Technical information

Shop fronts

Glazing for shop fronts: large toughened or laminated panes in a frame, glass entrance doors, and security laminated glass where the shop needs it.

At a glance

Glass: Toughened or laminated safety glass; laminated security glass to BS EN 356
Toughening: Toughened (BS EN 12150-1) or laminated (BS EN ISO 12543) safety glass in every critical location.
Holes and cut-outs: As the frame and fittings need
Sizes: Drawn to your shop front
Priced: By hand, from your design or drawings

Send us the shop front's sizes or drawings, or book a measure. Shop fronts are priced by hand.

Toughened: Safety glass for doors and low panes.
Laminated: Holds together when broken; with a security interlayer it resists break-in (BS EN 356).

Safety glass: Toughened (BS EN 12150-1) or laminated (BS EN ISO 12543) in every critical location.
Security: Laminated security glass is classed under BS EN 356, from P1A upwards; the class is named on the quotation.
Made to measure: Toughened glass cannot be cut, drilled, notched or edge-worked after it is toughened. Every size, hole and cut-out is fixed on the drawing before the glass is made.

Section through 11.5 mm laminated glass, two 5 mm panes with a 1.5 mm interlayer: 11.5 mm overall.

Approved Document K, section 5 (requirement K4)
Glazing in a critical location must break safely (BS EN 12600 class 3 or better), be robust, be in small panes, or be protected. Critical locations: any glass in a door or within 300 mm of a door edge up to 1500 mm above the floor, and any glass in a wall up to 800 mm above the floor. A pane wider than 900 mm in a door or door side panel needs class 2.
England. This section took over the former Approved Document N.
Approved Document K, section 7 (requirement K5.2)
Large areas of glass that people could walk into, such as glass doors and screens, carry marking at two levels: 850 to 1000 mm and 1400 to 1600 mm above the floor.
Buildings other than homes, and glazed doors and screens where they could be mistaken for an opening.
Approved Document M (access to and use of buildings)
Doors in buildings other than homes need a minimum clear opening width, an opening force a wheelchair user can manage, and glass that is easy to see. The door is drawn to these on the quotation drawing.
Entrance doors and doors in partitions in buildings other than homes.

Large panes are set on setting blocks at the positions the frame maker gives, never directly on the frame.
Glazing beads and gaskets hold the glass evenly all round.
Laminated edges are sealed with a sealant compatible with the interlayer.

Clean with warm water and a little washing-up liquid or a household glass cleaner, using a soft cloth, a chamois or a squeegee, then dry with a lint-free cloth.
Never use scouring pads, wire wool, razor blades, scrapers or powder cleaners: they scratch the surface for good.
Remove stickers with warm soapy water and a plastic scraper, never a blade.

What glass should a shop front have?

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

Can you replace a broken pane?

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

Standard	What it covers
BS EN 12150-1Glass in building. Thermally toughened soda lime silicate safety glass. Definition and description	What toughened safety glass is, its fragmentation test, flatness and edge work, and the limits for holes and notches. Every toughened pane carries a mark naming the standard.
BS EN ISO 12543Glass in building. Laminated glass and laminated safety glass	Laminated glass: two or more panes bonded with an interlayer that holds the pieces together if the glass breaks. Part 2 covers laminated safety glass.
BS EN 356Glass in building. Security glazing. Testing and classification of resistance against manual attack	Security classes for laminated glass, from P1A (dropped-ball tests) to P8B (axe tests).
BS EN 12600Glass in building. Pendulum test. Impact test method and classification for flat glass	The impact test that classes safety glass. The class is written X(Y)Z: X and Z run from 3 (lowest drop height) to 1 (highest); Y is how it breaks: A like ordinary glass, B holding together like laminated glass, C in small pieces like toughened glass.
BS 6262-4Glazing for buildings. Code of practice for safety related to human impact	Where safety glass is needed in buildings and how to select it.

The specification sheet carries this page's content with today's catalogue figures, in three printable pages.