Specifications & Testing Data
| Frame material | Extruded aluminum profiles (matte black RAL 9005 or clear anodized) glazed with 3/8" monolithic tempered glass; Kompas system takes 1/4" or 3/8" single glazing or 1/4" double glazing |
|---|---|
| Design pressure (DP) rating | Interior systems, not DP-rated; tempered safety glazing per ASTM C1048 in all door and sidelite locations per IRC R308 / IBC 2406; Kompas free-standing runs to 10 ft wide, full height to 19 ft |
| AAMA performance class | Not AAMA-rated; published sound rating of 34 on the perimeter-framed system; swing doors to 39-3/8" x 10 ft and 220 lb, sliding doors to 49-3/16" x 9 ft and 242 lb |
| Glass options | Clear, Low-iron, Bronze tint, Gray tint, Green tint, Frosted, Strip and laser-cut patterns, Double glazing (Kompas) |
| Available styles | Perimeter-framed fixed panels, Horizontal-mullion panels, Criss-cross grid panels, Framed swing door, Frameless swing door (Kompas), CGF-Series top-hung sliding door, Kompas double-glazed office fronts with transoms |
What It Actually Is
Crystalia's aluminum partitions are the office-front system: slim extruded-aluminum frames, 3/8" tempered glass, and doors that either swing on a framed leaf or slide on the top-hung CGF-Series track. The look is the one you've seen in every well-done downtown Boise co-working space — thin black lines, big clear lites, a door that closes with a soft thump instead of a rattle.
There are two systems under this heading, and the distinction matters:
| Standard aluminum | Kompas | |
|---|---|---|
| Max height | 10 ft | 19 ft |
| Glazing | 3/8" single tempered | 1/4" or 3/8" single; 1/4" double |
| Doors | Framed swing; CGF sliding | Framed or frameless swing |
| Free-standing | Needs walls at ends | Up to 10 ft wide unsupported |
| Finishes | Matte black, anodized | Matte black (RAL 9005), anodized |
| Sweet spot | Homes, small offices | Commercial TI, lobbies, tall spaces |
Both sit between the frameless line (less frame, less sound control, less money) and the welded steel system (more presence, more weight, more money).
Configurations, Glass and Hardware
The profile set is small and consistent. Track A is 5/16" x 2-3/8" for fixed runs; Track B, at 3" x 2-3/8", is the deeper head that hides the sliding-door carriage so the door appears to hang from the ceiling. Fixed panels land in a 5/8" x 1/2" bottom U-channel, and the perimeter frame profile is 1-1/8" x 3/8" — thin enough that a wall of three panels reads as three lines, not a grid.
Panel layouts come three ways: perimeter frame only, horizontal mullions (one or two crossbars), or a criss-cross grid for a more traditional proportion. Glass options run clear, low-iron, bronze, gray, or green tint, frosted, and strip or laser-cut patterns for partial privacy — a frosted band at seated eye level with clear glass above and below is the most-requested office detail.
Door limits are published and worth knowing before the drawing is finished. A framed swing door maxes at 39-3/8" wide, 10 feet tall and 220 pounds. A CGF sliding door goes wider — 49-3/16" — but shorter at 9 feet, with a 242-pound weight limit. The slider runs on ball-bearing rollers with an anti-shock brake, and the soft-close mechanism uses two nitrogen gas pistons plus one oil-filled piston to catch the door in the last few inches. Handles are selectable; commercial jobs usually pair a lever with a mortise lock, homes a ladder pull.
Kompas adds double glazing, transoms above the door line, and frameless glass doors within the aluminum frame — the combination architects draw for a conference room that has to look like a jewel box and sound like a private room.
Where It Fits in Idaho Homes and Offices
Commercial tenant improvement is the core market: medical suites along the Eagle Road corridor, law and engineering offices downtown, tech build-outs in Meridian. The aluminum system is fast to install, demountable at lease end, and lets a windowless interior office share the perimeter daylight — an argument that lands hard in an Idaho January. We already fabricate and install storefront and commercial glass, so a general contractor gets one glazing sub for the exterior and the interior.
In homes it's the practical alternative to steel: a black-framed office wall or a gym enclosure at a price closer to frameless, with real perimeter seals so a closed door actually closes. It's also the right system for the front of a wine room when the budget doesn't reach welded steel — see our wine room enclosures page.
Where it doesn't fit: exterior use (single glazing, no thermal break), rooms that need true acoustic isolation, and residential spaces where the frame itself is meant to be the feature — that's steel's job.
Codes, Safety Glazing and Installation
Glass doors and their sidelites are hazardous locations under IRC R308 and IBC 2406; all Crystalia lites are tempered to ASTM C1048 and carry the tempering mark. Commercial jobs also bring egress hardware, ADA clearances and fire-separation questions, and we coordinate those with the architect at submittal rather than at inspection.
Anchoring is the detail. Crystalia's guidance is that concrete, structural steel at least 1/8" thick, and solid wood at least 4" thick take the top track without reinforcement; drywall ceilings and drop ceilings do not. In Treasure Valley office buildings that usually means a strut or blocking above the grid before glass day, and we scope it in advance. Installation is by Wood Windows employees — Crystalia's program is dealer-installed, and we don't hand glass to subcontractors.
Warranty and Service, Locally
Crystalia backs the aluminum and Kompas systems with a manufacturer limited warranty whose terms accompany each quote. Day-to-day service — a door that needs re-hanging after the carpet is replaced, a lite swapped from clear to frosted when the office changes hands — is handled by Wood Windows Inc out of Garden City, the way we've handled every product we've sold for 46 years.
Building out an office or drawing a glass room into a home? Request a quote on this page or call (208) 376-2200.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Crystalia aluminum glass partition cost installed?
For a typical private office front — a framed fixed panel plus a swing door across about 10 to 12 feet — expect roughly $6,000 to $12,000 installed as a working range, with sliding doors, double glazing and tall Kompas configurations running higher and simple fixed screens lower. Tenant-improvement projects with a run of identical offices price lower per opening. We quote per shop drawing after a site measure; commercial jobs get a full submittal package for the architect.
What's the difference between Crystalia's standard aluminum system and Kompas?
Height, glazing and modularity. The standard aluminum system tops out at 10 feet, takes 3/8-inch single tempered glass, and is the workhorse for offices and homes. Kompas is the commercial-grade version: profiles imported from Europe, heights to 19 feet, single or double glazing, framed or frameless doors, optional transoms, and enough stiffness to stand free up to 10 feet wide without a wall at either end. Lobbies, conference centers and multi-office layouts are Kompas territory; a home office is not.
How much noise does an aluminum glass partition block?
Crystalia publishes a sound rating of 34 for the perimeter-framed system — enough that loud speech through the glass is still intelligible, so it separates a conference room from an open office but it isn't a recording-studio wall. That's still well ahead of a frameless slider with its running gaps. For more isolation, Kompas double glazing adds an air space, and we detail the door sweeps and perimeter gaskets carefully, because the gaps, not the glass, are where sound leaks.
Can aluminum partitions be taken down and reused in a new office?
The framed systems are demountable in the sense that matters to a tenant: they anchor to floor and ceiling with fasteners, not mortar, and panels can be removed and re-glazed elsewhere. Kompas is designed as a modular office system. Realistically, a relocation means new shop drawings for the new ceiling heights and some new glass; the aluminum comes along. It's a real advantage over stud-and-drywall for leases under ten years.
Sources & Testing Data
Last reviewed 2026-09-10 by Wood Windows Inc — (208) 376-2200