When it comes to interior design, a common term encountered is tempered glass. It’s used in making shower cabins, partitions, shelves, and even staircases. But what exactly is tempered glass, what are its advantages over standard glass, and what are its drawbacks
Tempered glass gets its name from the similar process used in tempered steel, involving heating and rapid cooling. Glass is heated to temperatures ranging from 650 to 700 degrees Celsius (approx. 1200 to 1290 degrees Fahrenheit) in special furnaces, then rapidly cooled. Cooling is achieved by air quenching to prevent cracking.
Advantages of Tempered Glass
By this process, the mechanical characteristics of glass are significantly improved. Tempered glass exhibits greater strength, elasticity, and resistance to impacts and scratches. Specifically, tempered glass is up to 12 times stronger than ordinary glass.
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Standard, or what is often called raw glass, breaks under pressure of 400 kilograms (aprox. 990 pounds) per square centimeter. Tempered glass can withstand loads of up to 1,800 kilograms (aprox. 3.900 pounds) per square centimeter (0.155 square inches). Of course, this depends on the type of load, glass thickness, and numerous other factors, but these figures illustrate how much stronger tempered glass is compared to raw glass.
Notably, tempered glass, despite being stronger, is more elastic than ordinary glass, making it much more resistant to breakage. Another significant advantage of tempered glass is its safety. In case of breakage, tempered glass shatters into many small pieces, thus preventing serious injuries.
In addition to strength and impact resistance, this characteristic allows tempered glass to be used for making doors, partition panels, shower cabins, and all movable elements whose breakage into large pieces, as with raw glass, could be dangerous.
The strength of tempered glass allows it to be used even for staircases, and it’s becoming increasingly popular for kitchen panels and work surfaces. Its use for kitchen work surfaces is particularly popular because tempered glass is scratch-resistant and does not absorb odors.
Limitations and Drawbacks of Tempered Glass
However, when it comes to tempered glass, it’s important to know that there are some limitations. Tempered glass cannot be processed after tempering. Any cutting or processing of tempered glass would lead to its fracturing. Therefore, doors made of tempered glass cannot be trimmed, and the same applies to tempered glass shower cabins.
All processing of tempered glass, such as cutting to size, edge polishing, drilling holes, all of this must be done before the tempering process. So when it comes to tempered glass, the rule applies – measure thrice, cut once.