ForceFront Storm™ curtainwall, storefront, and entrances from Tubelite Inc. help commercial buildings meet impact building codes. They provide a complete, easy-to-install, hurricane impact-resistant system. The storm products are designed to meet the Florida Building Code’s High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) requirements and are approved through the Florida Product Approval (FPA) and Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) review processes.
“These hurricane impact-resistant products are engineered to help protect building occupants and property from windborne projectiles and rain water,” says Tom Mifflin, Tubelite’s product manager. “Verifying their performance, Inertek (formerly ATI) tests and approves our ForceFront Storm products to meet today’s industry standards.”
Tubelite ForceFront Storm products include:
- ForceFront Storm Curtainwall (FFS-CW) systems that feature a 2½” face pressure bar system for use on single- and twin-span applications. FFS-CW has a shear block construction and is available in captured or structural glazed options. A thermal separator and 1-5/16″ laminated-insulated glass support stringent, modern energy code requirements.
- ForceFront Storm E44000 Series and E/T34000 Series Storefront systems are design for use on first floor, single-span applications. The E44000 Series 2½” x 5″, flush-glazed storefront system’s impact-resistant, screw-spline framing is designed to be glazed with 9/16″ laminated glass. The E/T34000 Series is available with either a thermal or non-thermal frame and accepts 1-5/16″ laminated-insulated glass.
- ForceFront Entrance Doors complement Tubelite’s curtainwall and storefront products. The entrance systems’ stile dimensions include Monumental 2″ x 6″ Wide Stile and 1¾” x 4″ Medium Stile. The Medium Stile door is available with both thermal and non-thermal frames. ForceFront Storm entrances are glazed with 1-1/16″ thick laminated-insulated glass. Options include, transom lites, heavy-wall extrusions, and steel reinforcing. Thresholds comply with the ADA requirements for accessibility.
In addition to impact-resistance performance, ForceFront Storm products have been tested to industry standards for air, water, structural, thermal, and acoustical performance. The framing for products extrusions also can be specified as using EcoLuminum™, a high recycled-content aluminum billet composition. Coupled with daylight, views, energy-efficient thermal performance, and condensation resistance, these attributes also may support projects seeking LEED® certification or other green building criteria.
