Toughened & Laminated Safety Glass

Understanding the failure mode tells you almost everything about where each belongs.

• Toughened glass is heat-treated so the surface is in compression. It is roughly four to five times stronger than ordinary glass of the same thickness, and when it does break it shatters into small blunt granules rather than shards. That makes it right for shower screens, balustrades, splashbacks and doors.
• Laminated glass is two or more panes bonded to a plastic interlayer. It breaks like ordinary glass but the fragments stay stuck to the interlayer, so the sheet holds together in the opening. That makes it right for overhead glazing, security applications and anywhere a fall through the glass is possible.
• Toughened laminated combines both, and is used where the glass must be strong and must not leave the frame — some balustrades and most structural glass.
• The rule that surprises people: toughened glass cannot be cut, drilled or ground after toughening. Every hole, notch and edge finish has to be right before it goes into the furnace. Change your mind afterwards and it is a new panel.

AS 1288 sets out where safety glass is mandatory in Australian buildings. It is not a matter of preference, and it is one of the commonest things missed in older homes and DIY renovations.

• Glass doors and side panels next to doors.
• Glazing in and around bathrooms, spas and pools.
• Low-level glazing where someone could walk into it.
• Balustrades, barriers and anything protecting a change in level.
• Overhead glazing — where laminated is required, not merely toughened.

We supply Grade A safety glass to AS/NZS 2208, permanently marked as the standard requires, so it is verifiable years later during an inspection or a sale.