COMMERCIAL
CAULKING & SEALANT
IN PLANO, TX.
AT&T's $1.35 billion global HQ is rising at 5400 Legacy Drive — and the 1980s-1990s office campuses surrounding it have sealant systems a decade past their designed service life. In a market where Toyota's 2.1M-sq-ft LEED Platinum campus sets the appearance standard, aging curtain wall joints and failed expansion sealant put older buildings at a competitive disadvantage that envelope restoration directly addresses.
What Commercial Caulking & Sealant Replacement Includes
Comprehensive joint sealant restoration for commercial building envelopes — from 1985 industrial campuses to current-generation curtain wall towers.
Expansion & Control Joint Sealant
Frito-Lay's original Legacy campus buildings (556,000 sq ft, joined the district in 1985) represent the oldest continuously-occupied commercial infrastructure in Plano's corporate corridor. Expansion joint sealant on buildings approaching 40 years of North Texas thermal cycling and DFW hail exposure has long exceeded any reasonable service interval.
We remove failed sealant at expansion and control joints, install appropriate backer rod, and apply commercial-grade polyurethane or silicone properly sized to each joint's movement range — including on precast concrete, tilt-up, and masonry substrates throughout Plano's industrial and corporate campus building stock.
Window & Curtain Wall Perimeter Sealant
The 2,665-acre Legacy Business District contains glass curtain wall buildings from the late 1980s through the present day. Curtain wall perimeter sealant on 1990s-era buildings — including the former J.C. Penney HQ built in 1992 (now 30+ years old and undergoing $1B redevelopment as The Park at Legacy) — has typically exceeded two service life cycles.
On these complex facades, we work within existing curtain wall system constraints, replacing only sealant components while preserving glazing and framing — a technically precise scope that requires commercial-grade silicone application and proper joint prep protocols.
Wet Seal & Dry Glazing Repair
Plano's Legacy and Legacy West districts include both unitized curtain wall towers with dry glazing gasket systems and older stick-built curtain wall with wet seal sealants. The May 2024 hail event ($2.3B regional damage) and June 2023 storms ($7-10B insured losses) applied cyclic stress to these sealant systems — creating micro-failures not visible from grade but actively allowing moisture into wall cavities.
We perform close-up inspection from our 56' and 72' boom trucks, identify locations of bond failure and gasket compression loss, and restore weather-tight condition without replacing functional glazing or framing components.
Below-Grade & Through-Wall Sealant
Plano's large corporate campuses — Toyota's 100-acre, seven-building complex and Frito-Lay's 300-acre campus — include extensive below-grade parking, utility tunnels, and building-to-building connections where through-wall sealant must resist sustained hydrostatic pressure. At this scale, a single failed below-grade penetration seal can allow moisture to migrate across a large footprint before being located.
We apply polysulfide and hydraulic sealant systems for below-grade and through-wall applications, with preparation protocols appropriate for each substrate condition — from poured concrete to CMU to pre-cast panel joints.
Industries We Serve in Plano
Why Plano Buildings Need Sealant Replacement Now
The Legacy Business District was conceived by Ross Perot in the early 1980s and built out through the 1990s and 2000s. The corridor's first major campus — Frito-Lay's 556,000-sq-ft facility — has been continuously occupied for 40 years. Original sealant systems on these buildings have exceeded two full service life cycles. Buildings at the J.C. Penney HQ vintage (1992, 1.9M sq ft) are now 30+ years old — their sealant systems degraded, their curtain wall gaskets hardened past compression spec.
AT&T's announcement in January 2026 of a $1.35B global headquarters at 5400 Legacy Drive — targeting 2028 occupancy for up to 10,000 employees — will reshape the corridor's appearance standards. Competing buildings whose facade envelopes show visible sealant failure, water staining, or joint degradation will struggle to retain the Class A tenants that the HQ arrival will attract to the market.
North Texas hail events — May 2024 ($2.3B regional damage), June 2023 ($7-10B insured losses) — cycle through Plano's DFW corridor on a nearly annual basis. High-density glass curtain wall makes post-storm sealant inspection a recurring annual cost that proactive programs manage more efficiently than reactive repair.
