From DIYinfo.org
Glass comes in many forms—plain or decorative, clear or coloured, reinforced, reflective and so on. Each is designed for a specific purpose, so it's important to understand the differences.
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[edit] Plain:
Plain, ordinary clear glass is the most widely used type around the house for glazing windows, forming shelves and table tops and so on. Nowadays it is virtually all made by the float process, and the term 'float glass' has replaced sheet and plate glass in the glass mer¬chant's vocabulary. It's made by floating molten glass onto a bed of molten tin, and the resulting sheet is far flatter and freer from distortion than the old drawn sheet type. This is still manufactured for uses where quality is not important jobs like glazing greenhouses; it's known as horticultural glass. Float glass is made in a range of thicknesses from 2 to 25mm, but for domestic use only three thickness are commonly used 3mm for small panes and glazing pictures, 4mm for panes up to about 2 sq m (11sq ft) in area and for small glass shelves, and 6mm for panes up to about 2sq m in area. For larger panes and things like glass tabletops, 10mm glass may be required.
The only drawback with plain glass is its fragility, and for any area where there is a high risk of breakage doors and low level window glazing, for example it is better to fit safety glazing of some sort. There are three main types— toughened (tempered), laminated and wired glass.
[edit] Toughened:
Toughened glass is heat treated during manufacture so that when broken, it shatters into small crystals instead of sharp spears; it has been used for years for car windows. The one drawback is that it cannot be cut or drilled once tempered, so you have to order it made to the size you require and with any holes or apertures already in position.
[edit] Laminated:
Laminated glass consists of two sheets of ordinary glass with a plastic film sandwiched between them, and can be cut to size fairly easily after manufacture. The plastic film holds broken glass in place, and also prevents intruders or the weather from getting in.
[edit] Wired:
Wired glass has a layer of steel wire mesh embedded in the glass, and this holds the glass in place if the pane is broken. The glass is not basically any stronger than plain glass in terms of impact resistance, but the mesh prevents flying objects from passing through it. Although it is not as safe as toughened or laminated glass, people or animals are less likely to walk into wired glass because it is more easily seen. Its main advantage, however, is that it acts as a barrier to fire it has a one hour fire rating and it can therefore be used to glaze doors in fire hazard areas such as stairwells. It can also be used for skylights and conservatory roofs, where the glass might be broken by falling objects. Both clear and opaque versions are available.
[edit] Patterned and Decorative:
Glass can also have a pattern rolled onto it during manufacture to produce a number of interesting textures and designs. It can also be coloured; amber, green and blue are the commonest shades available. Patterned glass can be used for all sorts of decorative purposes, but its greatest advantage is that it gives a degree of privacy without cutting out the light. This makes it a particularly good choice for bathroom doors and windows, even for the more modest shower screens. When ordering patterned glass, make sure that you give the height first and then the width; otherwise you may find that the pattern runs the wrong way. Glass can also be stained or treated in other ways to give some fairly unusual effects; it's worth looking round local glass merchants to see what they have to offer.
[edit] Solar:
If you have a room that is suffering from the effects of too much sunlight, it may be worth considering fitting solar control glass. This is either tinted or given a transparent metallic coating to absorb solar radiation. Toughened and laminated versions are also available. A more recent development is a type of glass that allows heat from the sun's rays to enter the building but not to leave it, — in effect, insulating glass.
