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Tag Archive for: commercial glass

Recycling commercial glass

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Recycling commercial glass

Recycling commercial glass

Glass is easily one of the most recyclable of building materials, but commercial glass doesn’t often get recycled. Instead, most commercial glass ends up in the landfill. Why is that the case, and does it really have to be this way?

Even though glass is a very popular construction material, most commercial glass is already installed in existing structures. Because buildings are intended to last for a long time, the original glass often stays in place until someone undertakes the cost of remodeling or rehabilitation, or the building gets demolished.

Renovations, remodeling and rehabilitation all present an excellent opportunity to update commercial glass. The primary motivator for such an update is usually energy efficiency. In rehab situations, it may be necessary to replace windows that have been broken, especially if a building has been empty for quite some time.

Aside from these special situations, updating the windows in a building usually isn’t a high priority, largely because of the expense involved. When windows are removed or replaced, they’re usually carted off to the landfill, as part of the larger collection of construction debris.

When buildings are demolished, there is little incentive to remove the windows prior to demolition. There’s also very little financial incentive to do so. The market for recyclable glass is very small, so it costs less and takes less effort to ship old glass to the landfill.

Modern commercial windows rarely contain ordinary glass. Laminated glass, tinted glass and safety glass dominate the commercial construction landscape. Other specialized glasses – such as low-e glass – also have coatings and other additives that make recycling difficult, if not impossible.

While these types of glasses can’t be recycled, they may find additional use in fiberglass products or as components of concrete, asphalt or as landfill cover.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Meriwether Lewis Elementary, via Flickr.com

What price glass?

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What price glass?

What price glass?

The current construction boom has had an impact on the price of glass, but industry experts are still divided as to what that will mean for new buildings on the drawing board. According to some analysts, the price of architectural glass has increased by 25% to 50% in the last decade.

The majority of new “signature” commercial construction projects make heavy use of architectural glass, but the demand for glass has outstripped supply, leading to steady price increases. About one-third of the float-glass plants in the United States closed during the economic downturn that began in the mid-2000’s. The loss of production capacity is contributing to delays and cost increases for architectural glass.

The result has been a consistent, annual increase in the price of glass by about 6%-8%. Suppliers are also looking for alternative sources for exterior glass, including imports from other parts of the world. Glass has traditionally been produced locally because it is heavy and expensive to transport. Shipping glass in from distant producers both increases the cost and causes delays.

Some glass manufacturers are looking to acquire additional glassmaking plants, both shuttered and in active production to address the issue of product availability. In the meantime, construction managers are advised to plan ahead for their glass needs and to place orders for glass well in advance of their installation schedules.

Glass is particularly attractive as a construction material because it can be fabricated off-site and shipped to the building under construction. In addition, it’s inexpensive, compared to other traditional façade materials like brick or granite. Glass buildings also permit more interior floor space than buildings that are designed to use traditional building materials.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: ML Duong , via Flickr.com

Commercial Glass and Glassprimer™ products

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Commercial Glass and Glassprimer™ products

Commercial Glass and Glassprimer™ products

Glassprimer™ glass paint and products are often featured in home decorating plans, but they aren’t designed just for homes! The Glassprimer™ product line is right at home in commercial settings, too! Glass is used heavily in office spaces, hotels, medical facilities and retail spaces, and is valued for its durability, flexibility and availability.

Decorating with commercial glass

Whether you’re working with a residential or commercial space, glass is an excellent medium for decorating and can be incorporated in a number of ways. In the commercial space, glass is found in windows, doors and curtain walls, all of which can be decorated or enhanced with glass paint.

UV-inkjet printing directly on glass can also be used on interior or exterior glass. The UV-inkjet printing technique can be used to enhance signage, and allows photorealistic imagery in a wide range of colors to be applied permanently to the surface of any glass. UV-inkjet printing does not require any additional curing or special surface preparation, making it a highly cost effective option for commercial glass installations.

Glassprimer™ molecular surface activator is a special glass surface primer that allows UV-inkjet printing and commercial urethane paints to bond directly to glass similarly to Glassprimer™ glass paint. The Glassprimer™ molecular activator enhances the durability of UV-inkjet printing and opens a range of branding and marketing opportunities using available glass surfaces in any commercial space.

Glassprimer™ glass paint can also be used to create a frosted effect on interior or exterior glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint offers superior resistance to UV light, and can be applied directly to interior or exterior windows. Used as a cost-effective alternative to true frosted glass, glass paint can improve the usability of offices and conference rooms by reducing distractions while still permitting natural light to penetrate the space.

In commercial glass applications, glass paint can be used to complement glass walls, glass partitions and frameless glass doors. Glassprimer™ glass paint will not interfere with operable windows or aluminum-framed glass doors.

Glass paint is an ideal complement for commercial decorating applications. If you’d like more information about working with glass paint, please check out the rest of our website. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Scott Snyder, via FreeImages.com