4 Types Of Glazing For Your Glass Balustrade
Posted on: 29 July 2019
If you want to create a light and bright ambience in your home, glass balustrades are an excellent choice. With a range of patterns and colours for the glazing, you can personalise yours to fit the space, whether that be for a staircase, mezzanine, balcony or terrace. Here are four types of glass a balustrade might use.
1. Toughened And Laminated Safety Glass
Local regulations specify allowable glass types for a balustrade, but one common safety type is toughened glass. After undergoing a tempering procedure, this glass has four times the strength of an ordinary windowpane. Its internal structure also ensures that it crumbles harmlessly into rounded cubes in the unlikely event that it does break.
Another possible safety option is laminated glass, which consists of two sheets of glass on either side of a middle plastic layer. The three bond together through heat and pressure to form a single panel. The plastic interlayer tends to hold everything together, even if it cracks—you might have seen this effect on car windscreens. Sometimes, these two safety glass types combine to form toughened, laminated panels. This is where two layers of toughened glass bond to either side of the plastic, increasing the overall benefits.
2. Low Iron Glass
Standard glass (including toughened or laminated varieties) displays a faint green cast that shows more intensely along the edges of a pane. While you might appreciate this natural tinge, you can eliminate it by using low iron glass in your balustrade. This glazing is exceptionally transparent and bright, with less iron within its structure.
3. Frosted Glass
To add privacy or decoration to your balustrade, you could install frosted glass, which is available in different transparencies. Either acid etching or sandblasting techniques erode one side of a glass sheet in a controlled manner, with the use of masks. Frosted glass filters a softer light and eliminates glare. Ideal for privacy, it can shield a balcony, for instance, from the view of the street or neighbours. The frosting can also take on decorative forms: geometric lines and squares, or abstract textures of rice paper or rainwater.
4. Tinted Glass
Tints provide another way for you to personalise your balustrade to fit the space. Minerals within the glass mix, such as iron and cobalt, create a range of tones: grey, bronze, blue or green. For a balustrade around a deck or terrace, the tint can usefully filter sun glare. Pick up colours within nearby natural stone or pool water to blend the glass into the landscape. Tones will appear darker within thicker sheets of glass.
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