The Difference Between Float Glass, Tempered Glass And Laminated Glass

Float Glass

Float glass (also known as annealed glass) is used as a base product for the production of other types of glass, such as tempered or laminated glass. It is manufactured by allowing the molten glass to cool slowly in a controlled environment. After production, float glass is cut to the desired size and then subjected to further manufacturing processes, such as tempering.

Typically, this glass is used for smaller applications such as cabinet glass doors, basement windows, table tops, mirrors, etc. Compared to other glass types such as tempered glass, float glass is relatively inexpensive.

Tempered Glass

All thicknesses of glass can be toughened. Tempered glass is used in bathrooms, swimming pools and public buildings, railings, glass fences, automotive side windows and many other applications.

Tempered glass is ideal for glass polishing. Removing scratches from this glass is much cheaper than replacing the panels. Tempered glass is the most common type of glass used in glass partitions. This glass is manufactured using a thermal tempering process that increases the strength and structural strength of the glass by four to five times compared to annealed glass.

It is also safer than annealed glass when broken. Tempered glass breaks into small pieces or chunks of glass, rather than sharp shards that are more likely to cause injury. This characteristic of "breaking" into smaller pieces when broken is due to the tension created by the different cooling rates used between the surface and interior of the glass sheet during the manufacturing process.

Tempered glass cannot be cut after fabrication and must be cut to size prior to the tempering process. Therefore, the glass must be accurately measured prior to fabrication to avoid costly waste. Tempered glass is more expensive than float glass due to the additional manufacturing process.

Laminated Glass

Laminated glass is known as safety glass. It is usually identified by a sticker on the bottom of the panel.

Standard thicknesses are 6.38 mm and 10.38 mm. It is used in areas where there is a risk of injury, such as door panels, store windows and windshields. For special applications such as high-traffic areas, thicker solid laminated layers can be used.

Polished laminated glass, especially 10.38 mm, is a clear choice, as it usually results in significant cost savings.

Laminated glass can also significantly improve sound insulation when used with the proper acoustic laminate - called acoustic glass (acoustic glass uses the same production principles as laminated glass). Laminated glass is more expensive than tempered glass.

There are many other types of glass, such as fireproof glass or fire rated glass. It is critical that the glass you choose not only meets your desired budget, but also achieves the results you want and meets building codes and safety requirements.