The use of glass in architecture is not a new trend. Glass is one of the oldest materials for construction and has come a long way. Once considered a plain and fragile building material, it can now lend itself to architectural applications that require resilience and toughness.

When preventing injury due to broken glass, building owners usually favor safety glass. Unlike regular glass, this type of glass does not break as easily. If the glass breaks due to impact, it remains safe.

Toughened glass and laminated glass are two options for architectural-grade safety glass. Each option has unique pros and cons that influence the final purchase decision.

Toughened Glass

Toughened glass, also known as tempered glass, is glass many times stronger than basic annealed glass. The glass is pressure-heated at extremely high temperatures before it is rapidly cooled using compressed air. This toughening process makes the glass more resistant to impact and internal stresses than standard annealed glass.

Advantages of Toughened Glass

Toughened glass brings several advantages:

• It is a strong material — Tempered glass is many times stronger than ordinary glass, so it offers a high level of resistance to breakage.
• It provides maximum safety to building users — Because tempered glass does not break easily, it minimizes the risk of injury to building users. When the glass breaks, it crumbles into blunt, pebble-like pieces of similar shape and size instead of the sharp shards of regular glass. The jagged shards of ordinary broken glass can puncture the skin and cause deep cuts that may lead to severe bleeding and injury.
• It is heat resistant — Tempered glass is incredibly resistant to heat damage because its creation occurs under high heat conditions. As a result, it is suitable for use in areas of a building that tend to get extremely hot.

Disadvantages of Toughened Glass

Despite delivering the above benefits, tempered glass has its drawbacks. These include the following:

• It can no longer be reworked – Once manufactured, tempered glass can no longer be cut or reprocessed.
• It is not the best choice for security applications — Even though toughened glass does not shatter easily, it can break into small pieces when subjected to massive impact. As a result, it can leave property owners vulnerable to forced entry.

Laminated Glass

Although this type of safety glass is not as strong as tempered glass, it provides greater security.

Laminated glass combines two or more sheets of glass, with a plastic layer between them. When the glass breaks, the plastic interlayer helps keep the glass together in the frame, preventing it from shattering into dangerous shards.

Advantages of Laminated Glass

Laminated glass offers numerous benefits:

• It provides increased security — Laminated glass can significantly delay efforts to gain forceful entry into a building.
• It offers increased UV protection — The plastic interlayer in the glass can reduce fading due to UV exposure.
• It minimizes noise pollution — Laminated glass provides better noise insulation than ordinary glass because it bonds multiple glass sheets together.
• Its design can be modified — Designers may add visual details to the glass.

Disadvantages of Laminated Glass

Laminated glass requires more complex manufacturing and installation processes than toughened glass. Consequently, it costs more to buy and install.

Both tempered and laminated glass are excellent options for building safety glass, but each option lends itself to different applications. 

Contact us to learn more about the various types of building glass available for your project. We serve clients based in Stuart, FL, and are always ready to assist you with all your glass needs. Please let us know what we can do for you and if you have any questions or concerns.