Tempered glass windows are a popular choice for many homeowners. They provide superior safety and security in addition to being energy efficient. Moreover, they are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Read on to learn more about tempered glass and how it can benefit your home.
What Are Tempered Glass Windows?
Tempered Glass is a type of glass that has been strengthened through an intense heating and cooling process. It is four times stronger than regular, annealed glass and shatters into small pieces that are less likely to injure those around it. This makes it a great option for those who want to ensure the safety of their families in highly-trafficked areas.
How Does It Work?
The first step in creating tempered glass is to heat the raw material to over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and then cool it rapidly through a special process called tempering. This changes the glass’s structure so that the inside cools faster than the outside, causing tension on the outside.
This forces the outer layer to compress and pull away from the inside, creating a strong, durable glass. It also makes the glass resistant to weather and other unforeseen hazards.
Check for Imperfections and Damages
If you find a few scratches or imperfections in your glass, it is most likely tempered. The edges of tempered glass are smooth and shiny, unlike the rough or jagged edges of regular annealed glass.
Look for lines or spots that are left behind by machine rollers during the heating and quenching process of tempered glass. These relics are easily visible and indicate that the glass has been properly tempered.
You can also test the integrity of your glass by breaking it. If it breaks into a large number of similar-sized pieces, you can assume that it is tempered.
It is easier to clean up broken tempered glass than it is with ordinary glass, as the granular pieces make it easy to sweep them up and remove them from your home. You can also use vacuum cleaners on smaller pieces of tempered glass to prevent them from getting stuck and accumulating over time.
If you need to replace your old windows, ask a professional for an estimate on replacing them with tempered glass. You might have to pay a little more for this glass than you would with standard windows, but it will be well worth the investment.
How Can I Know If My Window is Made of Tempered Glass?
When you purchase a new window, you may notice that there are marks or relics left by machine rollers during the tempering process. This is because the glass has been heated and cooled so intensely that it changed its structural integrity.
These relics can be difficult to see with the naked eye, but you can often spot them by using polarized sunglasses to view the glass through your lenses.
Once you have determined that your window is tempered, it is ready to be installed. A qualified contractor can handle this process, which can take a short amount of time depending on the size and complexity of the window.