Magic Glass has a large fleet of vehicles servicing customers throughout the state on a daily basis. Our capabilities extend throughout Sydney, New South Wales and the ACT.

Address: 34a-36 Burrows Road Alexandria 2015 NSW


Phone:1800 045 277

Glass Blog

When it comes to Rope Access, an acronym that is frequently thrown around is IRATA. If you’ve heard this acronym but are unsure as to what exactly it means, this article is for you.

What is IRATA?

IRATA stands for the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association. This association was established in the United Kingdom in the 1980s as a means for providing a safe working environment in the oil and gas industry.

As these industries began to employ a number of industrial rope access techniques, it was recognised that ensuring these practices were safe was an important factor in maximising workplace health and safety. From this, IRATA developed their own rope access technique that emphasised safety and could be used in a range of repair, maintenance, inspection, and access work.

IRATA is now recognised as the world’s leading authority on industrial rope access. It has over 570 member companies globally and has trained roughly 130,000 Rope Access Technicians from a multitude of different countries.

IRATA directs and regulates the training of all Rope Access Technicians seeking IRATA qualifications and certifications.

What Does IRATA Do?

IRATA’s main activities include:

  • Regulating the IRATA system as used by their members.
  • Reviewing and updating policies and procedures relating to standards, audit, and assessment.
  • Promoting and maintaining a high standard of industrial rope access activities in terms of safety and quality.
  • Providing guidance and training of personnel involved in industrial rope access.
  • Producing publications and guidance on safety, good working practices, training, and other related topics.
  • Preparing submissions and providing opinions and advice to global government departments and organisations surrounding work at-heights, health and safety, and training.
  • Ensuring safe rope access training and work procedures are introduced and developed.
  • Supporting members with enquiries.
  • Organising annual events for the rope access community.

What are the Objectives of IRATA?

The main aims of IRATA are as follows:

  • To promote and maintain high standards in safety and work quality of practices in the industrial rope access industry.
  • To improve the practices of individuals working in rope access.
  • To promote continuous improvement in the education and training aspects of rope access.
  • To increase awareness surrounding the advantages of rope access over alternative access methods.

IRATA plays a paramount role in promoting and encouraging safe rope access practices around the world. They offer thorough training and certification programs for Rope Access Technicians to ensure they maintain a high standard of safety and quality when carrying out work at-heights.

At Magic Glass, all our Rope Access Technicians are IRATA trained and certified. This ensures all our practices are of the highest safety standards, and all our work is of the best possible quality.

For any repair, maintenance, and installation requirements at-heights or in hard-to-access areas, get in contact with the Magic Glass Rope Access Division now!

Owning or managing a large scale commercial or residential building comes with a vast amount of legal responsibilities. If you are a building owner, Building Manager or Strata Manager, you are responsible for providing all residents, workers, and visitors with a safe environment. This includes ensuring they are protected from any glass related accidents.

Whether major or minor, glass accidents are dangerous and can pose the risk of injury and even death. If the accident is found to be a result of the building not being up to safe standards, Building and Strata Managers can be liable for negligence.

To ensure the glass in your building is safe, the first thing you must do is check that it is compliant with Australian Standards AS2208-1996 and AS1288-2006. These are the standards relating to safety glazing materials in buildings and glass in buildings, respectively.

AS2208 and AS1288 present the circumstances in which you must have safety glass installed instead of standard glass. As the name suggests, this glass is safer and stronger than typical glazing units. 

These standards also state requirements relating to the thickness and dimensions of glass doors and panels, balustrades and glass used in schools, childcare centres, and nursing homes.

Ensuring all glass in your building is up to Australian standards can be a strenuous activity, but it must be done. Fortunately, Magic Glass is here to support you along the way.

Magic Glass is a member of the Australian Glazing and Glazier Association (AGGA). We are proudly accredited by the AGGA as we have demonstrated how our products and services are safe and comply with Australian Standards. Being one of the founding members of the association, we take our accreditations seriously and strive to maintain the reputable standards we have set for ourselves.

Should you find that any of the glass in your building does not comply with the legal requirements outlined above, contact Magic Glass for a free quote to remove and replace the glass to all relevant Australian Standards.

 

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.

Concrete cancer is an issue all building managers and owners should be familiar with. It can occur in any building and, if left untreated, can vastly affect its structural integrity.

What is Concrete Cancer?

Concrete cancer occurs when the steel reinforcements in a concrete slab begin to corrode. This causes the surrounding concrete to become brittle and crack, which can have drastic effects on both the functionality and visual appeal of the building.

Concrete cancer occurs most commonly when the steel reinforcements are exposed to air and water.

What are the Signs of Concrete Cancer?

