Historic aluminum window frames restored on a 1955 Dallas landmark

The Meadows Building is one of the earliest high-rises built outside downtown Dallas. It went up in 1955 in brick, stone, aluminum and glass, and it has been a city landmark ever since. By the time Presto was brought in, the facade was leaking.

What went wrong

Two failures, related. The historic aluminum window frames had tarnished with age across the whole building. And the wet glaze joints between the glass and the metal had given out, which is where the water was getting in.

Why replacement was the wrong answer

On a building of this period the original aluminum is part of what makes it the building. New frames would have been a straightforward purchase and a permanent loss, and on a high-rise the cost of replacing every window frame is not in the same category as refinishing them.

The constraint was that the work had to happen while interior renovations were already underway, alongside other trades, on an occupied landmark in the middle of Dallas.

What was used

EnviRestore Metal Stain Remover took the tarnish off the aluminum and brought the frames back to an even finish without stripping the metal, which is the part that general-purpose cleaners get wrong on older aluminum.

The glass-to-metal joints were then re-glazed with high-performance silicone, rated to hold for twenty years or more. That stops the leaks, and it does a second job the owner feels on the utility bill: sealed joints stop conditioned air escaping through the facade.

How it came out

Every commercial window frame on the building was refinished rather than replaced, and the facade is sealed against water at the glazing joints. The original 1955 aluminum is still on the building, which was the point.