Laminated VS Toughened Glass
Both laminated glass and toughened glass are both popular for their reliable and strong qualities. Both materials are very durable and reliable for domestic and commercial uses. Edinburgh Glass & Glazing have created a step by step guide to explain to you the key differences between toughened and laminated glass. The two materials usually get put under the same category, however, they offer completely different benefits which can be better suited to different situations. If you have any questions about which type of glass is best for your needs please contact us on our website today where a friendly member of the team would be more than happy to help.
What is Laminated Glass?
Laminated Glass has the same strength as regular glass, however, laminated glass is created completely differently. Laminated glass has a plastic interlayer between two pieces of 3mm thick glass on either side holding it together. The plastic interlayer is tough and will hold the shards in place in the unlikely event that the glass was ever to break. This design makes laminated glass extremely durable, strong and safe.
What is Toughened Glass?
Toughened glass is also known as tempered glass. Toughened glass is up to five times stronger than regular glass. This is the result of heating up the regular glass to extremely high temperatures and then cooling it back down very quickly. This process will make the glass tougher and a lot more resistant to heat and shock than conventional glass.
What Are The Differences Between The Two?
Both laminated and toughened glass is more than capable of handling high impact and can cope with warm and cold temperatures. They are also fantastic materials when it comes to their safety requirements.
Toughened glass is thinner than laminated glass because of laminated glass’ multiple layers. Laminated glass because of this would offer better insulation, however, both are just as good as each other when it comes to dealing with stress, impact and changes in temperature.
What Happens If They Break?
Both toughened and laminated glass break in completely different ways. Laminated glass uses the plastic interlayer in the middle to hold together all the shards in place which provides a double layered safety. Toughened glass is treated which means it will break into tiny blunt pieces rather than sharp shards which will make the cleanup process a lot easier.
What Are The Advantages Of Both?
Toughened glass can withstand extremely high temperatures and is up to five times as strong as normal glass. This ultimately means that the material would require a huge amount of stress and pressure to break it. If the glass is broken, however, it would be broken into small, blunt pieces which will cause minimal damage and will be easy to clean up. Whilst glass is being made into the toughened glass the colour, clarity, hardness and light transmission do not chance at all.
Laminated glass has a plastic interlayer which will allow the glass to stay in place should the glass break. It is a brilliant material for insulation purposes as it is very thick and can deal with temperature changes. This thickness is also very handy for sound insulation and on top of all of this can also reduce the harmful effects of UV rays. Both materials can also withstand extreme weather such as heavy rain and strong winds.
Edinburgh Glass & Glazing
At Edinburgh Glass & Glazing, we have over 30 years of experience in the industry and work tirelessly to meet and exceed our valued customer’s expectations. We pride ourselves in going above and beyond on any job we do and tailor each job to meet the needs of each individual client. If you would like more information on any of our glass please contact us today on 0131 516 7101 where a member of the team can answer any questions you may have.