54-acre campus at 5400 Legacy Drive, targeting 2028 — raising the appearance bar for every building in the corridor
Legacy's original buildings are 30-40 years old — past two full sealant service life cycles on most exterior systems
Plano's high density of glass curtain wall towers makes post-storm sealant inspection a recurring maintenance requirement
Why Choose Griffin Restoration
Commercial exterior restoration since 2000
Licensed in TX, OK, AR, and LA
56' and 72' — self-performing capability
Full coverage for commercial projects
Commercial Caulking & Sealant FAQ
How often should commercial building sealants be replaced?
Commercial sealants are designed for a 10-20 year service life, but in Plano's Legacy Business District — where Frito-Lay's original campus buildings date to 1985 and the corridor's median year built is 1993 — most sealant systems have exceeded that service life by a decade or more. With AT&T's $1.35B global HQ under construction at 5400 Legacy Drive targeting 2028 occupancy, surrounding 1980s-1990s buildings face competitive pressure that makes deferred sealant maintenance a business risk, not just a maintenance issue.
What are the signs of failed caulking on a commercial building?
On Plano's Legacy corridor Class A towers, look for sealant oxidation and chalking at curtain wall joints, bond-line separation at glass-to-frame transitions, and water staining on interior window frames — often noticed by tenants before facilities managers. On older Frito-Lay campus buildings and comparable 1980s industrial facilities, failed expansion joint sealant and cracked masonry joint compound are visible from grade. The May 2024 North Texas hail event that caused $2.3B in regional damage stressed sealant joints across the district.
What types of sealants are used for commercial building envelopes?
Plano's Legacy District spans every commercial sealant application type. Glass curtain wall towers use structural silicone at glazing lites and weatherseal silicone at perimeter joints — two chemically distinct products that must be evaluated separately at replacement time. Older masonry and precast concrete buildings use polyurethane expansion joint sealant. Below-grade parking structures use polysulfide or polyurethane traffic-bearing sealant at deck joints. Each requires different surface preparation, backer rod sizing, and application technique.
Can caulking replacement prevent water infiltration in commercial buildings?
Yes — and in Plano's competitive Class A office market, water infiltration is a lease-breaker. Failed sealant at curtain wall joints, window perimeters, or rooftop parapet copings allows moisture to damage ceiling tiles, drywall, flooring, and tenant improvements — costs that dwarf a systematic sealant replacement program. With Toyota's 2.1M-sq-ft Plano campus (2017, LEED Platinum) and AT&T's upcoming campus setting appearance standards for the corridor, adjacent building owners cannot afford visible or functional envelope failure.
What is the difference between wet seal and dry glazing systems?
Legacy District towers primarily use dry glazing systems — factory-engineered unitized curtain wall panels with compression gaskets and structural silicone. Lower-rise and older Class B buildings throughout Plano use wet seal systems with field-applied silicone between glass and aluminum frames. Dry glazing gaskets on 1990s towers are now 30+ years old — hardened, cracked, and no longer providing design compression. Wet seal sealants on the same vintage buildings have typically oxidized past their service life. We evaluate both systems and restore weather performance to the original specification.
Related Services
Caulking and sealant replacement often works alongside these complementary services.
Commercial Waterproofing
Sealant replacement coordinated with elastomeric coatings and membrane waterproofing delivers complete envelope protection across Plano's diverse corporate campus building stock.
Learn more about waterproofing →Exterior Building Repair
Concrete and masonry repair combined with sealant replacement prevents moisture re-entry into restored substrates on Plano's aging corporate campus infrastructure.
See our exterior repair capabilities →Curtain Wall Repair
Legacy District's glass-dominant towers require precision curtain wall joint sealant restoration. We handle full envelope assessment and restoration as a single coordinated scope.
Explore curtain wall services →Protect Your Plano Property
Whether you manage a Legacy District corporate campus, a Class A office tower, or an industrial facility — we'll assess your sealant needs and provide a detailed scope of work.