ABOUT GLAZING

Annealed glass is the commonest glazing medium, in spite of its vulnerability to breakage. However, safety glasses are increasingly being specified, particularly following the introduction of legislation on safety in the workplace.

Ordinary laminated glass is, thickness for thickness, no stronger for glazing than annealed glass; its virtue is that broken shards tend to be held by the interlayer and, if recommended glazing techniques have been followed, the glass should be retained until safe removal is possible. Wired glass is weaker for glazing than unwired annealed glass of corresponding thickness but, as with laminated glazing, the shards tend to be held.

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Thermally toughened glass is stronger than annealed glazing, both in terms of impact resistance and of thermal stress. When broken the glass will not hold together though the pieces are relatively small. The best of both worlds can be obtained by glazing with sheets of laminated toughened glass. Laminated glass for domestic work is commonly made with two sheets of glass laminated together under heat and pressure with a polyvinylbutyral (PVB) interlayer. Laminates with acrylic interlayers may also be used.

Sealed double glazing units became generally available in the UK in the early 1960s. Their use in new housing has been boosted by changes in the building regulations. Double glazing units improve heat insulation, but have little effect on sound insulation. The spacer unit in double glazing units is usually made from mill finished aluminium, although galvanised steel and plastics can also be used. In all double glazing units a desiccant is held within the hollow spacer bar. This desiccant absorbs water vapour sealed in the double glazing unit at the time of manufacturer and also absorbs any moisture that permeates through the edge seal of the glazing.

The two main glazing systems used for both single and double glazing are drained-and-ventilated glazing systems and fully bedded glazing systems. The drained-and-ventilated glazing method is preferred as it ensures that any water penetrating the sealant is drained away. This is achieved via a sloping rebate and drain holes. The fully bedded glazing method relies on the bedding being perfect, otherwise water will lie in contact with the edge seal of the glazing.

LEADING UK GLAZING SUPPLIERS

Click here for an easy-to-use listing of leading UK suppliers of glazing, provided by Archbone.

Other useful links relevant to glazing:

Glass & Glazing Federation

DETAILED INFORMATION RESOURCES ON GLAZING

We recommend the following professional construction directories, which include manufacturers' specifications and CAD details: Barbour Compendium at www.barbourcompendium.co.uk, RIBA Product Selector Plus at ww.productselector.co.uk, ASC Bricsnet at www.ascinfo.co.uk, Building Products Index at www.bpindex.co.uk, British Board of Agrément at www.bbacerts.co.uk, British Standards Online at www.bsonline.bsi-global.com.

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