Rope access glass survey of a damaged atrium roof

The job

Two panels in a glazed atrium roof on a 10th-floor roof garden had cracked. The glazing contractor replacing them needed exact dimensions and the full glass specification before new units could be made, and the only way to reach the panels was across the glazing itself.

The challenge

• Cracked glass in a sloping atrium roof on an occupied building, with the roof garden and the floors below to protect.
• Replacement units are made to order. A wrong measurement means a unit that doesn’t fit and another wait for the client.
• The units had to be measured as glass, not as frame: the capping hides the true size.

What we did

• Rigged IRATA two-rope access from deadweight anchors on the roof, with nothing drilled or fixed into the building.
• Removed the 75 mm capping to measure the glass itself, using a Merlin glass gauge and a hand survey.
• Recorded the make-up of both units: laminated, toughened double-glazed units, 18 mm overall (8 mm + 10 mm build).
• Checked the replacement units will fit the internal service lift, and walked the delivery route with the site.
• Agreed ground-level and roof-level exclusion zones with building management, tethered every tool and protected the ropes at friction points.

See our glazing and façades service.

The result

• Mobilised, surveyed and finished in a single day, under an IRATA Level 3 supervisor.
• A survey report with exact dimensions and the glass specification for both units, ready for the contractor to order.
• The replacement planned in advance: access method, exclusion zones and delivery route already worked out.