The vast majority of curtain walls are installed long pieces (referred to as sticks) between floors vertically and between vertical members horizontally. Framing members may be fabricated in a shop, but all installation and glazing is typically performed at the jobsite. Seon Place is pictured above.

Unitized curtain walls entail factory fabrication and assembly of panels and may include factory glazing. These completed units are hung on the building structure to form the building enclosure. Unitized curtain wall has the advantages of: speed; lower field installation costs; and quality control within an interior climate controlled environment. The economic benefits are typically realized on large projects or in areas of high field labor rates. Please note that shipping and duty costs will be relative higher in the Bermuda market as oppsode the traditional “knock down” approach.

The expressions Unitized and Stick refer to the method of construction of a framing system for any glazed components within a
building façade. Stick construction generally refers to components that have been factory prepared, shipped to the jobsite, and then erected piece by piece on-site. Unitized construction conveys that the components have been factory prepared and assembled then shipped to the jobsite as a completed unit. Each unit is then connected together to form the façade. Stick construction takes less time in the factory but takes longer to assemble on-site and presents some quality control issues. Conversely, Unitized construction takes longer to manufacture in the factory, however quality control can be strictly monitored, and it does accelerate the erection of the façade on-site.