Christian and Beccy

iTrader: (14)

I am in the process of rebuilding the framework and boxed-in arrangement that our bath sits in, previously it was tiled on top, but we didn't like that and after looking at various options, Corian, Stone, Laminate etc etc we settled on Glass. So, I drew up the plans and had a custom panel made from 19mm glass, which has been toughened and painted.



It looks great, pics really don't do it justice, but anyway, my question is this.....

Due to the shape of the panel, its size and the fact that there isn't alot of glass left by the time they cut the middle oval shape out, the people that made it were nervous about toughening it. Apparently it has to have 20 mins at 700°c and it was make or quite literally break for it, we had an agreement that we wouldn't pay for it if it broke, they were keen to try it out. Anyway, I got the call to say that it had survived the process and we were happy.

Beccy and I fitted it and Beccy, bless her heart, knocked the corner on the wall whilst lifting her end into place. This took the corner off, but only underneath, so it can't be seen, its the back corner too.

However, we were quite shocked at how lightly she tapped it and the fact that a shard of glass broke off. Is this a characteristic of what you'd expect from toughened glass? I am now wondering if they didn't bother toughening it due to the risk. This will piss me off as it wasn't cheap (£750) and although this chip isn't a big deal, if we were to knock it again, will it be this easy to break another bit off? I know its glass and therefore is a risk, but I didn't expect it to be this brittle, or else what was the point in toughening?

Ginge !

more important how smelly are you fuckers since it looks like you aint had a bath for a while

GARETH T

toughened glass, dont normally splinter,,,, did they toughen it?

btw,,, i love the look, its going to look really good

rsnissan

iTrader: (9)

cant tell from the pics, but is the edge chamfered? if so then id say it was possible even with toughened glass as this would be the most brittle bit.

Toughing would probably make most difference if you were to drop something down onto the glass.

Christian and Beccy

iTrader: (14)

Luckily Ginge, we have a shower too.

The bath has been out of action for over a week now though and I really miss it as I love that bath. It's huge and perfect for relaxing in.

The exposed edged of the glass are bevelled, I don't think the wall-facing edges were though.

I want to challenge the company that made it, but want to be armed with facts first. We had initial concerns over the colour which we took up with them and I don't want them to simply assume that I am looking for a way out of it. It's fitted now and I have sealed it up too, so taking it out will certainly not be an easy task!!

Ginge !

to be fair theres not a thing ive seen in christians house that AINT looked good

hes got some PROPER ideas,,, might be a idea looking into interior design as a side line for him

or a resto thread on the house rather on some old 89 escort

Christian and Beccy

iTrader: (14)

LOL. Thanks for that. I'd put up more pics of our work, but its hard to make rooms look good on pics unless they are HUGE rooms where you can get enough of the room in the pic. Everything is modern, tasteful and a little different.

st3v3

Toughened glass is produced by applying a special treatment to ordinary glass after it has been cut to size and finished. The treatment involves heating the glass so that it begins to soften (about 620 degrees C) and then rapidly cooling it. This produces a glass which, if broken, breaks into small pieces without sharp edges.The treatment does increase the surface tension of the glass which can cause it to 'explode' if broken; this is more a dramatic effect than hazardous.

It is important to note that the treatment must be applied only after all cutting and processing has been completed, as once 'toughened', any attempt to cut the glass will cause it to shatter.

Toughened glass is ideal for glazed doors, low level windows (for safety) and for tabletops (where it can withstand high temperature associated with cooking pots etc.

This does NOT mean it will stand more "knocks" just means it will shatter into many bits instead of just a few dangerouse shards

Hope this helps.

steve

St3V3_C

That was my understanding too - we had a low window and got talking to the guy, me thinking it would stop you falling out, and he said no, you'll still fall out, just won't get cut to pieces by the glass.






Cheers. I feel much safer

Apparently, laminated is what makes it stronger.

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

Correct. Thats why windscreens are laminated

Christian and Beccy

iTrader: (14)

So, in answer to the question, would you expect a fairly minor knock on a ceramic tile (didn't damage the tile) to have broken a corner off as it did?

tony_turbo

looks proper nice tho. nice idea.

St3V3_C

Probaby, ceramic is a bit funny with glass. A broken piece of the white bit of a spark plug will smash a car window with no force whatsoever.

The thing with your chip is was it proper sharp (the bit that broke off)? If it's toughened it should NOT be too sharp. Make sense?

Christian and Beccy

iTrader: (14)

I would describe it as a 'Slither'. It was small, but proper sharp. A little bit crumbly too, there was small pieces with it, like dust.

St3V3_C

Difficult to call then mate. Have you still got the piece? Maybe take it to a different glass shop and ask them what they think?

Thrush

iTrader: (1)

Toughened glass can "shell" (where you get slithers like Christian said, and also "shell" like shapes come out of it, usually at edges) as I've seen a fair few door glasses have this happen, and they are toughened in the same way.

As someone else said, toughening increases surface tension to the glass, making it a bit more resistant to breaking when items are dropped onto the flat surface of the glass. Corners and side/edges are still a weak point. Hence why most times when theives break into a car, they stick a flat blade screwdriver bewteen the door frame and the glass and lever it. That breaks the glass from the edge, which is easier than doing it from the middle or on the flat "face" surface of the glass.....