Common signs of concrete cancer include:

  • Cracking or crumbling concrete
  • Rust stains emerging from the concrete
  • Bubbling of the concrete render
  • Leaks in internal walls.

What are the Causes of Concrete Cancer?

Concrete cancer can occur for a number of reasons. The mains ones being:

  • Poor waterproofing
  • Saltwater chlorides forming in buildings near the sea
  • Harsh/wet weather conditions
  • Concrete carbonation
  • Poor quality concrete
  • Insufficient concrete cover
  • Ground movement under the building.

How do you Treat Concrete Cancer?

Concrete cancer treatment is predominantly dependent upon the cause of the problem. In the event of concrete carbonation or insufficient concrete cover, most technicians will opt for the application of a polymer modified repair system to the steel reinforcements of the concrete slabs.

In the event of weather damage or the formation of saltwater chlorides, it is common to treat concrete cancer with electrochemical treatment options, such as cathodic protection.

The worse the concrete cancer is, the harder it will be to treat. Early diagnosis is therefore key in preventing further structural damage and saving you money .

If you spot any signs of concrete cancer in your structure, you should contact Magic Glass as soon as possible.

Our qualified technicians will be able to identify the causes of your concrete cancer and inform you on your options for remediation. We also have a specialised Rope Access Division, so we can access all areas of your building, no matter its size.

Call us today for a free quote.

Fall arrest systems are an important part of all at-height construction and work sites. They play a critical role in reducing workplace injuries and fatalities caused by falls. To learn more about fall arrest systems and the different types, read on.

What are Fall Arrest Systems?

A fall arrest system protects workers in the event of a fall. If a person working near an unprotected edge should take a fall, the fall arrest system combined with a fall arrest harness will catch the person and prevent them from hitting the ground or area below.

It’s important to note that fall arrest systems are different to fall prevention systems. Fall arrest systems protect workers after they’ve fallen, whilst fall prevention systems prevent the occurrence of falls (such as edge protection and roof guardrails).

What are the Different Types of Fall Arrest Systems?

Fall arrest systems can be categorised as either general or personal. General fall arrest systems include nets and catch platforms, whilst personal arrest systems include lanyards and harnesses.

Some of the most common types of fall arrest systems include:

  • Static Lines
  • Anchor points
  • Rope grabs
  • Safety nets (ideal for worksites where there are no scaffolds, and the fall hazard is less than 25 metres)
  • Rails

Many of these fall arrest systems involve anchor points. These are points where workers can attach their lanyards to anchor themselves to the building and catch them in the event of a fall.

Like all fall arrest equipment, it is important to get anchor points inspected regularly and ensure they are certified for use. All height Safety systems must be inspected and certified every 12 months by a certified professional.

When Should Fall Arrest Systems be Used?

Fall arrest systems should always be used when working at a height that could potentially cause injury in the event of a fall. This may include when carrying out electrical, glazing, cleaning, and roofing work.

Even if the risk of injury is minimal, at least one form of fall protection should always be used.

 

If you require height safety installation, get in contact with the Magic Glass team. We are highly experienced in installing, inspecting, and certifying a range of different height safety hardware including fall arrest systems, anchor points, safety ladders, ladder points, and temporary and permanent edge protection.

Whether you are constructing a commercial building or simply replacing a window, using safety glass is nearly always required as per Australian Standards. Safety glass is designed and fabricated to be highly durable and very difficult to break. The characteristics of safety glass also means that it is significantly safer to the general public in the event of breakage.⁣

Glass pool fences are a popular option for homeowners who want to create a luxurious and spacious outdoor area around their pool. They offer an unobstructed view of the backyard and keep children and pets safe from the water.

There are, however, many regulations that your pool fence must comply with in order to ensure absolute safety.

Glass Pool Fencing Regulations

When it comes to your glass fencing specifically, you must ensure your fence satisfies the following requirements.

  • Must be at least 1200 mm tall all the way around (measured from the outside of the pool). If a boundary fence forms part of the pool fencing, it must be at least 1800 mm tall.
  • The gap between the bottom of the fence and the ground cannot be larger than 100 mm.
  • Vertical rails on the pool fence and gate cannot be more than 100 mm apart.
  • If using mesh pool fencing, holes in the fence cannot have a diameter larger than 13 mm.
  • The pool fence should be well-maintained and in functional order.
  • Pool fencing cannot be climbable. Any potential handholds or footholds cannot be within 900 mm of the top of the fence in any direction.

Glass Pool Gate Regulations

The following regulations regarding pool gates must also be satisfied.

  • All pool gates must be self-closing and able to latch by themselves.
  • Pool gate latches must be in good condition and working order.
  • The gate must open outwards, away from the pool.
  • For a frameless glass pool fence, the latch must be opened from the other side (poolside of the gate).
  • The gap between the glass gate and anything else must be less than 10 mm.

