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Why glass is the new go-to building material

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Why glass is the new go-to building material

Why glass is the new go-to building material

The market for flat glass has grown steadily, and is expected to hit nearly 85 million metric tons by 2020. Glass is widely used in a number of industries, including construction (for both residential and commercial buildings), new and replacement windows, the automotive industry, and more recently, alternative energy.

Glass goes from high gloss to high performance

While the number of buildings with glass exteriors has grown substantially since the 1970’s, glass is fast becoming the new rising star in both energy efficiency and alternative energy. Demands for low-emissivity glass, self-cleaning glass and smart glass have all increased substantially.

The ability to control the admission of UV- and infrared light plays an important role in improving the energy efficiency of interior spaces and entire buildings. The use of specially formulated architectural glass will only increase as the pressure to become more energy-efficient increases.

It’s also making waves in interior design because it transmits natural light so well, offers a premium decorating surface and is environmentally friendly. Specialized coatings can also increase the energy-efficiency and performance of ordinary glass. For example, Glassprimer™ glass paint offers superior UV-resistance and can be matched to virtually any color in any major paint manufacturer’s palette.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially formulated to create a permanent bond with the glass surface. Once cured, it will not delaminate, peel, crack or fade, even under harsh conditions. Glassprimer™ glass paint can be used to create special frosted effects on glass. True frosted glass is created by etching or sandblasting, which microscopically damages the surface of the glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint can create a frosted effect without damaging the glass. In addition, any color can be used to create “frosted” glass. True frosted glass isn’t colored, unless the glass itself is also colored.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is ideal for creating backpainted surfaces, and it’s more economical per square foot than colored or frosted glass. If you’d like more information about decorating with Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Maja Fabczak, via FreeImages.com

Falling glass incidents dot the news

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Falling glass incidents dot the news

The Marion Building (middle) recently lost one of its windows.

The month of May was unkind to glass windows in at least four different buildings. Reports of falling glass came in from Augusta, South Bend, London and Chennai. The four separate incidents were all ruled accidents. With the exception of the incident in Chennai, the buildings were vacant or under construction at the time of the accidents.

Falling glass is an anomaly

Let’s take a look at what happened.
Augusta, GA. Glass from the Marion Building, one of the oldest buildings in downtown Augusta, came crashing down on a parked car, and on the sidewalk below the building. Falling glass damaged a parked car, and narrowly missed pedestrians on the street. According to witnesses, a glass window was blown from the building on an exceptionally windy day. The building is currently vacant, and according to the owner, he is in the process of selling the building. Officials from the city’s building department said that they would inspect the rest of the windows in the building for loose window glass. No one was injured in the accident.

South Bend. Glass panels being removed by a contractor fell from the 25th floor of the former Chase Tower in South Bend, IN. The falling panels struck the adjacent Tower Building, breaking at least three windows in that building. According to the contractor and witness reports, a gust of wind lifted the loose panels and sent them tumbling. Two downtown South Bend streets were closed while the remainder of the work was completed.

London. A pedestrian was injured by a falling 4-ft glass panel in London. The glass fell from a structure that was being renovated at the time of the accident. The pedestrian, who required a blood transfusion as the result of the accident, suffered a head injury and was hospitalized overnight for observation. She is expected to make a full recovery.

Chennai. Glass ceiling panels fell from the Chennai Airport in Chennai, India. The airport, which opened three years ago, has been plagued by a series of incidents involving falling glass, granite and other building materials. Chennai Airport is the third-busiest airport in India. According to authorities, a thorough inspection of the building was completed and changes in building maintenance routines were suggested to avoid future accidents. No one was injured in the most recent incident.

In most applications, glass is perfectly safe! Glass used as a decorating or architectural surface in the home can be mounted easily, safely and securely using silicone adhesives or mirror mastic. Glass coatings like Glassprimer™ glass paint will hide adhesives applied to the back of the glass and will not react with the adhesives over time. That means your backpainted glass installation will look great for years.

If you’d like more information about decorating with glass, or proper adhesive advice, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Boston Public Library , via Flickr.com

Transparent wood acts like glass

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Transparent wood acts like glass

Transparent wood acts like glass

Researchers at the University of Maryland have found a way to make wood transparent. To remove the wood’s natural coloration, they chemically treated it to break down a compound called lignin, which gives the wood its tan-brown color. After removing the natural color, they hardened the remaining structure with a transparent epoxy.

Material insulates better than glass

The epoxy leaves the wood 4-6 times stronger than it would be naturally. As an added benefit, the wood is a better insulator than traditional plate glass. So far, the research team has only worked with small blocks of wood, but from a materials perspective, the results are promising.

Removing the lignin does not remove the wood’s natural ringed structure. That’s actually good from a materials perspective because it affects the way light is transmitted through the wood. The natural “channels” in the structure of the wood mean that light enters the channels and scatters differently than it would through ordinary plate glass.

Because the light is guided by the wood’s natural internal structures, it could be used in place of glass on a device like a computer monitor to reduce glare. The scientists also believe it could be adapted for use in automobiles, and could improve the ability of solar cells to trap light.

