How to make a reasonable budget for your curtain wall system in applications

For modern building construction, complex high-value projects are often prestigious due to curtain wall playing an important part in the image of the building. Furthermore, commercial curtain wall buildings can often enhance the appearance of companies inside. While for the residential accommodation, types of curtain wall system have been increasingly in demand, particularly for high-rise solutions where prefabrication and quick site erection are paramount.

However, the current curtain wall market remains very competitive with tight margins and only small inflationary rises being passed to customers. Specifically speaking, materials account for just 30-35% of the total curtain wall costs in construction, with the remaining costs taken up by design, installation, production and overheads. As a result, curtain wall cost is not as sensitive to fluctuations in raw material prices as other forms of cladding materials such as profiled metal decking and sheeting. Another consequence is that any standard system will be considerably cheaper than a bespoke solution, since expensive prototype design and testing will have already been paid for and installation becomes a repetitious but efficient operation.

In addition, along with the global rise in steel costs, curtain wall panels of stainless steel have increased significantly in curtain wall cost. However, as the majority of curtain wall framing tends to be fabricated from extruded aluminium sections, the cost of steel has not had a huge impact on curtain wall construction. On the other hand, increases in energy costs for the production of glass in the order of 2% have been passed on to cladding contractors by glass manufacturers. Similar increases are anticipated for all energy-intensive production processes including both aluminium smelters and gasket producers, but these should not result in large increases to tender prices. Furthermore, as the choice of products continues to increase and construction becomes more complex, specialist input at the early stages of design is now essential and existing processes will continue to come under strain, as they attempt to meet these demands. Early input from specialists should ensure that designs are not over complex and therefore costly. As a whole, curtain wall construction tends to entail a complex sequence of design, engineering, manufacturing, transportation and logistics and site installation, sometimes taking more than two years. It therefore pays to get the programme right at the outset. A sensible timetable is required to deliver a quality product accurately to site. More than that, since curtain walling element is often a major part of the whole project, it is invariably on the critical path and any delay will have a significant effect on overall project costs.