Glass for double-glazed windows: types of glass

Recommendation points

• Float glass
• Coated glass
• Heat-treated glass
• Reinforced glass
• Laminated glass
• Painted glass
• Frosted glass

Modern windows with plastic, wood and metal frames have double-glazed windows. Double-glazed windows are a new word in the window industry. In Russia, it appeared only in the 90s, before that double-glazed windows were used in industrial, public buildings, greenhouses.

Now this sealed miracle is available to everyone. The quality of the window is influenced not only by the structure of the glass unit, but also by the type of glass it is made of..

A double-glazed unit is a construction consisting of 2 or more glass panes. The glasses connected along the contour are separated by a spacer. There are chambers between the glasses filled with inert gas or rarefied air. A double-glazed window, in contrast to traditional twin frames, has high noise insulation, heat protection, light transmission, impact resistance.

The main material for a glass unit is glass. If earlier it was a fragile material, suitable only for protection from the outside world and the penetration of sunlight, now glass is a building material with many functions. It protects your home from noise, cold, heat, fire, shock and explosions. Also, modern glass shelters us from prying eyes and decorates the home interior and exterior.

The latest ways to increase the strength of glass have turned glass into a versatile building material.
The choice of glass depends on the requirements for the design of the glass unit. There are float glass, spray glass, heat treated glass, wired glass, laminated glass, painted glass, frosted glass.

Float glass

Float glass is the most common type of glass, which is the basis for subsequent technological maneuvers. All other types of glass are formed on the basis of float glass. Float glass itself is of two types: mass-tinted and transparent polished. Float glass, colored in the mass, has a reduced light transmission, that is, it specially protects from the sun. Clear, polished float glass maximizes the sun’s rays.

Float glass is a fairly cheap material, so it is often used as part of a glass unit.

Coated glass

In order to enhance the energy saving of the glass, it is covered with a special spray film. As a result, K-glass and i-glass are obtained. K-glass has a hard metal coating on one side, which prevents heat from leaving the room. This spraying is performed by the pyrolytic method, when the metal film is, as it were, soldered into the glass surface..

I-glass has a higher performance than K-glass. It retains up to 90% of the heat in the room. Magnetron sputtering is applied to the basic float glass, that is, using the vacuum method, layers of a metal oxide film are magnetized onto ordinary glass. This coating is considered soft because the metal oxide layer is easily damaged by mechanical stress and contact with air. I-glass costs more, but brings more benefits.

Heat-treated glass

Glass is an inherently fragile material, so manufacturers use technologies to harden it. One of the hardening technologies is heat hardening. To obtain heat-strengthened glass, it is heated to 600 degrees, and then slowly cooled. The result is glass that is resistant to temperature extremes and mechanical damage..

Tempered glass is produced using a slightly different technology. Float glass is heated in an oven with a temperature of no more than 650 degrees; when it comes out, it is quickly cooled by blowing air from 2 sides. This is how the glass hardening process takes place.

It must be said that heat-strengthened and tempered glass behave differently during destruction. Heat-strengthened glass breaks up into large pieces and mostly remains in the frame. Tempered glass crumbles into small fragments. It is believed that material that breaks down into small pieces is safer..

Reinforced glass

Reinforced glass is a material with a metal mesh inside. Steel mesh with large square meshes is placed inward parallel to the glass surface during glass production. For better protection, the steel frame is covered with an aluminum foil.

The reinforced glass is fire and impact resistant thanks to the metal mesh. If fire comes to such glass, it will keep it from further spreading. In addition, the reinforced glass will not crumble from the impact, but only crack – you can not be afraid of fragments.

Laminated glass

Laminated glass is a series of layers of glass connected by a polyvinyl-buteral film. The film can perform several functions: to protect against noise, the appearance of fragments, fire, ultraviolet radiation.

Conventional laminated glass consists of 3 sheets held together with plastic foil. When destroyed, the film prevents the glass from crumbling into small fragments. For fire resistance, a film with expansion is used. When the temperature rises, it turns into a kind of protective layer.
Laminated glass also performs a decorative function, since glass can be either matte or colored.

Painted glass

Glass is stained for 2 purposes: decoration and UV protection. Tinted glass absorbs sun bows to a greater extent than clear glass. Colored glass can be tinted: tinted in bulk and tinted with dusting; sun-protective with a metallized coating, sun-reflecting, patterned with a pattern on one of the sides, painted tempered. The choice of colored glass is wide and varied.

Frosted glass

Frosted glass eliminates glare and creates an intimate atmosphere in any room. Get frosted glass in 2 ways: satin and sandblasted. The sandblasting method involves processing the glass surface with sand, and the satin-brushed one – with chemical etching. It must be said that satin has a smoother and more silky surface. There are no rough dents and roughness on it, so visually frosted glass is more advantageous.

All the types of glass described are easy to clean: they can be washed and wiped without difficulty. If you wish, you can change one glass in a double-glazed window for another, however, costs cannot be avoided. There is a cheap way to change the appearance of glass and enhance its technological characteristics – to stick a special film. The film can be both shock-resistant and anti-reflective, with protection against mechanical damage and with a reflective effect. Plus, such a film will allow you to realize your design ideas.