In their experiments, researchers used linden wood, and compared how the material performed when sliced both against and with the natural wood grain. Slicing the material with the grain allowed researchers to transmit light through the longer dimension of the block. The light penetrated the long channels of the natural wood structure and provided a relatively focused light transmission. Slicing the wood against the grain and transmitting light through the shorter dimension of the block diffused the light, but did not significantly impact the amount of light transmitted.

The research is far from complete, and wood may or may not ever serve as a replacement for glass, but the insulative properties of wood could make this an interesting materials choice for buildings and a lower-cost alternative for some mobile devices.

If you’d like more information about decorating with glass, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Niels Rameckers, via FreeImages.com

Using glass in multi-family construction

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Using glass in multi-family construction

Using glass in multi-family construction

2016 is shaping up to be the year of new construction. Commercial construction has outpaced residential building for 10 consecutive years, and in that time, designers have made increasingly heavy use of certain architectural materials, like glass. Most of the residential construction in 2016 is expected to be multi-family units. Home ownership has declined in the past decade, following the housing bust of the mid-2000s, but that has opened up design opportunities in multi-family spaces.

Energy-efficient glass can benefit multi-family construction

Glass can be incorporated in multi-family design to achieve the same goals as it does in commercial spaces -primarily light transmission and energy efficiency – without sacrificing the component of privacy, which is not only desirable, but necessary in residential spaces. Energy efficiency in multi-family spaces is exceptionally important because a disproportionate number people living below the poverty line live in multi-family housing. By making multi-family housing as energy-efficient as possible, it can help support and stabilize impoverished families by reducing their energy costs – one of the biggest variables in a low-income family’s budget.

Beyond energy efficiency, glass can play a major role in the look and function of interior spaces. Glass can be used effectively in most spaces to improve the transmission of natural light, create privacy without impairing light transmission and to improve the hygiene of surfaces in areas of the home like kitchens and bathrooms.

In addition, glass is widely available, easy to produce and easy to replace, which makes it an ideal surface for use in multi-family dwellings. Tempered glass is safe, and is designed to reduce or eliminate injuries in the event of breakage. Glass can also be decorated with coatings like Glassprimer™ glass paint. Its replaceability and ease of decoration mean that multi-family spaces can be updated cost effectively. Glassprimer™ is UV-resistant and can be used in challenging spaces because it not only resists fading, it also resists the effects of humidity, which means no peeling, even over repeated exposure to rapid changes in temperature and humidity.

If you’d like more information about decorating with glass, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Tom S , via FreeImages.com

Art glass factories facing EPA regulation

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Art glass factories facing EPA regulation

Art glass factories facing EPA regulation

More than a dozen art glass factories around the United States are coming under increased scrutiny from the Environmental Protection Agency, state and local regulators, after apparently running afoul of heavy-metal emission regulations earlier this year. Federal researchers with the United States Forestry Service discovered dangerously high levels of heavy metals in tree moss samples in the Portland, OR area. Additional investigation pinpointed the source of the heavy metals as the art glass factories in the area.

Glass makers not exempt from heavy metals emissions

Spectrum, of Woodinville, WA, has already announced that it will close its doors instead of attempting to comply with more restrictive emission regulations. Bullseye Glass in Portland is attempting to remain open, despite regulatory pressure and a production moratorium that has been imposed on the factory by the State of Oregon. A third Portland-based manufacturer, Uroboros, which has partnered with Spectrum on certain products, also says it will continue to manufacture and produce colored glass and glass colorants. The EPA is particularly concerned that the factories have been emitting vaporized cadmium into the air after the agency discovered that none of Portland’s glass factories had the requisite pollution control systems installed on their glass-melt furnaces.

The factories make agents used by glassmakers to produce colored glass. Additives, including lead, nickel, arsenic, cadmium and chromium, have become the subject of concern for regulators, and have been measured in significantly elevated levels in the soils around the factories. The EPA is also questioning state regulators and their interpretations of federal regulations, as well as their enforcement practices.

Initially, the factories thought they were exempt from more stringent regulations, but pressure on the state’s Department of Environmental Quality by the EPA and local residents has brought about a new understanding of federal emissions requirements. In addition, the EPA is reviewing emissions data from about 15 other art glass factories around the country that use similar production practices.

About half of the factories that are the subject of enhanced EPA scrutiny are located in the Midwest and on the East Coast. The remainder are clustered in Oregon and Washington State. The EPA has not yet concluded its investigation of the factories, but many glassmakers point out that their production processes do not violate federal laws.

Glassprimer™ glass paint provides an excellent alternative to colored glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint comes in a wide range of colors and creates a permanent bond with the glass surface. In addition, Glassprimer™ glass paint comes in both oil-based and water-based formulations. Our water-based formulation cleans up with water, and both formulations are low-odor, low-VOC compounds.

If you’d like more information about working with Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Kenn Kiser , via FreeImages.com

MIT researchers demo 3-D glass printing

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MIT Researchers demo 3-D glass printing

Photo credit: Steven Keating, MIT

3-D printing has risen to the forefront of prototyping and rapid manufacturing, but glass hasn’t worked out very well as a printing medium. Some systems can use powdered glass with certain 3-D printing techniques, but the finished product isn’t transparent like glass. Researchers at MIT have changed that, however, by demonstrating a new 3-D printing technique that uses molten glass to “print” a 3-dimensional object, layer by layer.

