Rooflights and Glass Façades: Maintenance, Sealing and Refurbishment
Leaks, glass coming away, seals that have failed — we attend, we diagnose and we repair, with or without a specifier.
Components that fail quietly
Rooflights and flush glass façades are exposed all year round to swings in temperature, to UV and to the weather. Their components — butyl seals, pressure plates, fixings, glazing beads — degrade steadily. Without regular maintenance, leaks appear, sometimes years before an untrained eye picks them up.
Vitralux works on rooflights and flush glass façades on a preventive maintenance basis, as a targeted repair or as a full refurbishment, for property managers, managing agents and asset managers in Luxembourg.
What we actually do
These are the seven kinds of work we carry out on rooflights and flush glass façades.
Replacing the sealing joints on a rooflight
Complete replacement of the perimeter butyl tape and of the glass-to-glass or glass-to-metal seals on rooflights. Includes cleaning and degreasing the surfaces before the new sealant goes on (Dowsil 791, butyl SG64 or equivalent depending on the build-up). Recommended preventive maintenance: replacement every five years for exposed perimeter butyl seals.
Re-shimming and refurbishing pressure plates and sub-frame
Removing the stainless or aluminium plates, assessing the condition of the sub-frame, re-shimming and bedding the setting blocks, refitting and re-fixing. Called for when play, movement or localised leaks are found under the plates.
Replacing the joints on flush glass façades (structural glazing)
On façades with no visible fixings (structural glazing, or SSG), replacement of the structural silicone façade joints. Delicate work that demands a complete command of the products and of the application techniques, because the joint provides both the weathertightness and the mechanical support of the glass.
Fitting condensation drainage pieces
On flush glass façades, fitting condensation drainage pieces built into the façade joint. This keeps moisture from building up between the glass and the sub-structure — a frequent cause of glass gradually coming away.
Condition survey and technical report
Before any large-scale works are committed to, Vitralux carries out a full survey of the condition of the glazing and the sealing components of a rooflight or a façade. The report identifies, position by position, the faults found (glass coming away, condensation between the panes, failed pressure plates, cracked seals) and gives you a basis for programming the works and justifying the budget to the owners.
Trial areas and budget estimates
On large rooflights we offer a trial run over a defined area, usually two days. That tells us the real rate of progress on site, tests the materials and produces a reliable overall estimate for the whole area to be treated.
Referral to specialist engineers
Where the situation is structurally complex — glass coming away across the board, doubt over the load-bearing capacity of the fixing system, a design fault — Vitralux refers the client to engineers who specialise in structural glass calculations, then carries out the works to their specification.
We work in particular with GSK Ingenieurbüro (Germany), a consultancy specialising in structural glazing, which produces the diagnosis and the technical specification.
How we work
Time and materials
The usual arrangement for maintenance work whose exact extent can only be established once the plates or seals have come off. Invoiced on an hourly rate and the materials actually used.
Fixed price
For larger projects, Vitralux prepares a fixed-price quote on the basis of a survey or a trial area. A fixed price keeps the budget under control.
In every case, Vitralux works alongside the property manager or the technical manager and produces a report on the work. That document can go straight to the owner or into the building's management file. For glazing that has to be replaced at height, see also our façade glass repair with difficult access.
What the guarantee covers
Vitralux guarantees the weathertightness of its own seals and its own work — not the weathertightness of the building as a whole.
The people we usually deal with
Vitralux works mainly for managers of commercial buildings, managing agents of commercial developments and property managers active on the Luxembourg market. Our usual contact is the technical manager or the building manager, to whom we supply the reports and the material needed to make decisions and to brief the owner.
Property managers
Commercial buildings
Managing agents
Commercial developments
Investors
Real estate asset managers
Facility managers
Building technical managers
A few Luxembourg references
Royal Hamilius
Octagonal rooflight — maintenance and refurbishment of the seals on a complex structure.
Office building
Flush glass façade — replacement of the structural silicone façade joints.
Office and retail complex
Regular glass façade maintenance — periodic condition surveys and technical reports.
Our rooflight and façade maintenance projects in Luxembourg
Reworked seals, glazing replaced at height and sealing work on rooflights and glass façades.
Frequently asked questions
That is exactly what the condition survey we carry out beforehand is for. Vitralux inspects the rooflight or the façade position by position, identifies the areas that have failed and hands over a written report. That document lets you separate what is down to the glazing, to the roof covering or to another cause — and to programme the works accordingly.
No. Vitralux works directly with property managers, managing agents and technical managers, with no intermediary required. If the situation calls for a specialist engineer's opinion, we point you to the right people and handle the coordination.
In most cases, yes. Our work on rooflights and façades is organised to keep disruption to occupants down. For work at height (cherry picker, scaffolding) we arrange access with your technical team and phase the programme around your operational constraints.
Structural silicone or butyl seals correctly applied to clean, degreased surfaces last 10 to 15 years under normal exposure. For perimeter butyl seals directly exposed to UV and to swings in temperature, preventive maintenance every five years is recommended.
Yes. For a leak that is running, Vitralux offers a quick temporary fix (protecting the affected area) followed by permanent work scheduled after a survey. Call us on (+352) 49 42 52 1.
Other Vitralux services for building managers
Glass Façades
Structural glazing, bonded glazing, point fixings: refurbishment and high-end façades.
View the pageFire-Rated Glazing
EI30 to EI120. CE certificates. Certified doors and partitions.
View the pageOffice Partitions
Deubl Alpha systems, certified acoustics, no fixing to the ceiling.
View the pageA leak? A first diagnosis? A rooflight to inspect?
Get in touch for a technical visit or an estimate — with or without a specifier.