Below are brief descriptions of the most common glass types, if you would like further product information we would be happy to go through these with you when we come out to give a free measure and quote - within the Wellington region.

Float Glass

The float glass process is the most common method of flat glass production in the world. This process involves melting silica sand, lime, potash and soda in a furnace and floating it onto a bed of molten tin. This mass slowly solidifies over the molten tin as it enters the annealing lear where it travels along rollers under a controlled cooling process. The glass emerges in one continuous ribbon where it is then cut into stock sheet sizes and packed.

Clear Annealed Float - ( general clear glass )

As the name suggests clear float is transparent and colourless offering high visible light transmittance. Clear float is available in 2mm up to 19mm in thickness

Laminated Safety Glass

Poly Vinyl Butyral is a grade A laminate safety glass made by a heat and pressure process in an autoclave that laminates two or more sheets of glass with a flexible interlayer between them. The safety aspects of this glass result from the PVB layer which prevents the glass disintegrating if broken and also acts as a preventative barrier against penetration.

By using a tinted interlayer, laminated glass can be used to reduce heat transmission. The plastic properties of the interlayer in PVB laminated act with a sound dampening effect and can provide sound control equivalent to that of ordinary glass twice the thickness.

Specifically designed acoustic laminate is a CIP laminated glass designed to reduce sound intrusion into buildings. Acoustic grade laminated glass consists of two glass lites with a 1.0mm or 1.5mm limpid acoustic resin interlayer.

Clear laminated is available in - 6.38mm, 8.38mm, 10.38mm and 12.38mm . . . . Gray & Bronze laminated is available in - 6.38mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opal Translucent & Soft White laminated is available in - 6.38mm and 10.38mm .

Toughened Safety Glass

Cut to size sheets of glass are fed by conveyor into a furnace where they oscillate back and forth on ceramic rollers until the glass reaches a temperature of approximately 620 degrees Celsius and a semi plastic state. Under computer control, the glass moves into the quench where it is rapidly cooled by high pressure cool air. This snap cooling or quenching induces comprehensive stresses to the glass surface, while the centre remains in tension. Although the physical characteristics remain unchanged, the additional stresses created within the glass increases its strength by 4 - 5 times compared to that of annealed glass of equal thickness. Most annealed glass can also be toughened.

Tinted Float - ( body tinted, heat absorbing glass )

Tinted float is produced by adding a colourant during a clear float production run. The most common colours are gray, bronze, green and blue. Tinted float is primarily designed to reduce solar heat gain and glare which, from an occupants point of view, increases the comfort level and reduces cooling costs. Heat absorbing tinted float glass is available in annealed or toughened safety glass.

Reflective Float Glass

Where there is a specific design need for a reduction in solar heat gain, a heat reflective glass can be used. Reflective glass reflects and absorbs a major proportion of the suns direct energy more effectively than tinted glass. The mirror like appearance of reflective glass is achieved through the application of a metallic coating during the manufacture of the glass.

Pyrolytic Hard Coat products available in 6mm annealed or toughened safety glass - - Stopsol Classic Gray, Stopsol Super Silver Gray, Stopsol Super Silver Green, Evergreen Eclipse, Blue Green Eclipse, Stopsol Classic Blue, Stopsol Super Silver Blue, Arctic Blue Eclipse, Stopsol Classic Bronze.

Hard Coat High Performance products available in 6mm annealed or toughened safety glass - Sun Guard Clear, Sun Guard Green, Sunergy Clear, Sunergy Green, Sunergy Azure.

Low-Emissivity Coated Glass - ( Low-E )

Glass with a Low Emissivity, or Low-E, are specifically designed to reduce heat transfer in warmer and colder climates and reduce energy costs. In cooler climates this glass can provide up to 32% less heat loss. Low-E glass works most efficiently in insulated glass units. This product is generally non-reflective and highly transparent.

Low Iron Glass

Standard clear float glass has an inherent green tinge, which is more apparent when viewing the edge of the glass. The colour is due to the iron content in the sand (silica), low iron glasses contain approximately one tenth of the iron content of standard clear float glass. Low iron glass is very popular with splash backs or similar situations where the reverse side of the glass is painted. Low iron glass is available in 6mm, 8mm, 10mm and 12mm annealed or toughened safety glass.

Wired Glass

6mm Pyroshield has 13mm square electronically welded steel wire mesh sandwiched in its centre during the manufacturing process. Georgian Wired Glass is 1 hour fire rated in approved windows, to maximum sizes as tested by window manufacturers, and is a Grade B safety glass. Available in clear or obscure.

Mirror

Modern high quality multi-coated mirror is manufactured with silvering quality float glass and stringent quality controls to provide a high quality, corrosion resistant (copper free) mirror. available in 3mm, 4mm, 5mm and 6mm thickness.

Vinyl Back Safety Mirror

Vinyl backed safety mirror provides double protection in the event of accidental breakage. As fragments do not fall down and the mirror is not penetrated, serious injuries do not occur. This product exceeds AS/NZS2208 standard. Available in 4mm, 5mm and 6mm thickness.

Double Glazed Unit

Double Glazed Units ( Insulating Glass Units ) consist of two or more panes of glass separated by a spacer around the edges and sealed to the perimeter in factory controlled conditions using a primary seal of polyisobutylene and a secondary seal of two pot polysulphide. The spacer contains a desiccant (drying agent) which eliminates moisture vapour in the cavity. Insulating Glass Units are available in many combinations including clear float, tinted float, reflective float, laminated , toughened, obscure and with low-e glass enhancement.