Windows are the soul of a home and protect it from UV rays and your pesky neighbours. With time, glass has evolved, and there are new types of glasses on the market that offer better protection from the wear and tear of natural sunlight and which also protects your privacy. There is a myth that laminated windows break easily, which can lead to serious injuries. Well, my friends, this is completely false as laminated windows are made to resist heavy impacts and are tougher than regular windows. So, come with us and learn more about laminated windows.
What is laminated glass?
It is a glass containing 2 or more layers of glass stuck together with either vinyl or flexible PVB interlayer. To manufacture this, heat and pressure are used to create a chemical reaction that bonds the glass and vinyl or PVB interlayer together, which creates the new material known as laminated glass.
The thickness of the window and its strength depends on the number of layer of glass and vinyl used to create it. This dictates the quality of a good glass laminated window; the thicker the laminate is, the stronger the glass becomes and the more difficult it is to break. You can find laminated windows with anything from two to nine layers on the market currently; while the two-layer glasses are primarily for residential properties, the nine-layer glass windows are mostly reserved for skyscrapers.
Advantages of laminated glass.
- Safer than standard glass– Unlike popular belief, laminated glass is safer than normal glass as your chances of being cut by the latter is smaller.
- Blocks up to 99% of UV light– Protects your family from sun damage and your property from overexposure to direct sunlight.
- Versatile and easy to install
- Provides more privacy.
- More durable than regular windows.
- Less sound transfer.
- Impact-resistant– Resist impact from rocks and metal.
- Installation takes less time and effort.
- Can’t use glass cutters on them– Making your home more difficult to enter/break into.
Disadvantages of Laminated glass
As with everything, laminated glass also has its disadvantages; though its advantages might trump this, it’s always good to know both sides of the story before investing your money in them.
- Impractical and hard to get– It doesn’t fit all sizes and shapes of windows, if you are going for an avant-garde look for your home, then it might be very impractical to land yourself laminated windows that fit the shape of your window frame. There are only a few laminated glass manufacturers out there, and you have a limited choice of glass pane.
- Not easy to film- More and more people are filming their windows nowadays for privacy, which is harder to do with laminated windows. We are not saying this is impossible, it’s just a hassle to do.
- It’s more expensive than regular glass- Because they are more durable and value for money, but the initial cost can be hefty even though it will pay for itself over time. This is because it goes through more processes to get the final product and might be something that you do gradually, as buying laminated glass for all your windows might cost you an arm and a leg.
- It is vulnerable– Although stronger than typical glass, it is weaker than tempered glass.
- It’s heavy- This can be a hassle during the transportation and installation process and might wear down the structure on which it is fixed over time.
- Difficult to cut– Because it is layers of glass and vinyl stuck together, it is more difficult to cut than regular glass. You need a professional to do this, and this usually up the cost of installation.
For all your professional glass lamination need, contact Interlayer Solution Inc’s team of experts who can best serve your needs. Trust them in with your glass needs because they are experts in this field, provide innovative products when it comes to glass lamination, and offer you the services of specialists for technical support.
