Safety Glass
Patrick’s Glass has extensive experience installing safety glass. Did you know building codes require that glass in a door or directly adjacent to a door and within 18 inches of the ground be safety glass (this includes your home and not just commercial buildings)? Safety glass is a loosely used term for glass that may help prevent human injury and property damage. Glass must meet certain established standards before it can be certified. Some of the most common forms of safety glass we install include:
Tempered Glass
This heat-treated glass is flexible and takes about 4x more force to break than ordinary glass. When tempered glass windows do break, they tend to crumble into small pieces instead of shattering into larger dangerous shards.
Laminated Glass
Another viable option for large windows and doors includes laminated safety glass. Laminated glass is made from two sheets of glass that are tightly pressed together and bound with plastic under heat. This three-layered window tolerates minor breaks without falling apart as the plastic helps holds the broken glass together.
Plexiglass
Plexiglas is a trademarked name for a thermoplastic sheet. In general, plexiglass scratches easier than glass, but is less likely to shatter and cause injury.
Lexan
Lexan is also a trademarked name for a sheet of thermoplastic, but it’s a polycarbonate and a much stronger alternative to plexiglass. Thicker forms of lexan are so impact resistant that some bullet and blast proof glass is made from it. In addition to being highly impact resistant, Lexan is resistant to heat and fire, making it useful in areas where high temperature will be an issue.
Fire Glass
There are many variations of fire rated glass which offer different levels of protection to the spread of fire, smoke and heat transfer. There is an important difference between fire-protective glass and fire-resistive glass and building codes are specific where each is to be used.
We are here to help and have extensive experience repairing and replacing safety glass. Our Patrick’s Glass team can talk you through your cheapest safety glass alternatives so give us a call at 757-722-5714!
