About Us

Lux
         [Latin lux, light; see leuk- in Indo-European roots]
                 – bau   – m
                           [German Bau, construction, to build – in Indo-European roots]
                                  baum
                                           [German Baum, tree]

The name was borne : Luxbaum

     We at Luxbaum Windows + Doors firmly believe that the integrity of the fenestration is a significant obligation to the design professionals and the service providers of the construction industry.  We at Luxbaum Windows + Doors are committed to meet these obligations.
 
The Facts:

     The functions required of a window and a door are to provide natural light, ventilation, egress and ingress. Window and door manufacturers are challenged to combine these functional requirements with the recently emerging engineering standards of impact resistance.

The Challenge:

     The construction of fenestration needs to meet the same design criteria as the surrounding and supporting structural walls and columns, to provide the assurance of the integrity of the building envelope during hurricanes or cyclonic wind storms.  The potential breach of the building envelope can lead to catastrophic failure of the building, through the generation of internal and differential pressures.  The potential hazard of wind driven projectiles is greatest at ground level, and therefore effects residential construction from one to three stories in height in particular.

The Solution:

     Careful engineering and design, research, development and testing of the prototypes incorporating components manufactured by leading European suppliers preceded the release of every type of window and door.  The selection of merbau, a timber of extraordinary physical characteristics, recognized by design professionals to be “leaps above mahogany” assisted us to obtain superior test results without the employment of internal metal reinforcement.  The installation of wood working machinery and tooling from the most experienced European suppliers and the construction of a factory in Bali, employing tradesmen who are descendents of generations of wood carvers and carpenters, has created the fusion of technical, engineering and manufacturing sophistication with the craftsmanship of the Balinese.

The Result:

     Impact resistant windows and doors manufactured by Luxbaum Windows + Doors.

     We believe that a well constructed high-end residential window or door is a fine piece of furniture with superior performance characteristics. We believe that standards established by agencies and organizations led by the pioneering efforts of SFBC (Dade-Broward County and Monroe County), followed by SBCCI, YWIA, ASCE and ASTM are minimum guidelines only.  Our Double French Door has been tested to withstand a negative pressure of 116 pounds-per-square-foot, exceeding the design criteria by 68%.

Test Results

• Miami-Dade County Protocol PA 201, PA 202, PA 203
• SSTD 12-99
• ASTM E1886/E1996

Test results:

History:

      Two major natural disasters of the twentieth century prompted code enforcers, engineers and window and door manufacturers to re-evaluate the standards applied in the design of fenestration. Cyclone Tracey in 1974 which has destroyed over ninety percent of the residences in Darwin, Australia, and Hurricane Andrew in 1992, destroying a vast inventory of housing in South Florida, can be credited to prompt the development of new design standards.  Engineering studies conducted in Australia concluded that the significant portion of the damage is caused by windborne debris.  The traditional design principle assuming the single-gust concept was gradually replaced by design criteria recognizing turbulent winds, with changing direction, fluctuating pressure and carrying flying destructive objects.

     Test protocols have been developed and adopted to test windows and doors to impact with a projectile.  Cyclic structural loading tests re-create the effect of fluctuating wind pressures.  Water and air infiltration tests ensure the assemblies’ resistance against infiltration.