Frameless Glass – Is it safe?

Glass has revolutionized the construction industry in line with hundreds of its uses. Every infrastructure at present has it; from offices to shopping malls, homes to coffee shops, it has been one of the leading components of architecture and it is almost impossible not to find it. Yet due to modernization in the construction industry, they have created new ways on how they can manipulate, innovate and enhance the uses and quality of glass. One of which has been highly used for modern architecture, and that is frameless glass.

Due to its brittleness and malleability, glass always comes with a support, a brace or a frame. It can clearly be seen in any common window or door that is primarily made out of glass. Modernization, plus an added sense of style, then comes in to the view and found an innovative but durable way of using glass in construction without any help from frames.

Development of Frameless Glass

One might think that it might be highly unsafe to do so, but through careful scientific research and analysis, numerous ways of enhancing the quality of glass has been developed. Components such as poly fibers, concrete and plastic have been added to its ingredients and undergone through careful processes to toughen it up; thus making frameless glass possible. Some of these are:

• Toughened glass – created in a way that when shattered, it would break in to bits and not into huge shards like normal glass. It is commonly used as windshields on automobiles. Recently, it has also been used fro frameless glass doors and frameless glass windows.
• Fiber glass – made out of plastic polymers and fine fibers of glass, it has been commonly used for flat roofs and storage tanks.
• Crown glass – mainly used in the field of optics such as eyeglasses. Recent innovations lead to the development of frameless glass-types of eyewear, making it more lightweight and stylish.

Frameless Glass Advantages and Disadvantages

In choosing construction supplies, it is always a fact to consider the advantages and disadvantages of a product. Glass, as everyone knows, is heavier than normal plastic. This fact plus adding the common way of using frames to reinforce it makes it even more unimaginable when considering its mass. With frameless glass, not only does it become lighter (due to the obvious reason of not using frames), but it also becomes environmentally friendly compared to regular plastic.

Maintenance is also a concern when it comes to choosing the right materials for you. Windows and doors built with frames (primarily wood) are usually olden up by time and will require changes. Frameless glass, however, wouldn’t require that much maintenance knowing that it doesn’t have frames to change in due time. The only maintenance for it is cleaning the glass with common cleaning agents to relieve and maintain its translucency.

Finally, a consumer will always consider the price of a commodity. It is a fact that frameless glass is much more expensive than those framed ones. This is primarily due that frameless glass requires to be thicker than normal. But if a person does consider safety with elegance in their home or office, then the price won’t be such a matter to them at all.