Bristol Redcliffe Street

For this project, we were chosen to work in partnership with Granada and ISG to deliver a whole office building comprising 14 floors, 4 elevations with 91 windows per floor totalling 1274 windows to be refurbished with Secondary Glazing.

The existing primary windows were single glazed steel windows with 4mm float glass with protective timber trip bars. Being single-glazed units, it made the building quite cold in the winter months, so the goal of the Secondary Glazing installation was to create a warmer and more appealing environment for existing and new clients within the building.

The primary windows were mostly all identical non-functional primary windows, with an arched top. Which meant our recommendation to the client was to use a lift out secondary glazing system. The lift-out system is one of the most cost-effective Secondary Glazing systems, as it has no moving parts or hinges to manufacture. It is however only practical in situations where access to the primary window isn’t necessary, as it would involve completely removing the Secondary Glazing glass panels to do so.

11 Weeks

1274 Windows

We used 4mm toughened glass in the Secondary Panels, which along with the added safety benefits, created thermal and acoustic barriers. Working off such a structured budget, we used our experience and expertise to recommended to the client that we use 18mm MDF infills to fill the arches, which although this meant a small section of the opening was therefore lost, we were able to mitigate the need to manufacture bespoke arched glass and casements, dramatically reducing the overall cost of the project and deliver the most cost-effective solution for our client. ISG is at the forefront of Health and Safety in the construction industry and with them choosing Arctic Glaze for the job was a validation for us in terms of where we are in the industry and to show our quality of work and experience. As such whilst creating the MDF cuts we used an M Class Industrial Vacuum system alongside a minimum of FFP2 spec dust masks. All our staff are face mask fit tested to use a specific mask fitted to their face, which is a must as part of the minimum certification. Granada also manufactured white aluminium caps to cover the existing steel window casements brown finish. This completely transformed the look of the primary windows and create a fresh modern office space.