Glass Doctor of Dallas Metroplex
Operating since 2003
Not to be too intense, but tempered glass can really be the difference between life or death in extreme circumstances.
Accidents happen – a neighbor hits a baseball through the kitchen window, the movers walk through the glass front door, the lawn mower throws the dog’s bone through the sliding glass. In the movies, it’s funny or even heroic when something or someone smashes through glass. But in real life, these events can be catastrophic.
The difference between an annoying inconvenience and a life-threatening injury lies mainly with the type of glass involved. Is the glass standard or is it tempered?
Larry Patterson of Glass Doctor® of Dallas Metroplex explains, “Not to be too intense, but tempered glass can really be the difference between life or death in extreme circumstances.”
Glass Doctor: What exactly is tempered glass?
Larry Patterson: Tempered glass is glass that has been heated to around 1100 degrees in a tempering furnace and then quickly cooled with room temperature air. Think of the old pictures of the blacksmith beating on heated steel and then dipping it in cold water. This tempering process strengthens the outer layer of the glass so that it can withstand impact without breaking.
Glass Doctor: Why is providing tempered glass important to consumers?
Larry Patterson: When tempered glass does break, it breaks into very small pieces that significantly reduce the chance of injury to people, animals and property. It’s almost like the glass blows up or explodes.
Glass Doctor: What are the guidelines for tempered glass?
Larry Patterson: When glass is tempered properly it meets Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and ANSI (American National Standards Institute) codes for safety glazing. Safety glazing is supposed to be used in doors, adjacent to doors and in glazing applications that could be subject to human impact.
Glass Doctor: Can tempered glass really make that big of a difference?
Larry Patterson: Absolutely. When I was eight years old, I ran into a non-tempered, plate glass sliding door. The impact caused the door to shatter into long shards that cut my legs up pretty badly. I ended up with more than 100 stitches and had a cut that was within half an inch of my femoral artery. I could have died. If the glass had been tempered I probably would have bounced off of it and walked away with nothing more than a bruised ego.
Glass Doctor: Do you have any tips or tidbits to share?
Larry Patterson: If your home was built before 1980, make sure that all doors and windows that are subject to human impact have a small etched logo in the corner indicating that it is safety glass. Even with newer homes, there are situations where the glass is actually not safety glass but still meets code. In many situations, a clear film can be applied very cost effectively that makes the glass safe.
Call the Glass Doctor…we fix your panes.