Are You Ready For Some Curtainwall?

First, let me just say that I am not a football fan. Yes, I’ll admit it: when watching the Super Bowl, I turn down the volume on the game and turn it up for halftime and commercials—if the game is turned on at all. But due to the fact that a new and significant person in my life lives, breathes and eats (almost) entirely for the Washington Redskins, I found myself in recent months putting down my book to high-five the aforementioned significant other when the team makes a touchdown, or gains yards or, occasionally, because the chili made for that week’s game was really, really good.

And, yes, I do have a maroon and gold tee-shirt that I have been required to wear for several games because the first time I wore it the ’Skins won (clearly, that tee has since been retired).

So as you can imagine, I held my breath when it slipped out over dinner one night that I was even considering profiling the new Dallas Cowboys football stadium due to its use of unitized curtainwall systems.

In a recent interview, Larry Long, president of Oldcastle Glass Engineered Walls in Dallas, told me that the company had supplied the curtainwall system for the new stadium.

“It’s all unitized—375,000 square feet of curtainwall,” Larry told me. “It’s just huge. It’s got 5,000 units on it.”

Oldcastle has been engineering the project for more than eight months now, and began shipping units in late December. Haley-Greer Inc., also of Dallas, is installing the glass for this project.

“It’s supposed to have the world’s largest retractable all-glass doors,” I related over dinner, trying to stress the unique use of glass and not my traitorous interest in the rival team’s project.

The boyfriend took this all relatively well. “Hm. Well. Are you writing anything about the Nationals’ new stadium? There’s supposed to be a lot of glass involved there.”

True, true. For now I’ll offer this link on the new baseball stadium in Washington, D.C., and its use of glass. But be prepared somewhere down the road for the sports issue of USGlass …

In the meantime, if you want to talk football, leave USGlass blogger Max Perilstein a comment here. If you want to talk about unitized curtainwall, send me an email at mheadley@glass.com!

Best and Worst

I can still remember sitting in the back of the high school auditorium, legs propped up on the stiff back of the chair in front of me, bemusedly watching my high school classmates singing and acting silly for our class’ Senior Night. Being pretty shy, I had never really been one for after-school activities, but even I was touched by the thought of graduation being only days away and knowing I might never again see many of the characters I’d grown up with.

Following the concerts, standup and skits, the audience was entertained with a list of nominees for the class superlatives. I can hardly remember most of the categories or winners; I’m sure it was the usual—“Most Popular,” “Best Dressed,” “Class Clown,” “Most Likely to Go to Prison Instead of College,” etc.—that all high schools have. But you can only imagine my embarrassment when I heard the emcee call out the category “quietest,” followed by my name and a long pause; that’s right, I was the only nominee. Believe me, the last thing the shy kid wants is to be recognized for being so quiet!

So many years later, I’m now in the process of putting together my own list of “superlatives” of sorts. That is, USGlass is gearing up for its Fourth Annual Big Book of Lists, to be featured in the March 2008 issue. I’m planning to spare you, Readers, such categories as “Most Popular” and “Best Dressed” (unless those are the lists you’ve been anxiously awaiting—I’d like to see those nominations!). Instead, we’ll be ranking the glass industry’s top manufacturers, fabricators, distributors and retailers, organized by product type, revenue and even number of years in business.

This year's list will also once again feature the list of top glazing contractors, with a description of each company in addition to information about locations and size. If you’re looking to see where you fall among your peers, look no further.

In addition, this year’s Book of Lists will be featuring such first-time categories as top minority-owned businesses; top women-owned businesses; top glass retailers; and top glass franchises.

Of course, this is all dependent upon the responses we receive from you, Readers. Luckily, becoming a part of the Book of Lists is simple; CLICK HERE to fill out a form. Please fill out the forms in their entirety to be considered. Forms are due by January 18, 2008.

If you have any questions—or suggestions for lists you would like to see—drop me a line or post a comment here. Or feel free to share the superlatives you received so many years ago—I know I’ve met a couple of Class Clowns and Most Likely to Succeeds out there!

No Assembly Required

Although not a parent myself, I have enough friends and cousins in that boat to know that the holiday season brings out the handyman in parents rushing to assemble bike parts, dollhouses and race car tracks in the late night hours when Santa is supposed to be visiting.

Last year, my mom and stepdad bought themselves a fun toy (although addressed to my siblings and I) and spent their New Year’s Eve assembling a pool table from a box. This year it was my turn; my Dad bought me a terrific wine rack that can be made to fit into nearly any space available. The catch? It has to be assembled entirely from scratch (pegs and slats with pre-drilled holes provided) before it can hold a single bottle of Shiraz.

USGlass/USGNN.com web assistant Kim recalls the toy car wash/gas station she received for Christmas one year. She was old enough to know the sad truth about Santa, so spent Christmas day helping her parents with the assembly of the intricate little pieces.

Wendy, online reporter for USGNN.com, said that there was no way she would be staying up this Christmas Eve putting together toys; the Laugh & Learn learning home she bought for her young son came already (mostly) assembled. Even the big plastic toy, however, had its share of tiny screws that Wendy rushed to attach before her curious toddler found them.

Can you blame Wendy for wanting everything already assembled? Who wouldn’t want their bikes and dollhouses and pool tables to come ready to go?

Well, what about those glazing contractors who want their curtainwall to come already assembled? In the February USGlass we’ll be revisiting a topic touched on in our August 2006 issue (CLICK HERE to read “Short Cuts”), the use of unitized curtainwall products. Who wouldn’t want to use these largely preassembled systems? No, that’s not a rhetorical question. We’re looking for information about the benefits, as well as the drawbacks, of these systems and why you have, or have not, turned to using them in your projects. Post your comments here, or send me an e-mail at mheadley@glass.com, to be included in this feature.

Or feel free to post here if you just want to share the fun no-assembly-required items you received this year for Christmas!