Cairns Local Glass have a wide range of sophisticated products, to meet increasing demands of glass security and safety, without compromising on the design criteria of natural light and visibility.
Our team are always at the fore front in developing products and industry standards, so that personal accident and serious injuries resulting from glass impact are further prevented and minimised.
Understanding the difference between glass safety and glass security, although closely linked topics, it is important to understand the distinction between the two terms, to ensure the right glass is specified.
Safety glass is applied to glazing used to reduce the risk of accidents by impact, fracture, shattering, or in a fire.
Security glass is applied to glazing, which in addition to safety glass can withstand a variety of deliberate attacks such as manual, ballistic or blast.
Using the right type of glass for security applications is not enough to ensure the necessary resistance to severe loads. Since the glass can behave differently in different framing systems, it is imperative to combine high performance glazing with high performance framing systems to achieve the level of protection required.
Toughened glass is manufactured by subjecting the finished glass size to a heating and cooling treatment which set up high compressive stresses on the surface, and balancing tensile stresses in the centre of the glass, which increases its strength. The result is a glass that is 5 times stronger than ordinary glass of the same thickness.
The high compressive surface stresses give the glass its increased resistance to mechanical and thermal stresses. It can, however, break under extreme loads or by severe impact. When broken, toughened glass shatters into small, blunt-edged fragments, reducing the risk of personal injury.
Heat strengthened glass is produced by a similar process to toughened glass, however, the strength developed is about half that of toughened glass. It does not meet the safe break criteria for safety glass because its breakage pattern resembles that of annealed glass. It is used to provide glass that is resistant to thermal stress and for laminating where greater glass strength is required.
Toughened Safety Glass provides an economical and proven solution where national standards or Codes of Practice specifically require the use of safety glazing material. Examples include passageways, areas of high pedestrian traffic, glass doors and adjacent panels, shower and bath enclosures, balconies and barriers amongst others.
Laminated glass is produced by combining two or more sheets of float glass with one or more interlayers. The most popular interlayer used is a polyvinylbutyral (PVB) interlayer, which is processed with heat and pressure under factory conditions.
The interlayers ensure the integrity of the glass; by holding the broken pieces in place should any damage occur. In fact, glass fragments adhere strongly to the interlayer, while the resistant cushioning effect dissipates the energy. Laminated glass performance can be influenced simply by changing the number and thickness of each layer of glass and PVB interlayer. By doing this, Cairns Local Glass can offer a wide range of products suitable for many applications.
For additional noise control performance, the product is further enhanced by using specially developed acoustic interlayers.
Available in a wide range of thicknesses and in addition to safety, security and noise control, laminated glass may also be used to provide supplementary benefits such as solar control, thermal insulation, self-cleaning and decoration.
Laminated glass can be used in many applications including glazed building entrances, internal doors, overhead and roof glazing, swimming pools and windows in critical risk locations.
As a security glass laminated glass will retain its overall integrity and continue to act as a barrier even if the glass breaks, protects from vandalism and burglary, protects against break-ins by preventing or slowing down burglary attempts, withstanding repeated blows from heavy objects such as bricks, pot plants or outdoor furniture that could potentially be loose during a tropical cyclone and be used in typical applications which display valuable goods inside museums or show rooms.
The AS 1288–2021, Glass in Buildings – Selection and Installation is the Australian Standard that provides procedures for selecting and installing glass in buildings to ensure safety, particularly under conditions like wind loading and human impact. Cairns Local Glass glaziers work to these standards when working with glass in commercial buildings.
Using these standards in installation helps building owners meet their legal obligations by providing a comprehensive survey service which inspects and documents every glazing element in the premises and enables any necessary upgrade work to be completed. This also allows future reactive glass repairs and replacement work to be completed quicker with minimal disruption.
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