 | Bob Crager of Lewis Street Glass is a 26 year veteran in the glass business. Lewis Street Glass is a leading Wichita Glass company, serving the entire Wichita/Sedgwick County area since 1919. They do anything and everything having to do with glass, both residential and commercial. They also do Auto glass. They are located at 743 South Market, facing Kellogg on the South, and you can reach them by phone at (316) 263-8259. You can email Bob Crager at bcrager@lewisstreetglass.com |
Glass
2008-05-01 13:20:00
Types of glass in our everyday lives
Answer: Wow…there are lots of different types of glass, used in many different applications in our modern lives. I’ll just describe a few of them for you here in alphabetical order. There are many more, but here are just a few of them for you.
Acrylic sheets of glass, also known as Plexiglas, Lucite, Acrylite, Optix, etc., are optically transparent, not affected by moisture, and offer high strength-to- weight ratio. Acrylic sheets also offer high light transmittance and can be easily heat-formed without losing their clarity. Acrylic is an economical and multi-purpose material, and is 17 times stronger than plain glass. The most common uses? Windows and window replacement glass, displays, and picture frames.
Annealed glass is glass that is not heat treated (strengthened or tempered). It is the most common glass used in ordinary windows. Annealed glass is also what is known as float glass. When you go to the glass shop, this is normally what is used for window pane replacement.
Bent glass is flat glass that has been bent by heating the glass and then shaping it into a cylinder or other curved shapes. It looks “bent”.
Beveled glass is glass that has the edge cut off at an angle. Grinding off of the edge of flat glass makes the bevel, and there are several bevel sizes and edge shapes available. Polished and shaped edges are used for glass furniture as well as mirrors, tabletops, and shelves, and is very attractive glass.
Bullet resistant glass is made up of multiple laminations of glass with tough tear sheet plastic. These laminates are designed to stop bullets from a variety of small arms and rifle fire, as well as impact-induced spell. These products have a range of physical attack and/or ballistics resistance capabilities. The selection of the appropriate glazing materials should be based on a careful look at your specific security needs. It is sometimes used in banking facilities.
Coated glass is glass with a chemical film applied to the surface providing such characteristics as privacy, solar or mirrored effects. It’s pretty commonly used.
Dual Pane & Thermo Pane are also known as IGU’s, or Insulated Glass Units. Dual Panes and IGU’s are two panes of glass, (kind of like a thermos bottle) hermetically sealed against moisture vapor, with an air space in between, insulating the outside air from the inside air. It keeps the hot air out during the summertime, and the warm air inside in the wintertime. IGU’s make your home safer and more secure. They also cut down on outside noise by 80%, as well as helping to reduce your year round energy costs.
Heat strengthened glass is glass that’s cut to size, then heated to a high temperature, and then cooled back down to room temperature. It is two times stronger than ordinary annealed glass.
Laminated glass is safety glass and is made of two or more lines of glass bonded together under heat and pressure with a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) inner layer. When broken, laminated glass tends to keep the glass in place. Laminated glass has excellent anti-accident and anti-burglary properties. Typical applications include impact, blast, sound control windows, curtain walls, entrance doors, sliding doors, office partitions, schools, sports stadiums, hotels and windshields.
Lexan is also known as Polycarbonate. It is highly impact resistant & has a special coating to help optical clarity and abrasion resistance. It is ideal for many functional parts requiring exceptional toughness and surface hardness. It has the clarity of glass, while being exceptionally resistant to weathering. It blocks out harmful UV rays, resists hail, wind & vandalism. It has 20 times the impact resistance of fiberglass and over 40 times the impact resistance of glass or acrylic.
Low-E glass maximizes window performance in hot climates, where air-conditioning costs are significant. This Solar Control Low-E glass is designed to block direct solar heat (year-round) while providing improved thermal comfort in the winter.
Plate glass is annealed glass which comes in thicknesses ranging from 1/4” - 1/2”. Most commonly used in storefront windows, residential picture windows, tabletops and shelves.
Reflective glass is window glass that is coated with a reflective surface film. This is to reduce the heat and light that is transmitted.
Sandblasted glass is when compressed air forces an abrasive material (resembling sand) through a nozzle on to the surface of the glass. This process removes the surface of the glass, which gives the sandblasted area a frosted look.
Spandrel glass is usually made as a fixed opaque colored glass on buildings in front of floor slabs and columns. Spandrel glass is available in a wide variety of colors.
Specialty glass is a window that is not of regular standard shape or size. Examples of specialty glass are triangle, rounded or curved window applications, etc.
Tempered glass is a type of safety glass. Tempered glass has been created through a heating & cooling process. Tempered glass is 5 times stronger than normal glass. When broken the entire piece of glass shatters into tiny pieces without sharp edges. Common uses for tempered glass are patio doors, storefront doors, bathrooms, showcase doors, shelves, shower doors, partitions, and automobiles or other vehicles.
Tinted glass has a material that is added to give the glass a light and/or heat reduction, depending on the color added.
Triple pane glasses are windows that are made of three different individual glass panes with dead air space between them. The spaces are filled with argon or other gases for better energy efficiency, thus enclosing two separate individual air spaces. They are similar in construction to dual or thermo pane windows
Some info was researched from the world wide web. I hope this is helpful to you for your particular needs, and we will bring you more good and interesting information next month. Thanks for all your good questions each month.
