Building codes and federal safety regulations will require that the glass in your front door, and for that matter all doors, uses a safety glazing product, such as tempered or laminated glass.
Having glass in your entry door can bring lots of natural light into your entryway, and make it seem more welcoming. However, this same natural light can also heat up your entryway, making it too warm and causing your air conditioner to work overtime and your energy bills to go up.
The danger of having glass in or near your door is that potential thieves can break the pane and reach through to let themselves in without having to pick or break a lock.
Interior doors are normally made with 1/4″ thick single pane glass (called “single glaze” or SG glass). Exterior doors generally use 1/2″ or 5/8″ thick “insulated glass” (called IG), with two or three panes hermetically sealed and separated by dry airspace.
Tempered Glass
This is a common type of glass used in homes and is a type of annealed glass, but is four times as strong. To make tempered glass, annealed glass is cut to the desired size and then heated to around 1200 ℉ and then cooled quickly.
Tempered glass is also costly to purchase, definitely more expensive than the standard glass, but less costly than laminated glass. Depending on the preferences of a building owner, the cost is another point of difference that dictates the choice between laminated and tempered glass.
Tempered glass is more expensive than annealed and standard glass and annealed glass, typically costing 25% more. Averagely, a square foot of tempered glass costs $25.
Tempered glass can be from 1/8" to 3/4" thick. Tempered glass is about four times stronger than a lite of annealed glass of the same size and thickness. The only characteristic of the annealed glass affected by tempering is its bending or tensile strength. Tempering increases the tensile strength of glass.
While they provide beautiful views, sliding glass doors are also notoriously susceptible to break-ins, presenting a substantial home security risk.
Our top five ways to secure sliding glass doors from burglars include: applying a shatterproof film to the glass. Adding blocking bars into the track of the glass door. Adding window locks in addition to locking bars to help mitigate the door from being opened.
Like any window, the windows in your front door must balance light and privacy. Clear glass in your front door provides a direct window into your front hall, or whatever room your door opens into but provides a lovely amount of sunlight during the day.
With a front door with a window, you gain additional lighting that will brighten your entryway, allowing you to make a great impression with guests. Depending on the size of the window the added light can even provide some extra warmth during the winter.
Rain Glass, an addition to the Obscure Glass line from MI Windows and Doors, has a pattern that resembles water trickling down a smooth sheet of glass. Beyond the visual effect, the glass provides privacy and diffuses light, while resisting stains and fingerprints.
FLEMISH. (Obscure visibility) Flemish glass has the look of hand blown glass without the seeds, bubbles, or the price tag. Light passes through while visibility is distorted – creating some privacy. This glass type offers an old world / slightly antique look.
Stippolyte glass is a textured glass option that will obscure windows and is an ideal glass design in a bathroom or other area. Stippolyte glass gives you a textured glass pattern, almost like a light rain drizzling on the surface of still water.
Craftsman Door — One of the most popular types of front doors on the market today, the Craftsman style goes with much more than just a Craftsman style house. You can recognize this style from the raised panels in the center of the door frame as well as the top glass panels.
Although tempered glasses don't easily break. The impact can break it. For example, a tempered screen protector can handle low drops. But dropping it from a higher altitude and with more force tends to create cracks and scratches.
Tempered glass has smooth edges
So, one good way is to look thoroughly at the edges of the glass. Tempered sheets have smooth and even edges because of the extra processing it goes through. On the other hand, if the glass is not tempered, the edges feel rough to touch.
Examine Its Edges
Normally, tempered glass has completely smooth edges due to the extra processing it goes through, while other types of glass usually have scuffed or ridged edges. If the edges of the glass are exposed, run your fingers along them.
Double strength glass can be used for break glass
Toughened or tempered glass is produced by heating normal float glass in a special 'oven'. The heat puts the molecules under pressure and this makes the glass much stronger. It does, however, have a weakness.
Double-strength glass: This glass is the new standard in all replacement windows. It's thicker than annealed glass and is heat–treated to increase strength. The windows are more durable and resistant to accidental breakage. Tempered glass: This glass is further heat-treated to increase durability.
All glass in any bathroom or wet area such as showers, bathtubs, hot tubs, steam rooms, whirlpools, saunas, spa decks, and swimming pools should be made of tempered glass or safety glass if the bottom edge is less than 60 inches above the walkway or standing surface and within 60 inches of the water.