90 Rivonia Road: High-Performance sealing & bonding

The four-sided structural silicone glazed (SSG) units of the Webber Wentzel building’s double-ventilated facade were manufactured using high-performance structural silicones, and the perimeter joints were weather-sealed with frame and facade silicones supplied by FG Trading.

Designed by GLH & Associates, Webber Wentzel’s Johannesburg office building features a high-tech, double-ventilated facade with automatic motorised blinds for ventilation of the air channel between the inner and outer facades.

This facade contributed to the building being certified as a four-star Green Star SA Office Design V1 and a four-star Green Star SA Office as Built V1 by the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA).

The project involved various facade contractors: The Facade Solutions Diri joint venture manufactured and installed the external envelope of the double-skin facade, while Fentech Projects was responsible for the atrium glazing.

Keeping it together

The four-sided structural silicone glazed (SSG) units were manufactured using high-performance structural silicones, and the perimeter joints were weather-sealed with frame and facade silicones supplied by FG Trading. Where necessary, glazing or expansion joints were back-filled with FG Trading polyethylene foam backing cord to prevent three-sided adhesion.

Both the SG200 Proglaze II and SG300 Spectrem 2 sealants are specifically designed and approved for structural silicone glazing applications and have outstanding resistance to ultraviolet (UV) exposure, ozone and extreme temperatures. Due to its high adhesion strength, SG300 provides the long-term performance required for demanding structural and weatherproofing applications.

Similarly, FS550 Frame & Facade Silicone and ME220 EPDM Membrane were used to provide an air- and weathertight seal and ensure long-term resistance to weathering, ageing and UV exposure as well as minimal strain at joint faces resulting from a high movement capability. OT015 High-Tack Membrane Adhesive is specially formulated for bonding ME220 to itself and other common construction materials.

FG Trading also supplied various protection tapes and films for use on the construction site, such as GlasPro™ Protection Film for the protection of single glazing or double-glazed units and Xtrusion Tape™ for aluminium and uPVC profiles during the construction phase.

A popular solution

90 Rivonia Road is one of many projects in the Sandton central business district (CBD) where Tremco illbruck structural silicones and weather-sealing silicones and membranes have been used. Other examples include Ernst & Young, Alexander Forbes, Katherine & West, Old Mutual, Discovery and Sasol Corporate Offices as well as Sandton City Office Towers, Atrium on 5th, 15 Alice Lane and Alice Lane Building A.

FG Trading is the exclusive Southern African distributor of Tremco illbruck products, supplying an extensive range of top-quality sealing and bonding solutions for windows and facades that play a critical role in the energy efficiency and thermal performance of a building.

Various products from the range do not contain any volatile organic content (VOC) and therefore satisfy LEED criteria for indoor environmental quality. LEED is a third-party verification programme, developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design and construction of high performance green buildings.

Add-on services

Apart from the specification and supply of sealing and bonding products, FG Trading, in partnership with Tremco illbruck, offers various consultation services in the form of preconstruction project reviews and testing programmes in order to ensure product performance characteristics and glazing integrity.

Source: Walls & Roofs, Journal 4, June 2017

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