Final test completes £300k R&D investment by structural glass pioneers Cantifix

Structural glass pioneers Cantifix have reached another milestone, completing a £300,000 investment in their sky.by.cantifix range of moving rooflights.

The final stage of the three year programme saw successful testing and certification of two new rooflight types in the Cantifix hydraulically operated range.

The London-based company has put its sky.by.cantifix products through testing in the most extreme weather conditions, at the VINCI centre in Leighton Buzzard.

The rooflights passed with flying colours, achieving the highest certification in both air and watertightness, after testing to BS and European standards of weather resistance.

Versatile functionality options in sky.by.cantifix include 90° opening on a hinged version, for easy access, with a pop-up style product opening on six hydraulic arms for safe and secure ventilation.

The innovative work has been done by a team of three engineers, led by Cantifix co-founder William Sharman and based at the company offices and factory in North London.

Their expertise has enabled successful installations including 67 rooflights recently fitted on top of Battersea Power Station and the pop-up system, which is currently being installed in an iconic retail location in Istanbul, Turkey.

Installations for domestic customers include a sliding curved rooflight in Suffolk, measuring more than 110m² and a soon-to-be-installed order for the new hinged, hydraulic rooflight measuring almost five square metres and weighing in at 0.5 tonnes.

William Sharman, who has provided the engineering input into Cantifix since its inception, said: “Whether it is for commercial properties or transformative homeowner projects, we have seen a significant increase in demand in our rooflight range as they bring beneficial access to light and ventilation whilst opening up some stunning vistas.

“The time, money and effort spent on continually developing, refining and testing these products can be matched only by our enthusiasm in them and steadfast belief that our customers deserve the best products available, whatever their requirements.”

The sky.by.cantifix range now includes pop-up, hinged and sliding rooflights along with motorising complete glass enclosures. Each must be precision engineered to meet the exacting BS and EN standards for air and water tightness as well as resisting always greater expected wind loads.

Using a combination of panes of heat-strengthened and SGP-laminated glass, often in ultra-clear low iron glass, the rooflight is robust enough to resist wind, rain and even attempted burglary.

Designed specifically for accessing roof terraces where space is too limited for a sliding rooflight, the hydraulic hinged rooflight is perfect for modern penthouse living, opening to create a balustrade for protecting against falls or closed as a floor to be walked upon.

The product can be as large as eight metres square and will be constructed using a combination of heat-strengthened glass and extra stiff SGP interlayers to give the robustness required.

William said: “We have been creating moveable glass for a long time now and our dedicated R&D team of specialists are constantly developing new solutions and controls to give our installations the edge over competing products.

“Advancements in technology have allowed us to continuously push the previous boundaries of what was possible, however, this must always be backed up by continuous assessment and testing to ensure suitability for each client’s particular needs.

“In recent years, we have incorporated biometric scanning interfaces and linking these through logic software with our Millennium drive modules for BMS integration. This sort of setup can be used throughout our ever-expanding range of sky.by.cantifix moving rooflights.

“Our investment into the Cantifix roof light range gives our architect, contractor and client community the confidence and assurance they need for their most ambitious projects.”

Cantifix was set up in 1986 by William Sharman and his brother Charlie. Fellow directors of the company include their brother Matthew, who joined in 2007 as finance director, Executive Director Charlotte Fox and Director of Operations Trisha Wadds.