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A Better Design

The glass fencing is incorporated into a base wall. It is anchored to the base wall with stiffeners, and an aluminum frame is attached. The tempered glass panel is inserted into a pocket in the frame and a vinyl gasket holds the panel securely in place.

A major difference between Akme Glass's fencing and its competitor is found in the way the fence is anchored. Other companies sink an aluminum extrusion directly into the concrete. Over time, chemicals in the concrete begin to leach into the aluminum, causing it to deteriorate, and ultimately the system may fail.

Akme Glass uses a galvanized-steel stiffener rather than aluminum. The stiffeners can be placed into the cells of the blocks during construction of a wall, or, if the wall already exists or is made of non-block materials, a hole can be cored into it, and the stiffener is anchored in place with cement. Since the stiffener is galvanized-coated steel, it is resistant to the chemicals in concrete that can cause other metals like aluminum to deteriorate and fail over time. Next, a baked-on, kynar-finished aluminum framework is attached to the stiffeners and a base extrusion is secured to the wall itself. The framework has a pocket, which the tempered glass panel is inserted into. We then insert a vinyl gasket, which resists weather and vibration, into the pocket between the aluminum and the glass panel, holding it firmly in place. Finally, the aluminum posts are capped at the completion of the job.