Commercial Entrance Door Systems in Dundas: Curtain Wall Entrances and Vestibules for Centurion in Dundas

Centurion (Dundas) Holdings was completing a building on Main Street in Dundas, and its entrances were glass and aluminum: curtain wall entrance systems outside and in, and glass vestibules, including one for the underground entrance. Legacy Constructors Inc. was the general contractor, and Canuck supplied and installed the entrance systems.

We received the project at the end of 2023. It was installed from late May to the end of June 2024. The glass is what made it memorable.

Four decades of doors for names Ontario knows — Canada’s Wonderland, Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire, the LCBO, Metrolinx, Marriott & Hilton hotels, the University of Toronto — plus thousands of businesses across the GTA. Dependable people, quality products, since 1979.

What went in

HTP stands for high thermal performance: the 5500 HTP is the high thermal performance version of Windspec's 5500 curtain wall. The spandrel units are the opaque panels that cover the floor edges and structure between the vision glass, and here they are triple-pane units, heavier and better insulated than standard double glazing.

The vestibules give each entrance a glazed space between two sets of doors, so wind and cold stay out of the lobby every time someone comes in.

Glass too heavy for a scissor lift

The interior vestibule's transom glass was triple-pane, large and heavy. A standard scissor lift could not handle it, and there was no room for a zoom boom, so the crew brought in a spider crane.

A spider crane is a compact crane on folding legs, small enough to work inside a building and able to lift and place heavy glass precisely. It was the only way to set the vestibule transom units here: too heavy and large for a scissor lift, in a space too tight for a zoom boom.

That is worth planning for on any entrance with large insulated glass. The weight of a triple-pane unit rises quickly with its size, and the access equipment has to be chosen for the heaviest piece, not the average one.

Engineered drawings, and openings that weren't ready

The drawings went to the client for approval before the holidays. Engineered drawings were required as well, and they went out in January. The drawings were approved by April 2024, after which the openings were measured on site and the products ordered.

Installation took longer than planned, partly because of delays in getting the openings ready on site, and partly because of the transom glass. Once the work was done, the client was happy with it, and has since called us back for service work.

Questions this job answers

What does HTP mean on a curtain wall?

High thermal performance. The Windspec 5500 HTP is the high thermal performance version of the 5500 curtain wall, specified where keeping heat in matters.

What is spandrel glazing?

Spandrel panels are the opaque sections of a curtain wall that hide floor edges, structure and services between the vision glass. On this job they were triple-pane tempered units.

What is a spider crane used for in glazing?

Setting heavy glass where larger equipment cannot reach. It is compact enough to work indoors, with folding legs for stability. On this job it set the vestibule transom glass.

Why add a vestibule to an entrance?

A vestibule keeps wind and cold out of the building each time the doors open, and gives the entrance a controlled space between the street and the lobby.

Where this sits

This was curtain wall and entrance door work on a building in Dundas. For the same work on your building, start with the commercial glass doors in Hamilton page.