Most engineers and architects will agree that fire protection is a major concern. Government guidelines additionally require commercial and residential spaces to be absolutely secure. Of course, while making sure that these spaces have heat-protection, you obviously don’t want to compromise with the aesthetics of your building or compound. Fortunately, there is a simple workaround – you can easily make any space you’re constructing fire-resistant and great-looking by putting in heat resistant glass.
Heat-resistant glass is a specific sort of glass which can undergo an excessive variety of temperature changes. It is typically made with the usage of soda lime, silica sand, and certain chemicals that enable the heat-resistant properties of this glass.
Boric oxide is typically combined with regular molten glass and the mixture is then placed into a furnace. This furnace lowers the coefficient of thermal expansion for glass, making it immune to heat shocks. Apart from the usage of boric oxide, numerous different chemical substances and production techniques can produce heat-resistant glass.
Fused Quartz and High Silica glass offer possibly the very best form of heat resistance. Some glasses made with this combination can resist temperatures as excessive as a thousand degrees.
Aluminosilicate glass containing Aluminium oxide is understood to withstand approximately 800 degrees. Additionally, this type of glass is exceptionally immune to most chemical substances.
Fused Quartz and High Silica glass offer possibly the very best form of heat resistance. Some glasses made with this combination can resist temperatures as excessive as a thousand degrees.
Several global scores decide the heat-resistivity of such glass:
Most industries these days rely closely on automatic gadgets. As a result, proprietors generally tend to dedicate one room to shop all computer systems and digital gadgets. These rooms – known as server rooms – are possibly the lifeblood of your business. Since computer systems and different warmth-producing digital gadgets are positioned in those rooms, there’s a sizable threat of unintentional fires. Even if a fire breaks out in a few different parts of your workplace area, it is able to harm the computer systems saved in server rooms. To guard your data from damage, installing heat–resistant glass in your server rooms can be the best idea.
Glass walls make most rooms’ appearances sleek, fashionable and open. A growing range of business areas at the moment are built with floor-to-ceiling glass walls in place of cumbersome brick or timber walls. Regular glass cannot offer any safety from fire or heat. Even if a small fire initiates in a few parts of your workplace, it is able to grow and cause glass walls to shatter. Heat resistant glass can help by containing all the damage o a small area and isn’t always vulnerable to breakage.
Most present-day business areas have glass flooring that is installed as a fashion element. In case of a fire breakout, ordinary, or even toughened glass can shatter easily. It would possibly injure your personnel and cause an immoderate lack of safety. To make certain that your flooring does not act as a conducive element to fire, easily, you can use heat-resistant glass. Having heat -resistant glass flooring will save you from the dangers of the fire spreading to specific areas and could provide you with greater time to evacuate.
Sometimes, a fire would possibly begin out of doors. Fire spreads right away via ordinary glass home windows, shattering them in the process. If you need to reduce the risk because of outside fires, use doorways and home windows with heat resistant glass.
In most buildings, staircases are used as fire protection exits. It is crucial, therefore, to surround stairwells with high-quality heat resistant glass. In case of an unintentional fire, fires-resistant glass doorways at staircase exits and entry points will ensure it does spread all over the place.
Almost all multi-storied commercial areas have lifts. Traditionally, metal or timber doorways have been taken into consideration as suitable lift enclosures. However, metal and timber aren’t drastically immune to fire and heat. Since metal and timber are totally opaque, you can not reveal a fire breakout within the lift or outside of it. Having heat resistant glass in lift enclosure prevents harm to people and belongings whilst additionally adding some sleekness in your workplace.
AIS guarantees that you have a hassle-free shopping experience whilst selecting any glass products. Our professionals help you in the whole process from purchasing to installation. To know more, get in touch today!
If you live in a coastal, hurricane-prone area, you need impact resistant windows to protect your family and your home. Debris propelled by hurricane-force winds and severe thunderstorms is the greatest threat to a building during a high-wind event. It can destroy windows, cause significant wind, water and debris damage to your property and lead to injury or death.
Designed and made to withstand winds up to 170 mph.
Impact resistant windows, also known as hurricane windows, are designed and made to withstand high winds (up to 170 mph) and resist shattering when struck. They’re engineered with laminated glass and held in place by layers of durable material that stays intact after impact, protecting against extreme wind and flying debris. Even when the glass is damaged, impact resistant windows remain secured in their frames.
In addition to protecting against property damage and bodily harm, impact resistant windows boost home security, generate energy savings, eliminate the need for storm shutters and increase the beauty and value of your home, among other benefits.
