Glass replacement is not just for when you have a broken window or door. It can also be a critical component in making your property safer, more energy efficient and more resistant to noise.
Read on to learn more about knowing when it’s time to replace your glass.
1. Unsafe/Old Glass
The Australian Standards around glass are always changing, so ensuring you’re in compliance with them is important.
If your building is old and the glass hasn’t been replaced in a while, it’s worthwhile getting a professional in to have a look. They will be able to verify whether your glass is compliant and inform you of your options if it is not.
Remember: ensuring compliance with all Australian Standards is your legal responsibility if you are a building owner. You can be liable if there are any issues that occur as a result of non-compliant glass.
2. Fragile Glass
If your glass is fragile or standard single-pane, it may be time to think about upgrading to more secure glazing units - especially if you have children.
Installing toughened or laminated glass into your home will make a huge difference in improving safety and security.
These types of safety glass are difficult to break so they will make your property much more secure in the event of an attempted break-in or in harsh weather conditions.
In the rare event that they do break, both toughened and laminated glass are designed to either stay intact or shatter into much smaller pieces, as opposed to large sharp shards. This will prevent injury and make clean-up much easier.
3. Energy Wasting Glass
Standard, single-pane glass is also very energy-inefficient. It allows for easy heat transfer through your windows and doors, requiring more thermal control inside your home.
Upgrading to multi-glazed, laminated or low-emissivity coated glass is a great way to improve your building’s energy efficiency. These types of glass are great at insulating your home, keeping it cool during the summer and warm during the winter without you needing to blow your energy bill.
For more information on energy-efficient glass, read our How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient Using Glass blog.
4. Loud Glass
If you’re finding that your glass is bad at blocking out external noise, it may be another sign to get a replacement.
Multi-glazed and laminated glass are much more sound-resistant than standard glass panels. They are great at keeping outside noise outside and maintaining the peace and quiet in your home.
Magic Glass are the experts in glass replacement. Whether you want to ensure your glass is compliant with current safety standards, make your home safer and more peaceful for you family, or boost the energy efficiency of your property, get in contact with our team today!
Although it is rare, there have been many occasions where glass has broken spontaneously, with no apparent cause.
This phenomenon, which we call ‘spontaneous glass breakage’ occurs solely with toughened (or tempered) glass and can be triggered by a number of preventable issues.
Read on to learn more about how you can prevent your glass from breaking spontaneously.
Installation Issues
During transport and installation, glass panels are very susceptible to nicks and chips. These nicks and chips often don’t cause immediate breakage; however, they can lead to spontaneous glass breakage overtime. This is caused by stress concentrations developing around the nicks and chips as a result of glass expansion and contraction.
The best way to avoid installation damage is to hire a professional to install your glass windows and doors. They will understand how to best transport and install the glass panel to ensure no damage occurs throughout the process.
Thermal Stress
Spontaneous glass breakage can also be triggered by thermal stressors on the glass. Thermal stress occurs when the centre of a glazing unit becomes warmer than the outer edge of the thermal unit. This causes the centre of the glass to expand, resulting in the infliction of a tensile force that causes breakage.
Thermal stress occurs most commonly in glass that absorbs heat and solar radiation. This includes tinted, low-e and reflective glass. The best way to avoid thermal stress is to avoid installing these types of glass panels in locations that are exposed to large amounts of direct sunlight. A good rule of thumb is to avoid installing them anywhere where there is more sun than shade coverage.
Ensuring the framing around your glass windows or doors has a high heat capacity and leaves space for the glass to expand will help too.
Additionally, simply keeping your blinds or curtains open on sunny days will minimise the occurrence of thermal stress breakages too. Blinds and curtains often reflect heat and sunlight back into the windows causing them to absorb more warmth.
Fabrication Defects
Accidental inclusions of nickel sulphide can also cause spontaneous glass breakage. These inclusions are caused by stainless steel remnants from fabrication machinery falling into the glass. The nickel sulphide in these remnants changes shape and structure, which puts stress on the glass and can lead to breakage.
The best way to avoid such defects is to ensure you are sourcing your glass from a reputable fabrication facility. They will have procedures in place to ensure nickel sulphide inclusions are minimised.
Whether you’re looking to avoid spontaneous glass breakage or require assistance after it occurs, get in contact with Magic Glass.
Our experienced Glaziers always take necessary precautions to prevent the occurrence of spontaneous glass breakage and our state-of-the-art fabrication facility ensures that all our glass products are manufactured to the highest safety and quality standards.
We are available 24 hours, 7 days a week to take care of any glass emergencies you may have.
Although rope access may appear scary to many, it is actually the safest option when it comes to height access work.
Compared to alternative methods such as scaffolding and cranes, rope access has very little risk. This is due to several factors outlined below.
1. Full Accreditation Required
In order to become a Rope Access Technician in Australia, you must be fully accredited and IRATA trained.
All Rope Access Technicians at Magic Glass undergo thorough training before they are permitted to work. This enables them to become familiar with all safety procedures and protocols and understand how to tackle all jobs at-height as safely as possible.
2. Less Equipment, Less Risk
Compared to using scaffolding or cranes, rope access requires very little equipment and set-up.
Because of this, there is less space where something could go wrong and less equipment that could fail.
3. Less Time, Less Risk
Rope access is also by far the fastest and most efficient method of height access work.
Because of this, there is less time for complications to arise or for something to go wrong.
4. Safer for Passer-Byers
Rope access is also much safer for passer-byers of the building or construction site.
This is because all tools required for the job at hand are secured to Technicians via ropes and harnesses. In the event that a Technician accidentally drops their tool, it will stay intact to the Technician instead of falling to the ground and potentially harming pedestrians and other workers on the way.
For all your rope access needs, get in contact with the Magic Glass team.
All of our dedicated Rope Access Technicians are highly experienced and IRATA trained.