If you’re wanting to install glass fencing around your pool, contact Magic Glass today. We can manufacture and install custom glass fencing to suit your safety and aesthetic requirements.

All Magic Glass pool fences are manufactured and installed in compliance with NSW regulations, so you can rest assured knowing that your pool fence and gate is as safe as possible.

These days, more and more people are opting for aluminium windows. These windows offer a multitude of benefits such as high durability, low maintenance requirements, fewer costs, and greater aesthetic appeal.

If you’re unsure about what aluminium windows are, or what your design options are, read on.

What Are Aluminium Windows?

As the name implies, aluminium windows are windows that have a frame made of aluminium. They are completely weather-sealed, which minimises dust, draughts, and water intrusions.

Aluminium windows are commonly used in homes and offices. They are used frequently in architecturally designed buildings as they give both the interior and exterior a sleek and modern feel.

Types of Aluminium Windows

There are several different types of aluminium windows. These include:

  1. Aluminium Bi-Fold Windows: Opens to one side, providing an undisturbed space between frames.
  2. Aluminium Tilt-Turn Window: Opens on an angle from the top or side of the window .
  3. Aluminium Sliding Window: Opens by sliding from one side to the other. Most common type of aluminium window.
  4. Aluminium Casement Window: Hinged on the side and opens outwards.

Aluminium Window Features

Some of the main features of aluminium windows include:

  • Ability to retain their colour and not rust
  • Availability of various sizes and styles
  • Silent, smooth sliding movement
  • Availability of a wide range of colours.

If you want more information on aluminium windows or are considering installing them in your building, get in contact with the Magic Glass team. We will be able to answer any questions you may have and point you in the right direction when it comes to installation.

Most building owners and strata managers have probably heard of anchor points. But what are they exactly? And why are they important? Read on to find out.

What are Anchor Points?

An anchor point is a point of attachment for a fall arrest system. They are usually found at the top or on the side of a building and serve as a secure and safe way to ensure that those who are working on elevated surfaces will be protected from any potential falls.

There are three main types of anchor points: surface mount, concrete mount, and temporary anchor points.

Surface mount anchor points are typically found on metal roofs. They are easy to install, attaching directly to the rooftop with screws.

Concrete mount anchor points are designed to be fixed onto concrete surfaces. They are commonly used on high-rise buildings with concrete roofs for abseiling and installation of fall arrest systems.

Temporary anchor points are most commonly used for one-off jobs. They are not suitable for abseiling as they are not as strong as concrete or surface mount anchor points.

Why are Anchor Points Important?

Anchor points are important as they allow for the installation of fall arrest systems. These are systems that prevent injuries and fatalities when people working at-heights fall (such as netting and harnesses).

All building and strata managers have a legal obligation to ensure their building has functional, safe, and certified anchor points that are checked frequently.

For all anchor point installation, certification, and maintenance requirements, contact Magic Glass today. Our Rope Access Division can carry out thorough height safety inspections, ensuring your anchor points are compliant with all relevant Australian standards.

Bird-proofing your building can present countless benefits for you and your building’s inhabitants. These include:

1. Blocked Gutters and Property Damage Prevention

A common cause of blocked gutters and property damage is bird feathers and nesting ruminants getting stuck in gutters. This can cause blockages and clogs in gutters and downpipes that often lead to water damage.

2. Glass Awning Damage Prevention

Birds are known to pick up rocks from roofs and drop them over the edge frequently landing on glass roofs/awnings below. This can be extremely costly to replace the glass. Magic Glass can install either netting on the pebbled roof to cover the rocks and prevent birds from picking them up, or alternatively install a debris catch net above any glass awnings to catch the rocks and prevent glass breakage.

In addition, birds can damage tiles and shingles when roosting on building facades.

3. Improved Property Aesthetics

Birds can also damage the aesthetics of your building. Bird droppings and nesting ruminants can make your building look dirty and can even lead to permanent discolouration of your facade.

4 . Protection of the Health of your Building’s Inhabitants

Bird droppings and feathers can carry transmissible diseases and parasites. This can threaten the health and well-being of your building’s inhabitants.

5. Reductions in Nesting Noises

Birds can be loud, especially when they’re nesting. Bird-proofing your building will ensure that the inhabitants of your building can enjoy peace and quiet.

6. Ecosystem Protection

Bird-proofing encourages native birds to nest in nature, rather than in buildings. This keeps them safe and improves surrounding ecosystems.

Magic Glass can offer long-term bird-proofing solutions for all buildings, low and high-rise. Our bird-proofing and pest control services include:

  • Bird spiking
  • Pin and wire
  • Bird netting
  • Guano removal 
  • Trap and release of pests.

For more information, call us today.

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