One excellent way to take an old building, let's use an old parking garage as an example, and totally change the appearance of the building, is to "skin" it with polycarbonate panel system, manufactured by CPI.

The change in appearance is so dramatic that I am sure some people would believe that the old building had been torn down and a new one put up.

All the work can typically be done from the interior on a parking garage, and the new "walls" still let light into the interior spaces but block the wind and other elements from interfering with the public.

The transformation is amazing as the panels have a seamless appearance. Also, the appearance at night with the building lit up is beautiful.

Another plus is the material has an excellent fire rating.

A very good way to control the amount of light from either a skylight or an exterior wall is to install ControLite manufactured by CPI.

This unique polycarbonate product has interior "baffles" that are controlled in such a way that you decide the parameters of when you want light or when you want to block light. Only 6 % of light will penetrate when closed. The baffles are located on the inside of the panel providing a dust free, no maintenance system.

This product is very unique and fairly new, however CPI has many projects installed successfully.

The system can be installed directly over an existing skylight or storefront system, lowering the cost of a retrofit.

I have noticed that there are management companies, who are smart enough to have their skylights inspected on their major properties, that spend less for maintenance than when they call for a specific problem. In other words they spend money up front to insure they won't spend much more later.

These same companies also benefit in that they have one company, that they trust, working on their skylights. In this way they don't have to pay us to repair someone else's incorrect repair. An example is when Embassy Suites paid a roofer $300.00 to ruin a $5,000,000.00 skylight. (We were able to repair it for a fraction of that cost, but still $100,000.00)

We should always be called for maintenance work prior to and directly after you have roof repairs or replacement done. The second inspection should be performed prior to paying the roofers in full. This insures that the skylights have not been unfastened or that the roofers haven't damaged the skylights in some way.

The recent replacement of the fiberglass skylights for Duke Energy in Charlotte, NC was completed successfully and on time and on budget. The principles involved were very pleased with the appearance and the performance of the new CPI skylight that we installed.

The weather was hot and humid with frequent rain and thunderstorms storms, however the project was completed safely for all concerned and without any leaks or damage to the interior of the building. 

The building recently had a new roof installed and protection and care prevented any problems to the new single ply membrane.

All materials removed from the project were recycled instead of going to the landfill. 

The new polycarbonate skylights are shaped in an arch instead of a ridge and the quality of the light is much more superior than the yellowed fiberglass skylight.

We recently completed the replacement of approximately 375 linear feet of fiberglass ridge lites manufactured by Kalwall with barrel vaults, manufactured by CPI. The original skylights were originally installed seventeen years ago in Charlotte, North Carolina and had deteriorated, causing several problems. One problem was the fiberglass had turned yellow which created a very depressing light in the building. The other major problem was the panels had a fiberglass insulation in-between the inner and outer layers and apparently water had penetrated the outer layer causing a "fishy" smell to permeate into the building. The owner had fans installed in the gable ends of the old skylight to help remove the offensive smell.

The new skylights were installed within about two weeks and care was taken to keep the inhabitants safe and dry. We only removed as much skylight that could be re-installed in the same day and precautions were taken to keep the connection water tight while in progress.

The new skylights are much whiter in appearance and will last much longer than the original skylights.

The owner is very satisfied with the entire project and was surprised on how smoothly the entire project was completed.