Toughened Glass & Laminated Security Glazing - Putting your Safety First

How safe is the glass in your home currently?

In the family home, keeping little ones safe is a high priority. Hazards are everywhere from people slipping and falling, to stone chips being thrown up by the lawn mower outside.

And then there is the question of security – where’s the point in having locks on windows or doors if smashing the glass is an easier way to break and enter?

The Mr Misty team often get asked for toughened glass to replace standard glass. In reality though, innovations in glass technologies have moved on rapidly over recent years and there are much safer and highly cost-effective glazing options on the market.

Laminated glass by far out performs other safety glass options on safety and security, so what’s the difference? 

Safety & Security Glazing Types 

• Safety glass can be either toughened or laminated, depending on where and how it is being used. It reduces the risk of serious injury caused by accidental breakages or impact. When the glass breaks, it breaks ‘safely’.
• Enhanced security glass has all the qualities of safety glass, but it helps protect against break-in attempts or vandalism. It delays or prevents the glass from being penetrated and can prevent intrusion into your home or business.

   

Technically speaking - how safety glass is tested

All ‘safety’ glass must have passed an impact test and either must not break or must break safely.

There are three levels of impact: C, B and A, ‘A’ being the highest.

Each involves the glass being impacted by a leather bag containing 45kg of lead shot, roughly simulating the impact of a child weighing 100lbs [45kg] hitting the glass with varying degrees of force.

Three generic glass types meet this British Standard requirement – laminated, toughened and wired safety glass.

In addition, all security glasses automatically qualify as Class A safety glasses.

Glass options examined

Toughened glass 

• Sometimes called 'tempered' glass
• 4-5 times stronger than ordinary annealed float glass of same thickness
• How tough? 8mm toughened glass withstands the impact of a steel ball weighing 0.5kg dropped from 2 metres
• Disintegrates into small blunt edged fragments when broken. Fragments are unlikely to cause serious injury.
• Thermally toughened via a heat-chill process - introduces permanent compressive stresses into the surfaces of the glass which gives it its strength
• British Standard BS EN 12150 

Laminated glass

• Comprises two pieces of glass held together by one or several plastic films or ‘interlayers’
• Laminated security glass comprises two or more sheets of glass with one or more plastic films
• PVB (polyvinyl butyral) laminated safety glass is the most common
• When glass fractures, broken fragments remain firmly bonded to the plastic PVB interlayer.
• Interlayer in laminated glass
  • absorbs impact energy, reducing the risk of penetrating the panel.
  • increases sound proofing potential, particularly reducing higher frequency sounds
  • reduces UV penetration by up to 99%
  • if damage occurs, the pane will remain in place until replacement is convenient
• Can be formulated in thickness from 6.5 to 25 mm to be resistant to manual attacks (eg. person with axe or crowbar) BS EN 1063 (vandalism); BS EN 356 (burglary). This kind of security glass is laminated for safety and generally range.

Discuss safety glazing & security glass options with Mr Misty 

As specialists in replacement double glazing and toughened and laminate glass in Essex and Suffolk, we understand all the high performance glass options available and can evaluate the most appropriate and cost-effective glazing solution to meet your needs. 

Contact us now

Delay could be dangerous – call us now for a free, no obligation quotation .