Impact resistant windows are constructed with impact-resistant glass. A strong polymer layer located between two panes of glass reinforces the glass and holds it together even if it shatters. The glass is surrounded by a heavy duty frame that is securely fastened to the window frame.
Impact resistant windows are made of tempered and laminated glass.
Tempered Glass
Tempered glass is heat-treated, so when it cools the surface and edges of the glass become compressed, making it three to five times stronger than annealed glass. This type of glass is an impact-resistant, storm-safe option because of its added strength and because when it does shatter, it breaks in a spider web pattern and into small pebbles without sharp edges or shards, reducing the chance of injury from flinging glass or during clean-up.
Laminated / PVB Glass
Laminated glass is made by joining two or more panes of glass with a thin but exceptionally strong layer or membrane of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) in between that is designed to catch shattered glass.
When debris impacts the glass, the outer pane may crack or shatter, but the inner layer holds the pieces together, and the barrier between the exterior and the interior of the building isn’t penetrated. Standard glass windows typically are made out of traditional float glass that breaks into large, sharp shards upon impact.
Some laminated windows are made with sentry glass plus (SGP) technology. SGP involves interlayers that are five times stronger and significantly stiffer than the laminate material used in PVB construction.
The result is a window that protects against extreme wind and debris impact.
In addition, the material used to make SGP impact windows is clearer than the inner membrane of PVB, which tends to be cloudier, especially after extended wear and tear. As a result, SGP windows maintain their ultra-clear qualities even after years of service, making them more suitable for larger windows and commercial applications.
Even the strongest glass is only as good as the framing that holds it in place. If hurricane-force winds or high-impact forces knock the glass out of its frame, rain, wind, and debris can enter the building and cause property damage and bodily harm.
In extreme cases, the entire window could be pushed through, letting the storm into your home. Impact window frames are thicker than standard frames and are made of sturdy materials such as aluminum and vinyl. Furthermore, the glass is treated with a silicone glazing process that keeps it from separating from its frame.
It’s a no brainer: If you live in a hurricane-prone area, you need impact resistant windows. Yet, these windows do more than protect your home against winds and debris. Following are seven benefits of having impact resistant windows in your home or business.
Homeowners and merchants in hurricane-prone areas usually board up their windows with plywood or install storm shutters to protect their property against strong winds, rain and debris during hurricane season. By replacing standard or traditional windows with impact-resistant windows, you can protect your property (and your life) during extreme weather events without any preparation (no boards, no tape, etc.). Once the windows are installed, you’re protected.
Impact resistant windows boost the security and safety of your home, deterring home invasions and keeping you and your property safe. Impact resistant windows can prevent the most common method of home entry that burglars use: breaking windows. This method allows a burglar to break into a house or business in less than a minute. Breaking through impact resistant windows is more difficult and tedious than most intruders anticipate, hindering home invaders’ ability to break in quickly and quietly and increasing their chances of getting caught.
Impact resistant windows also protect your home from accidents (such as a flying baseball) and vandalism (such as bricks or rocks), preventing them from going through the window and damaging property or hurting someone inside.
Impact resistant windows stabilize indoor temperatures. Many impact resistant windows have a coating that filters out most UV rays, reducing heat caused by sunlight. Vinyl-framed impact windows also provide a tight seal, preventing unwanted outside temperatures and contaminants from infiltrating house.
Impact resistant windows absorb and block outside noise, reducing common disturbances and making your home more peaceful and comfortable.
Homeowners insurance in hurricane-prone areas like can be among the most expensive in the U.S. In Florida, for example, legislation passed in 2002 (Fla. Stat. Ann. § 627.0629) requires insurers to offer homeowners discounts on their insurance premiums when they install features that reduce damage and loss from wind storms.
Impact resistant windows are a good investment. Besides the protection, safety, security, peace of mind and energy savings they provide, impact windows increase the value of your home.
How can you be sure you’re purchasing impact-resistant windows for your home or business? To qualify as impact-resistant, windows must meet the following criteria:
1. Compliance with local construction codes.
2. Certificate of impact resistance issued by an independent laboratory.
3. Proper installation.
Air Master Windows and Doors is the only manufacturer in Puerto Rico with Florida’s Miami-Dade County Notice of Acceptance (NOA) Certification against impact and air infiltration. Our windows can sustain the toughest wind-borne debris standard in the world and winds speeds of category 5 hurricanes.
Are you ready for the upcoming hurricane season? To learn more about Air Master Windows and Doors impact-resistant windows, schedule a free inspection of your windows or get an estimate for your window replacement project, call 787-999-0717.