Christian you mentioned that the slither you had was a bit crumbly. That to me would indicate it has been toughened. When you break a car window and you have all the little squares of glass on the floor, if you put your foot on top and "scrub" the floor, you'll find pretty quickly that the squares wear down on the tarmac into dust and powder. Same will happen from car tyres rolling/turning on top of them. This is an affect of toughened glass, it brings the glass elements back closer to sand.....

Christian and Beccy

iTrader: (14)

No, I threw it out, stupidly, as it was sharp and I was worried about it ending up on the floor.

I should have kept it I know.

Karl

Christian,

Take a hammer to the top and if it smashes into lots of small fragments it's toughened. Hope that helps!

Christian and Beccy

iTrader: (14)

Thanks for that.

Karl

LOL you're welcome!

See you Wednesday!

GARETH T

PMSL at karls destruction test

Fudgey

iTrader: (4)

dunno about the toughening stuff, but fook me that looks ace

i see what you were on about painging the MDF for now lol

ps, i assume that you will supporting the bath bowl too, not just relying on the glass and MDF to hold it?

they are quite heavy when full of water and a person lol

im sure you will, but just thought id mention it

kiddie

Hi I have been working with glass for the last 6 years, C&B if you are not confident its toughned glass call the company you brought it from and they can prove to you onsite its been done. Its a handheld devise simular to the one that checks for active glass or gas filled units.

And toughned glass is extreamly brittle on the edge, and you were lucky it didn't explode.
Looks impressive though

SEAN

19mm glass shouldnt have needed to be toughened.Think you have been mis-advised with regards to this.

I recently made a 15mm glass shower screen and it did not require toughening.

Toughened glass should have a stamp on it to indicate that it has been toughened.This is required by law.If you do not want it stamped the company selling it to you must provide you with a covering letter stating the glass is toughened and explaining why the stamp was left off.

Once glass has been Toughened you can not cut or reduce its size unless you polish it or it will explode and when damaged 99 times out of one hundred it will explode.

Toughened glass is a safety glass designed to shatter on impact to 100 pieces per square inch so basically if you fall through toughened glass you will only end up with small cuts rather than major damage caused by the sharp shreds left when ordinary glass is broken.
Laminated glass as found in your car windscreen is also a safety glass but the laminate inter layer allows the glass to remain in one piece.

Because of the thickness of your glass 19mm it would sliver when knocked but would take a large knock to actually brake.Toughened if hit on the edge would most likely explode.

You can get a glass tester to indicate if glass is toughened the company you bought the glass from should have one ask to borrow it or get building control to check it as they may have one.

Cheers Sean......

Lee Reynolds

Wow Christian 750 pounds i would have looked into this more before i bought it

Looks good though mate all the same

kiddie

C&B did it come from Contract Glass in the city?

Christian and Beccy

iTrader: (14)

Do you think we didnt?

Luca

iTrader: (2)

Well im not a glass enthuisast nor a professor but i can pass on some of my knowledge on the matter.

I studied furniture design at university and for my final piece i had to design a piece of furniture.


I wanted a piece that was soley made from glass. In using this i had to consider safety, as you have C+B. The glass has to be toughned if it is in direct contact on a day to day basis.

Although glass is deemed fragile, it is shockingly strong at the same time if toughned.
However, this strength is manily concerned with the flat areas of the plate glass, not the corners.

The small slither you mention is common when the glass has been toughned, so dont worry there. If it had not been a large chunk would have cracked and most probably taken a good 1/4 or the plate with it.
IT MUST BE TOUGHNED FOR YOUR SAFETY

I had my final piece on display at a gallery last summer and some dozy knob decided to bang a floor polisher into my table, this also took a small slither of but didnot break.

As for strength the picture below shows my design and it is solely consructed from glass. These plates of glass have been indivudally cut bevelled and then toughned. After this process it is uvbonded and cured.



The unbelivable thing is. its glass and will to date carry the weight of 3 grown men to date(36st). . . i darent go any more lol. .



Top work for going for a unique differnt approach, shame about the dam tile that got in the way.

Lee Reynolds

Erm, from what your asking then no. Not having a dig Christian at all but who did you ask about doing this with toughened glass? It is the edge of toughened glass where all the stress is and it is prone to breaking when knocked hard. I doubt youd knock it hard getting in and out the bath but anything hard that hits the edge is likely to shatter it mate.

Like i say im really not having a dig although it might come across that way, its just if i was paying £750 for that id want to be 110% sure it was right for the job!

Christian and Beccy

iTrader: (14)

m4dyeti - I can't see the pics and really want to!! Sort it!!

Lee, that was Beccy that typed the earlier reply.

We trusted the experts on what to do. They really are experts too, they specialise in bespoke glass furniture like this. I went with my drawings and told them the intended use and they did the rest. Me intervening any more than that is a bit like me telling you what make of cement to use. It's their profession, so I'd rather leave it that way. They said it needed to be toughened, so thats what happened. I'm relieved in the above replies, the bath is now in and I am stunned at the result so far, haven't stopped grinning about it yet. I just wish photo's did it justice.

Lee Reynolds

Well if you asked the experts then you can do no more than that Christian i suppose. Im suprised at them tbh because if it was my company i wouldnt want to risk any comebacks if it does break

Get the pics up

Luca

iTrader: (2)

im on it lol

Luca

iTrader: (2)

Took me long enough