How to use different types of glass safely and effectively when building

There’s little in the architectural syllabus on the safety implications of using glass. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Depending on the thickness of the ordinary glass panes, the laminated glass can be 20mm or 30 mm thicker and very strong. “You can even run into it and it will remain intact,” he says.
  • This makes tusand glass panes even stronger than laminated glasses. “You can hammer a tusand glass pane and no crack will appear,” he says, adding that this makes it ideal for interior design, staircases or outfield fencing.
  • In apartments, tusand glass panes can be used for partitions, a frameless glass or any other interior décor to add style to a room. “It is safe, especially where children are involved and good for house parties or home boozefests,” he says.

When planning to build a house or any other structure many people seek advice on the different materials such as the most appropriate bricks, sand, pipes and cables. However, not many go out of their way to seek expert advice on the best, safest and most economical glass.

It is notable, however, that the glass experts DN2 talked to empahsised that there is more to using glass than just picking any glass panes and fitting them into your windows and shower cubicles.

“Safe use of glass is limited to your imagination only,” says Joshua Ireri, a glass expert with Design Fusions, a company that has been in operation for the last four years.

He adds: “We cannot deny that the immediate casualties of any building fatality are from glass injuries. If there is fire, the window panes don’t fall like bricks, they fly out of their fittings”. This, he explains, is sad, because most civil engineers give the glass-work only a casual attention when t building.

Mr H. Gakunga, a civil engineering lecturer at Kenyatta University, agrees: “There is hardly anything in our syllabus about safety implications of glassing (when building).”

When building, Mr Ireri explains, there are specific categories of glass that can be used. “There are many ways of using glass panes when constructing, but the there are three major classes: ordinary, laminated and tusand.”

ORDINARY GLASS

“This is the most common type of glass. Depending on your need and what you can afford, you can buy it in thicknesses ranging from to 10 mm. It’s the cheapest but the poorest in quality,” says Mr Ireri.

However, with a little creativity, he adds, you can get a variety of tasteful pieces to decorate your house with. “When you sandblast or acid etch a clear sheet of ordinary glass, you get frosted glass, which is ideal for a shower cubicle or church window.

Mr Ireri says that if you want to cut costs, you can decorate the plain glass yourself. All it takes is a special film that comes in different colours, and a paste that can be bought for Sh700 from retail shops. What you do is apply the paste of the edges of the sheet of glass depending on how you want the film placed, thenplace the film.

“For etched glass panes, you burn the ordinary glass with acid etches and get a translucent pane that allows only light a little light”. This type of glass is best for shower cubicles or partitioning bedrooms.

For the kitchen, he recommends photo-sensitive glass, which adjusts automatically to filter excessive light.

LAMINATED GLASS

“This type of glass is common on bank tellers’ counter windows, motor vehicle windscreens, many companies’ accounts departments and prison visiting lounges,” says Mr Ireri, adding that it is also good in partitioning as it is stronger and more compact than ordinary glass.

To make it, he explains, you join two or three ordinary glass panes with different special pastes/glues, depending on what you want the final product to be.

For instance, to make bullet-proof glass, you daub a special clear glue on each of the identical panes of ordinary glass then join them. “The excess glue overflows and the remaining joins the glasses together permanently. This makes laminated glass”.

Depending on the thickness of the ordinary glass panes, the laminated glass can be 20mm or 30 mm thicker and very strong. “You can even run into it and it will remain intact,” he says.

Apart from the cost, it is a much better option than ordinary glass for partitioning and shower cubicles. “ In fact, I wouldn’t advise anyone to use ordinary glass for their shower cubicles,” he says. “Imagine what would happen if someone tripped in a shower cubicle made with ordinary glass panes,” he says.

“It would be fatal.”

He adds that you can acid etch, film strip or sandblast laminated glass just like you can ordinary clear glass.

Another place where laminated glass panes are suitable, according to Mr Ireri, is partitioning offices in places with a closed-office system, again because they safer and sturdier than ordinary glass.

TUSAND (SAFETY) GLASS

“The best example of tusand glass (also known as safety panes) are the side windows of a car”, Mr Ireri says. This type of glass is made by burning old ordinary glass panes or a special type of soda ash, and then cooling it. By doing this, he says, you prevent the glass from breaking in big chunks in case of an accident; instead, it shatters into tiny pieces, kama mchele (like rice).

This makes tusand glass panes even stronger than laminated glasses. “You can hammer a tusand glass pane and no crack will appear,” he says, adding that this makes it ideal for interior design, staircases or outfield fencing. Indeed, it is used in many football stadia where there’s a high risk of hooliganism.

“If you go to Sameer Business Park, some of the stairs are made of tusand glasses. Their outside glass is tusand as well,” he say.” Tusand glass panes are also good for making extension rooms that do not have a ground foundation or flooring above walking corridors as they shatter into very small pieces, in the event that they do break.

In apartments, tusand glass panes can be used for partitions, a frameless glass or any other interior décor to add style to a room. “It is safe, especially where children are involved and good for house parties or home boozefests,” he says.

In case you want to engrave pictures on your windows, Mr Ireri says, you can use a laser engraver.

However, this should preferably be done on laminated glass or tusand panes since ordinary glass sheets might be too brittle. Mr Ireri points out that the costs of the different types of glass vary greatly. For instance, for a medium-size sitting room window, the cost is of laminated glass is twice that of ordinary glass while tusand glass would cost three times as much.