Technical questions

Where the glass stands on its own with no handrail across the top and guards a drop of more than 600 mm, BS 6180 asks for toughened laminated glass that stays in place if a pane breaks. Our designer offers laminated glass for every frameless system for that reason.

In a home: 900 mm on stairs, landings and internal floor edges, and 1100 mm on balconies, Juliet balconies and roof edges (Approved Document K, Diagram 3.1). Other buildings need 1100 mm except on flights of stairs.

No. Toughened glass cannot be cut or drilled after toughening, so every size and hole is fixed on the drawing first.

The fixings and the structure they fix into are designed for the barrier loads by the system's maker or the project engineer. We supply and fit the glass to the build-up confirmed for your barrier.

Often not, because nothing projects from the wall, but listed buildings and conservation areas differ. Ask your local planning office before you order.

It depends on the glass thickness and the fixing. Our designer offers 13.5, 17.5 and 21.5 mm toughened laminated glass; the widest opening for each is confirmed on the quotation drawing.

1100 mm above the finished floor, the height Approved Document K gives for external balconies and Juliet balconies.

We make shower glass in 8 and 10 mm. Larger fixed panels and frameless doors are often made in 10 mm for their weight and stiffness; the hardware you choose names the thicknesses it holds.

Yes. Every shower and bath panel we make is toughened safety glass with polished edges.

Yes. Any panel can have a raked top; enter the two heights in the configurator.

Yes. Coloured splashbacks are toughened to stand the heat beside a hob. Keep the gap to a gas flame that the hob's instructions ask for.

No. The glass is toughened, so every socket and switch is cut before it is made. We need their positions on the drawing.

Ordinary glass has a green tint that changes whites and pale colours. Low-iron glass is clearer, so the colour looks as chosen.

Not once it is silvered. Where a mirror sits in a door or low on a wall, ask us about a safety-backed mirror for that position.

Dark marks creeping in from the edge of a mirror, where moisture or the wrong cleaner or adhesive has lifted the silver. Mirror-safe adhesive and dry edges prevent it.

4 mm suits small framed mirrors; 6 mm is stiffer and flatter for wall mirrors and mirror walls.

100 x 100 mm. Anything smaller cannot be held safely on the cutting table.

We recommend it. Toughened glass is several times stronger and breaks into small blunt pieces.

The builder takes each piece up to the online maximum shown on this sheet. Larger pieces are priced by hand.

It depends on the load and the span. A published domestic floor build-up is 33 mm (three 10 mm toughened panes); commercial floors need more. The engineer's load class sets it.

Smooth glass can be when wet. An anti-slip surface gives a better grip; ask for it on any floor that can get wet.

The project engineer sets the loads and supports. We supply the glass to the build-up confirmed for those loads.

Only if it is made as walk-on glass. A standard roof light is not designed to be stood on.

The U-value depends on the whole unit's make-up and frame. Approved Document L sets the limit a new roof light must meet; the quotation states the unit's make-up.

Overhead glass should hold together if it breaks, so nothing falls into the room (BS 5516-2).

It depends on the glass and the fixing system. The designer accepts projections from 300 to 1,500 mm; the projection for your glass is confirmed on the quotation drawing.

Glass overhead must hold together if it breaks, so nothing falls on people below.

They reduce it. Laminated glass with an acoustic interlayer and sealed joints reduce it most; ask us when sound matters.

In offices and other buildings, large glass that people could walk into carries marking at 850 to 1000 mm and 1400 to 1600 mm (Approved Document K, section 7).

Toughened safety glass, usually 10 or 12 mm. A glass pane wider than 900 mm in a door needs BS EN 12600 class 2 (Approved Document K).

Yes, glass doors that could be walked into carry marking at two levels (Approved Document K, section 7).

Safety glass in every critical location (doors and low panes), and laminated security glass where break-in is a risk.

Yes. We measure the opening and make the replacement to its sizes.