Some of the best facades are the ones which are made of glass and are the most fragile too. A small broken piece of glass in the front elevation or for that matter in any part of the façade tends to destroy the whole ambience. Procuring the same glass is a challenge and at the same time an expense, much to the chagrin of a facility manager.
Well, how does one maintain the original aesthetics of the façade, even when a couple of glasses are broken and that too in the front elevation?
The panels on the façade are generally equally distributed in dimensions throughout the façade vision area and spandrel area (adjusting the fringes in the side of the elevation).
In the event of a few glasses breaking, the immediate challenge is in sourcing the same product. In most case, an identical glass may not be available and even if available procuring in minimum quantity for special coating glasses would turn out to be highly cost ineffective. When a couple of glasses summing to 10sqm is the requirement and one would have to purchase minimum 300sqm, it neither matches the requirement or the costs incurred.
Further, the lead time required for procuring, is another challenge. It has been noticed that in order to get things done immediately, alternative material is being used to camouflage the damage to the glass façade and that definitely would be a compromise with the design of the façade.
Speaking of imported glasses used in the elevation, especially when it is damaged can be procured from those who maintain attic stocks. With regards to getting the glasses replaced or repaired, Jayanth, Head – Glasshoppers, says, “A façade rope access company can help by swapping it from the side or rear elevation. These are areas in the façade where people do not get to see or access easily.
“The broken glasses can be replaced with a near to match glass by removing the existing ones from the side or rear elevation. These makeovers can be done for various materials like Glass, ACP Granites, Tiles and Louver Blades. Thus, the aesthetics and grandeur of the front elevation, which carries the image of the business, can be maintained at all times.”
“There are specialized rope access companies in India, that mitigate this problem in an innovative way by providing comprehensive AMC contracts that not only cover façade cleaning but also façade glasses by stacking attic stock and extending the services to various façades that has been built with such special coating glasses,” adds Jayanth.
