Some of our work is a single shower door or one failing closer. Other projects mean outfitting an
entire building — and those are some of the most rewarding jobs we do. We recently completed
a full storefront and door package for a fire department in Granite Falls, the kind of public building
that has to look sharp, perform for decades, and stand up to hard daily use. Here’s what went
into it.

The Project

This was a complete building envelope job on the entry side: a YKK aluminum storefront
system in dark bronze, glazed with high-performance Solarban 60 tempered glass, paired
with a full package of hollow metal doors and frames — all fabricated, supplied, and installed
by our team. For a public building serving the community around the clock, every piece was
chosen for durability as much as appearance.

The Storefront: YKK

Aluminum in Dark Bronze
We used a YKK thermally broken storefront system. “Thermally broken” means the inside
and outside aluminum are separated by an insulating barrier, so heat and cold don’t transfer
straight through the frame. That keeps the building more comfortable, cuts energy loss, and
helps prevent the condensation you’d otherwise get on bare metal in cold weather. The dark
bronze finish gives it a clean, professional look that wears well and hides the scuffs a busy
entrance collects.

The Glass: Solarban 60

The framing was glazed with Solarban 60, a high-performance low-E glass that blocks a large
share of the sun’s heat while staying remarkably clear and neutral — no dark tint, no mirrored
look. In practical terms, that’s a cooler, more comfortable building in summer and lower cooling
costs, without sacrificing daylight or views. We specified it tempered for safety, so if it’s ever
broken it crumbles into small, blunt pieces rather than dangerous shards — the right call for a
high-traffic public entrance.

The Doors: A Full Hollow Metal Package

Behind the glass, the project included a complete run of hollow metal doors and frames —
heavy steel construction built for security, fire resistance, and the relentless cycling a fire station
puts on its doors. Hollow metal is the workhorse of institutional construction precisely because it
holds up where lighter doors would fail. Supplying and installing a package this size takes careful
coordination so every frame, door, and piece of hardware fits and functions as one system.

Handling Large Commercial and Public Projects

A project of this scale is more than a list of parts — it’s procurement, scheduling, and installation
managed so the building comes together on time. We routinely source premium storefront and
door systems from manufacturers like YKK and coordinate full packages for commercial,
institutional, and public buildings across the greater Hickory and Granite Falls area. If your
project needs a partner who can handle the whole envelope, we’re built for it.
Planning a Commercial or Institutional Project?
From a single storefront to a whole-building glass and door package, we design, source, and
install for businesses and public projects throughout the region. At All Glass of Hickory, no
project is too big to do right.