as is the jamb-assembly into which it operates. So originally, the interior side of the jamb was smaller than the exterior. When we are finished, this will be reversed.

After we receive the new, smaller insulated glass unit that we installed and glazed into the modified sash, the sash is taken back out to the job-site, whereupon further modifications are made by Sean Miller to fine-tune its fit.

The aluminum jamb assembly is also fine-tuned with a belt-sander on the interior portion. Plus, new flat-bar aluminum is added on the exterior to further accommodate the “stepped-nature” of both the sash and the jamb.

Weep-holes are created into this new aluminum material that correlates with the original weep-hole system.

Pull-handles are added, because the original latch-handle is taken off of the sash and installed onto the jamb

This is due to the different sash function. This photo, and the previous one show most clearly, the STEPPED nature of the sash we’ve spoken of.

We also added a screen to keep out the unwanted insects.