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A curtain wall is a lightweight external wall — usually aluminium framing and glass — that hangs off a building's structure rather than holding the building up. The floors carry the loads; the curtain wall keeps out weather, heat and noise while letting in light. The two main system families are stick (assembled bar by bar on site) and unitised (factory-built panels craned into place). Al Taher Group supplies, fabricates and installs both from its Fujairah workshop for buildings across all seven emirates.
How is a curtain wall different from ordinary windows?
Windows are holes in a structural wall; a curtain wall is the wall — a continuous framed skin spanning floor to floor, fixed back to the slab edges with engineered brackets. That continuity is what gives commercial buildings, hotels and showrooms their full-glass elevations, and it changes everything downstream: wind load, thermal movement and waterproofing are handled by the system, not by the surrounding masonry.
Stick or unitised — which system for which building?
The honest answer depends on repetition and programme, not prestige. Stick systems arrive as profiles and are assembled and glazed in place — lower material cost, flexible on irregular elevations, the usual fit for low- and mid-rise work across the UAE. Unitised systems move the labour into the factory: complete panels arrive glazed and gasketed, are lifted and locked in, and the envelope closes far faster — which is what tall buildings and compressed programmes pay for. Higher cost per square metre, bought back in site time and consistency.
Why does the UAE climate drive the glass specification?
Three forces write the spec. Solar gain: double-glazed units with Low-E coating are effectively the baseline — without them, upper floors become a permanent air-conditioning problem. Thermal movement: aluminium expands measurably across a 45°C day; expansion joints and gasket design either absorb that or the facade leaks within two summers. Coastal exposure: salt air attacks finishes and fixings, which is why frames are powder-coated on our own line and fixings specified corrosion-resistant. Spandrel panels hide slab edges; laminated glass appears where safety or overhead glazing requires it.
What does a curtain wall project involve?
Survey and structural interface first — bracket positions, slab tolerances, movement allowances. Then fabrication: profiles cut and machined, panels or frames assembled, finish applied. Installation runs floor by floor with weather sealing as the work closes, and the interfaces with cladding zones are detailed by the same team rather than negotiated between two contractors — which is precisely where mixed-contractor facades leak. Full scope: curtain walls service ←
How is curtain walling priced?
Per square metre of elevation, driven by system type, glass specification, panel sizes and access. We price from drawings, survey the building before fabrication, and return an itemised quotation within 24 hours of the visit — system, glass, brackets, installation and access each visible as its own line.
Itemised quotation within 24 hours of the visit — no charge, no obligation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a curtain wall in simple terms?
A non-structural outer wall of aluminium framing and glass that hangs from the building's floor slabs. It carries no building load — its job is weather, heat, noise and light.
What is the difference between stick and unitised curtain walls?
Stick systems are assembled bar by bar and glazed on site — flexible and lower material cost. Unitised systems arrive as factory-completed panels that crane into place — faster on site, more consistent, higher cost per square metre.
Is a curtain wall suitable for a villa?
Full curtain walling is commercial-scale, but the same structural-glazing techniques deliver villa features — double-height entrance glazing, atrium walls and frameless feature elevations — engineered the same way at smaller scale.
What glass is used in UAE curtain walls?
Double-glazed insulated units with Low-E coating as the baseline for the climate, laminated glass where safety or overhead glazing demands it, and spandrel panels concealing floor edges.
How long does curtain wall installation take?
It scales with elevation area and system: unitised installation closes floors quickly once panels arrive; stick systems build more gradually. The programme is committed at quotation stage after the survey.
Do you install curtain walls outside Fujairah?
Yes — supplied and fabricated in our Fujairah workshop and installed by our own teams across all seven emirates, for main contractors, developers and direct clients.