Toughened or Tempered Glass
This looks like ordinary glass but receives a special heat treatment process to toughen it. It is much stronger than ordinary glass and on impact disintegrates into small granular pieces, which are not sharp, reducing the risk of injury. Toughened glass must be cut to size before toughening and cannot be re-worked once toughened. Polishing the edges or drilling holes in the glass is carried out before the toughening process starts. Toughened glass starts at 4mm thick.
Laminated Glass
Consists of two or more sheets of ordinary glass which are attached together by a plastic interlayer. The plastic layer provides a barrier and on impact any broken shards of glass will remain attached to the plastic reducing the risk of injury.
Laminated glass is normally used when there is a possibility of human impact or where the glass could fall if shattered.
A typical laminated makeup would be 3 mm glass / 0.4 mm interlayer / 3 mm glass. This gives a final product that would be referred to as 6.4 laminated glass.
Wired Glass (Also Called Pyroshield)
As the name suggests, this glass has a wire grid embedded in to it. Certain types of wired glass can satisfy the impact requirements for safety glass while giving a level of fire resistance.
This laminated glass has been shot with a potato
Where Is Safety Glass Required?
Any glass in a door below 1500mm from the floor, and door side panels within 300mm of the door. Glass in windows or partitions below 800mm from the floor. If you have any questions please contact us for advice.