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development of TingWall™ was focused originally
on in-place performance criteria. Dr. Ting, as a
structural engineer, designed a system that successfully
encloses the building with permanent water resistance,
the ability to handle significant inter-floor deflection,
seismic or wind induced story drift, and low-cost
maintenance over the long term. It was immediately
clear with the first project that TingWall™ installation
is more flexible, faster, and safer, with smaller
crews and less equipment than conventional systems.
Indeed, the biggest challenge facing a first-time
user of TingWall™ is producing materials in the
shop fast enough for the field, since they will
universally underestimate the speed of erection.
Following are a few reasons for this.
1. TingWall™'s patented mounting clip installs
very quickly, and is adjustable in all three directions
without the need of field welding. Then shop-prepared
mullions are joined to the structure - again with
no field welding. Installation of additional mullions
can proceed as installation of facing panels begins.
2. Each mullion bay is independent of the adjacent
bay, meaning that no one bay must be installed
before an adjacent one. This allows for simultaneous
right-to-left and left-to right and multiple-point
erection. Sections of a building can be skipped
if necessary and back-filled later, for example
to accommodate the movement of large equipment
into or out of the building during erection. The
multiple-point erection opportunity means that
additional crews can be brought in to work on
different parts of the building for even faster
installation.
3. Shop-glazed TingWall™ panels can be faced
with a large variety of materials allowing use
of multiple facings without encountering problematic
boundary conditions.
4. The need for field caulking is but a fraction
of that of the conventional systems. Following
the small amount of caulking that is needed, there
is no need to wait for curing before moving to
the next panel.
5. Panels are mechanically engaged on three edges
before final positional adjustment and fastening
is done, making the TingWall™ installation process
the safest in the industry.
In addition, TingWall™ is a uniquely capable
design in the retrofit setting. In many cases,
existing mullions can be left in place by addition
of adapter extrusions, effectively turning the
existing mullion into a TingWall™ mullion. Since
the adapters need only be added to one side of
the mullion at a time, new panels can be installed
on one side of the mullion while leaving the old
system in place on the other side. This eliminates
the "building hole" problem inherent
in the use of conventional systems, and with it
eliminates the attendant logistical, weather,
and security nightmares. If the retrofit involves
over-cladding instead, the TingWall?design again
provides flexibility and in-place clearance unavailable
with conventional systems.
As we have presented TingWall™ at trade shows,
to architects, owners and engineers at their offices,
almost universally we are asked how much more
one must pay for TingWall™ than for a conventional
system. The answer is a very pleasant surprise.
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