Replace Failed Fiberglass Skylight | Denver – Commercial Skylight Repair

Location: 499 Broadway Denver, CO 80209
Project Type: Retrofit-Replacement
Project Status: Completed
Products Used: Fiberglass Retrofit, Kingspan L+A, Polycarbonate Skylight

General Contractor: Boa Constructors & Design | Roof

Available for work in Colorado and Coast to Coast — It all starts with a simple phone call.
1-866-759-7732

Meininger’s Art Supply has a failed fiberglass skylight.

H.R. Meininger Co. was established in 1881 when Emil Meininger arrived in Denver from Chicago, Illinois and opened a book, bindery and art materials store at 430 Larimer Street. In 1990 a 30,000 square foot building was constructed at 499 Broadway, Denver, to house the business.

replace fiberglass skylight 22254-135040711 — Original failed fiberglass skylight.

Unfortunately, the original fiberglass skylight spanning the building’s depth, is definitely past its reasonable service life. The fiberglass is yellowed and stained and exhibits fiber bloom. In addition, many attempts have been made to correct leaking.

The failed skylight:

replace fiberglass skylight 22254-135039018 — Note the small gutter system.

replace fiberglass skylight 22254-102025 — Note the small gutter system.

Our proposal to retrofit the skylight with a CPI Daylighting skylight was accepted. We will use CPI’s polycarbonate Quadwall® system to provide maintenance-free, soft, translucent light.

Our solution:

Our first concerns were to protect the interior of the store and to minimize disturbance to the customers.

replace fiberglass skylight 22254-182128 — Extensive protection is required to protect the store’s interior.

replace fiberglass skylight 22254-002517 — Extensive protection is required to protect the store’s interior.

To further reduce disruption, much of the work took place at night.

replace fiberglass skylight 22254-215354 — Much of the work takes place at night.

A problem area:

The original design has a short dogleg at the rear of the store. That design has a flaw—if you look at the image below, there are six “seams” all coming together at one point. In addition, water is being channeled from three different sections to that same point. It may be fine when new, but over time, sealants wear out and problems arise.

replace fiberglass skylight 22254-134123282 — An obvious problem area with many attempts to fix issues.

replace fiberglass skylight 22254-102605 — An obvious problem area with many attempts to fix issues.

replace fiberglass skylight 22254-134241-2 — An obvious problem area with many attempts to fix issues.

The pink on the panels is a protective film applied at the factory to afford protection during shipping and installation and will be removed at the last minute.

A simple, yet elegant, solution.

By redesigning the corner of the skylight, most of the water from the dogleg now flows over the sill of the skylight onto the roof.

replace fiberglass skylight — This joint between the skylights has been an issue.

replace fiberglass skylight 22254-094918 — This joint between the skylights has been an issue.

Before and after:

Product Used:

Kingspan|CPI Daylighting Quadwall single slope skylight 11.75′ wide x 161.89′ long odc., 12.11′ on slope odc. 1960 sq. ft.
Quadwall Specifications

Quadwall RST – Removable Skin Technology

REPLACE exterior glazing panel without exposing the building’s interior.
EXTEND building envelope longevity. The interior panel is always shielded.
RAINSCREEN PRINCIPLE – Equilibrium of air pressure between the outside and inside of the “rainscreen” prevents water penetration into the building itself.
ENERGY EFFICIENT – Provides the best ratio of insulation (U-Factor) to visual transmittance (VT%).
HIGH PERFORMANCE DAYLIGHTING – Glare-free diffused daylighting.

Replace Failed Fiberglass Skylight | Denver