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Looking to get some 10mm glass balustrades made up. Where do those in the know get this stuff from (and do retail sales)- seems to be massive variety in price from internet quotes.
Local glazing supplier. When I was in the trade it was the cheapest place.. Used to cut our own glass and have it sent off to specialists (moreso for glass tables etc but the principle is the same)
Yep local company get the templates made and make sure it fits you only get one chance.
I did that earlier this year, I will try to find some photos. I got my glass from the same company that supplied the mounting brackets, F H Brundle in Southampton. Each panel was made to order.
Make sure you get them to deliver and unload as they are heavy and difficult to unload. We had one pallet of glass panels collapse off the side of the truck and fall to the floor. Amazingly there were only a few chips on the edges where they hit the granite kerb stones from over a metre.
One panel came so close to properly hitting me as it fell over that it knocked my glasses off my nose. Luckily it was just broken glasses and the skin taken off the end of my nose but millimetres close and I would have been using my forehead to stop 200KG of glass sheets from hitting the ground.
Photo shows it was concrete, not granite, kerb stones. Clearly my mind was on other things.
They replaced all the glass but left us the ones that weren't too damaged as I thought I might be able to use them. Now stuck down in the garden waiting for a shed to grow around them.
Are these a nightmare to keep clean? Just thinking about water marks, fingerprints etc.
My first choice was local supplier but they seem to want to supply 8mm at twice the price of an Internet place but would be good to get a another quote.
Don’t you need laminate? I know ours are. We got the whole thing from https://stainless-handrailsystems.co.uk/ was not cheap but it protects a big drop so wanted to do it right.
Are these a nightmare to keep clean? Just thinking about water marks, fingerprints etc.
Nah, just windows like the ones you have already, they bring benefits anyway being see thru, and maintenance free compared to fencing ,rendered walls etc.
Luckily I got m8s rates on mine but the stainless commercial rail system we used was pricy at cost only 🙂
It’s also heavy stuff if your not used to moving glass.
I’ve got some privacy end panels ,where they etch the glass which looks nice and means your not looking at the neighbours but also lets the light thru so they don’t complain.
Laminated? I wondered that. Any other opinions on this?
Nightmare for birds. Does nobody think about baby Robins anymore.
@worldclassaccident I’m guessing yours aren’t laminated as they wouldn’t have bits chip off if they were.
Ours has been fitted for a few years now. The bird average is one every 2 years.
It takes more force to crack toughened than laminated, but when you crack toughened, it all falls apart in little bits, while laminated stays in one piece of held together shards. If the drop the balustrade is protecting is significant, laminated will be better for avoiding a fall. On the other hand, if it's a small drop but may get knocked (footballs etc) toughened may last better. That's assuming it's not part of a building; if it is you should check what building regs require.
I'd have to get some frosted film on them panels, I couldn't sit on those benches with everyone going past having a good gawp.
Generally laminate glass is comprised of annealed glass. Annealed glass as stated above has a lower stress limit and is easier to break in terms of impact. When annealed glass breaks, it does so in shards. When toughened glass breaks it will explode into tiny pieces. Laminate glass bonds two panes together (annealed or toughened) with an interlayer (pvb or Eva). You can get toughened laminates which are generally used for high rise balcony balustrades. You’ve got the strength of toughened glass, and the safety factor of laminate glass. When you do the guarding calculations you work on the basis that 1 pane breaks and then you have the other pane / pvb interlayer to still provide containment.
What is the actual application you require this for? Is it internal for stairs or a landing, an external balcony with high drop or external balcony with low drop?
Re procurement. Just ring around local glass processors and check online. You’ll probably get it a lot cheaper if you can collect but some places will take the mick price wise of you’re a walk in customer with no account.