Types Of Glass That Are Used For Glass Shower Screens

Whether glass showers are framed, semi-framed or frameless, the use of glass opens up a bathroom by not blocking off sections with opaque shower screens. Not all glass is the same, however. When planning a new shower, you will need to make some choices about the kind of glass used.

Toughened Glass 

Some decisions are taken out of your hands by Australian safety standards that govern the installation of glass in the home. Glass shower screens are typically made from toughened or laminated glass: types allowed by these standards. Toughened glass is produced by heating ordinary glass to extreme temperatures until the glass liquifies, and then suddenly cooling the glass. As the glass re-hardens, the rapid cooling process coats the glass with a tough outer layer so that the glass becomes four or five times stronger than before.

Toughened safety glass is not only much stronger than ordinary glass and less likely to break, but when it does, the glass disintegrates into small cubes rather than splintering into the pointy shards typical of ordinary glass. This means that toughened glass is unlikely to injure anyone, no matter what. Frameless and semi-framed shower screens must be constructed from toughened, rather than laminated, glass. 

Laminated Glass

Another type of glass commonly used to construct shower screens (fully framed only) is laminated safety glass. This glass is made by pressuring and heating two glass panes that sandwich a sheet of polymer material (a type of plastic or resin) in between so that the three meld together. If laminated glass breaks, the plastic interlayer holds the cracked glass in place, so it doesn't shatter into sharp pieces that fly everywhere possibly causing injury. (An everyday use of laminated glass is car windscreens.) The benefit of laminated glass is security as well as safety, particularly if used on doors and other entryways. Laminated safety glass can only be used for framed shower screens; it's not designed for use in semi-framed and frameless showers.

Low-Iron Glass And Frosted Glass

While the use of toughened or laminated glass is governed by Australian safety standards, other choices between glass types are purely aesthetic: for instance, the choice between regular and low iron glass. Low-iron glass is a high clarity glass without the slight green cast typical of regular glass; the lower iron content eliminates the green tint. Another possible design choice for your glass shower screen is frosted glass. The exquisite cloudy textured surface of frosted glass is created by either acid etching or sandblasting standard glass; both processes creatively pit and erode one side. An advantage of frosted glass, besides its beauty, is privacy for those in the shower. 

If you're considering a glass shower screen, which glass depends to some degree on whether your shower will be framed or not. Semi-framed and frameless shower screens must use toughened rather than laminated glass, while framed shower screens can use laminated glass. Other design choices are over whether you like the typical green cast of regular glass, and whether you want to decorate the glass with frosting techniques.

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