Glass Types???

In reading Rod's book, he talks about floated glass and tempered glass, and then goes into the advantages of laminated glass... Here is my dilemma: Money!!! In order to get the correct-sized glass panes in laminate (1/2" and 5/8" thickness), it is going to cost me (locally) over $3,000. I can get 1/4" laminate for $240 ($120 per sheet). Slight difference there! ;) I have a friend that works in a factory where they make fish aquariums (!), and he thinks he can get me the glass I need, but after talking to him, I am a bit suspicious. Nothing they work with is laminated. He says he can take 2 plates, and seam the edges with silicone, and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I am assuming that this "construct" will have zero resemblance to true laminate, correct? He also talks about tempered glass, but as mentioned in Rod's book, it is not possible to cut. He then tells me that he can get "double-strength" glass, but I have never heard this term before, and not sure what it is about. He says he can get the double-strength glass in any size I need, he can smooth the edges, and I can get any thickness up to one full inch! I would also obviously saving money here as well... So, should I just bite the bullet and go with the laminate? I either go broke, or I sacrifice isolation. Or, should I get a couple of nice thick "double-strength" glass panes from my friend for a *huge* discount? Thanks in advance!

First of all, your friend's proposed woraround is, as you rightfully suspected, bogus... My understanding of the benefits of laminated glass (I hope I get this right, so if I don't, please correct me, folks! :-)) is that it is essentially two sheets of glass stuck together with a sticky sheet of plastic, and it is the sticky sheet that works like magic in that it helps to dampen resonance under the same principles under which QuietRock engineered drywall panels or Green Glue between two sheets of ordinary drywall perform: it's a constrained dampening layer. Perhaps you should shop around more, and also see if maybe using multiple smaller pieces would help reduce the cost significantly. For example, if you plan to have a 24" by 48" window, perhaps you could live with multiple windows next to each other, like roughly a pair of 24" by 24", or trio of 24" by 18". Another advantage of the smaller pieces is that they will be much much much easier to handle. Those suckers are heaaaaaaaavy! :shock: --Keith :mrgreen:

Thanks for the advice Keith, but the window is already framed, so the multiple smaller window solution will not work in this case. Your explanation of the way that the laminated glass works makes sense, and that is what I read into Rod's description in his book as well. What about a thicker piece of the double-strength glass? I can get 5/8" and 3/4" sheets for really cheap from him, and it would be a lot thicker than the 1/4" laminate option. I also saw in Rod's book that there are some regulations about having tempered glass vs. non-tempered glass in certain locations. (By the way, I am a Sacramento native, although I have been in living in Indiana since 1994. I went to Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks, and graduated from UC Davis. After college I moved to the Bay Area for a few years, and then So. Ca. for a few years before moving to Indiana, so it has been a while since I have lived there. I still have lots of family and friends there however, and get back for semi-frequent visits.)

Hey doublehelix, former Sacramentan! I'm afraid I have to defer to someone like Rod on the question of which of the inferior options is better... I imagine it's probably the thicker one... :?: You could, I think, add vertical framing members to your existing window frame to break it into smaller sections. --Keith :mrgreen:

It's really quite simple folks. The reason I lay out options - and explain the differences - are for situations just exactly like this..... given the right thicknesses you can acheive essentially the same job with plate as you can with laminated.......... trust me- if you built a wall with 2 layers of 5/8" drywall each side - (even with green glue) and then installed 3/4" and 1" thick plate glass at each face - your wall woud be the weak link........ The idea is for you to figure out your best cost - and then know what you should purchase based on the product. So if your best buy is a piece of 3/4" and 1" annealed - then go for it......... just make sure you take care of all the rest of the window details. BTW - by definition - double strength glass is glass manufactured to toleances of 0.115 and 0.133 inches thick (3 to 3.38mm). 1/8” or B grade glass. So your friend cannot be getting you DS glass 1" thick - becuase they don't make that animal...... Sincerely, Rod

rod gervais wrote:

BTW - by definition - double strength glass is glass manufactured to toleances of 0.115 and 0.133 inches thick (3 to 3.38mm). 1/8” or B grade glass. So your friend cannot be getting you DS glass 1" thick - becuase they don't make that animal......

Thanks for the response Rod... So are you saying that the thickest DS glass I can get is 1/8" thick? Hmmm.... I wonder what he is talking about then with the thicker stuff???

doublehelix wrote:

rod gervais wrote:

BTW - by definition - double strength glass is glass manufactured to toleances of 0.115 and 0.133 inches thick (3 to 3.38mm). 1/8” or B grade glass. So your friend cannot be getting you DS glass 1" thick - becuase they don't make that animal......

Thanks for the response Rod... So are you saying that the thickest DS glass I can get is 1/8" thick? Hmmm.... I wonder what he is talking about then with the thicker stuff???

I just told you - it's just standard annealed (float) glass - and yes it will get the jb done. The use of the term DS stems from the old days where standard glass used in old OLD windows was only 1/16" thick....... They than began to float DS glass for those with more money - based on the fact that it would last twice as lng seeing as it was double thick...... I have seen reference to 1/4" as DS on a few occassions (because 1/8" is pretty much the thinnest you'd use in most window openings 0 hence it's sort of the new standard (although 1/16" is still available) - but the technicl definition of DS is exactly what I quoted o the screen...... Sincerely, Rod

OK, I understand now. Sorry about that. Thanks for clearing that up for me. The part that confused me from you first post was this:

rod gervais wrote:

So if your best buy is a piece of 3/4" and 1" annealed - then go for it......... just make sure you take care of all the rest of the window details. BTW - by definition - double strength glass is glass manufactured to toleances of 0.115 and 0.133 inches thick (3 to 3.38mm). 1/8” or B grade glass. So your friend cannot be getting you DS glass 1" thick - becuase they don't make that animal......

I guess I was confusing "annealed" with "double-strength". It sounded like you said that it was ok to use thick DS, but *then* said it only was available in 1/8" thickness. I see the difference now... annealed vs. DS...

doublehelix wrote:

I see the difference now... annealed vs. DS...

DH, you almost see the difference.... They are both annealed......... the DS is just double whatever the standard run they make is. i.e.: 1/16" standard annealed - versus 1/8" DS annealed......... That better have cleand it up...... :wink: Rod