Suppliers Of Technical Glass Blocks

Todays stringent building regulations call for increasing performance of all building products, glass blocks are no exception. We are specialists at sourcing the right glass blocks to achieve the required performance as well as maintaining the desired visual appearance. The three main technical attributes of glass blocks are:

Fire Resistance

When dealing with fire you must find out the required fire rating. There are two ratings with glass blocks, one is “integrity” ( how long the wall will remain stable when subject to fire on one side) and the second being “insulation” ( how long the wall can resist radiated heat through the wall ). This information is usually provided, or can be found by contacting building control/ local authorities. When the rating is known we can then specify the blocks for you and all the construction detail will be provided where you can build the glass blocks in accordance with the relevant test design detail. Manufacturers have tested their blocks with different details, so we can recommend blocks that will work better for a particular location or design that may be required. If budget is the main concern then we have products at different price ranges, as we said manufactures details differ so there is options.

Insulation

Insulation is calculated by “u” value, the lower the rating the more resistant to heat loss. Glass blocks range from 2.9w/m2k to 1.5w/m2k, insulation glass blocks are available in a variety of patterns, there are colour options only for the 2.8 rating. Construction is as per standard manufacturers details.

Security

Glass blocks are also designed to be anti vandal, this is achieved with a thicker wall section to the blocks, in fact double the width. The result is blocks which will withstand heavy attack. Security glass blocks are tested and are provided with ballistics ratings, this gives detail of the impact range that they will resist. Design options are available in terms of pattern, if restricted vision is of importance these blocks can be sand blasted to totally reduce vision. Security blocks are often built into steel frames which when designed correctly gives a very secure window.

Please contact us to discuss any of our technical glass blocks, we are please to assist with all aspects of specification, design and construction detailing.