Glass printing could have architectural applications

The molten glass must leave the printing nozzle at a temperature that exceeds 1,000° C. To make sure the glass remains hot enough to work, the researchers developed a printer with multi-stage heating coils that keep the glass properly heated at each point of the production process. Once the glass has exited the printing nozzle, the object is built in a heated chamber that maintains a temperature just above the point where glass solidifies. By keeping the glass heated after printing, the researchers can control the cooling process, which allows the printed piece to cool gradually without breaking.

The printing nozzle is made from aluminum oxide. It can withstand the high temperatures and discourage the molten glass from sticking to it during production. Currently the researchers are working with soda-lime glass formulations, but in theory, the process could also be used to create tempered glass items. For a tempered printing process to be successful, the printer would have to be able to work with glass heated to a much higher temperature.

The process could also be used to create architectural glass with specific properties, like light transmission. Traditional float glass has smooth interior features, which allow light and solar radiation to be transmitted easily. A 3-D printed piece of glass could have internal features that control the transmission and distribution of light more effectively.

Don’t expect 3-D glass printing to move to the production stage anytime soon, though. According to MIT researchers, they want to work with different production techniques, including the addition of pressure to the molten glass stream to better control the flow, and give more precision to the resulting printed glass object.

At Glassprimer™, we don’t print glass, but we do provide the perfect coating for glass. If you’d like more information about decorating with glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

GlassFest Lights Up Corning

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GlassFest Lights Up Corning

GlassFest Lights Up Corning

What do you do to celebrate your town’s contributions to the glass industry? If you’re Corning, NY, you throw a four-day party known as GlassFest. GlassFest is in its 7th year and boasts all things glass. GlassFest took place this year from May 26-May 29 and featured hot glass shows, live music, food and fireworks.

GlassFest dedicated to glass arts

There were plenty of glass-blowing demonstrations, and thousands of visitors to watch some of the best glass artisans in the country show off their wares. In addition to glass artisans, visitors found plenty of pottery, jewelry and metalwork. And no street festival would be complete without an 8K run. With clear skies and temperatures in the 90s, the weather was just about perfect. Vendors from around the region commingled with food trucks, wineries, musicians and tourists to celebrate the industry that put Corning on the map.

One of the anchors of the festival is the Corning Glass Museum, which is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily. The museum has been in operation since 1951, when it was given as a gift to the people of the United States in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Corning Glass Works. Although the company is now known as Corning, Inc., the museum entertains 10s of thousands of visitors each year. But if you visit, you should know that it’s not the “Look-but-don’t-touch” kind of museum.

Instead, you’ll find plenty of interactive displays in the hands-on exhibits in the Innovation Center. You’ll also see lots of Hot Glass Shows, that both occupy museum space, and travel around the country. The Glass Lab is a traveling workshop for designers who want to experiment with glass. New glass makers can take courses at the museum, and researchers can find many Web-accessible resources through the Rakow Research Library – a library devoted to glass. You’ll also find more than 50,000 pieces of glass on display in the museums galleries, the newest of which boasts more than 26,000 square feet of display space.

Although this year’s GlassFest is already in the books, you can make your plans for next year’s event. (The dates have not yet been finalized.) If you’d like ideas for decorating glass, please check out the rest of our website. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Niklas Morberg, via Flickr.com

Glass plays an important role in energy efficiency

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Glass plays a big role in energy efficiency

Glass plays a big role in energy efficiency

In yesterday’s post, we looked at energy efficiency and glass, and how technological advances in glass have given commercial interiors the edge in reducing energy consumption. Today’s post looks at the most recent energy efficiency developments in glass, and how modern coatings like Glassprimer™ glass paint can help conserve energy and improve comfort.

Glassprimer™ glass paint contributes to energy efficiency

In the late 1980s and early 1990’s, new research was aimed at developing dynamic glass – glass that could automatically change tint based on conditions, reduce heat build-up and reduce glare while still providing a high degree of light-transmission. Comfort and convenience were the primary drivers of glass technologies, even though a clear benefit was a reduction in energy consumption. By the mid-1990s, sales of low-e glass hadn’t changed much; if anything, they declined slightly.

Today, energy efficiency is a greater concern, and while low-e glass doesn’t dominate the residential market, more than half of commercial windows are low-e. The need for a significant amount of natural lighting in commercial spaces, combined with mandates to reduce energy consumption drive the commercial low-e market. Low-e glass is now combined with energy-efficient fabrication techniques and new materials and coatings to create highly efficient, highly functional windows.

Specialized glass coatings, like Glassprimer™ glass paint can also contribute to an increase in energy efficiency. Glassprimer™ glass paint offers exceptional UV-protection, which reduces heat build-up, discourages heat loss and resists peeling and fading over time. Glassprimer™ glass paint is also cost-effective. A single gallon of Glassprimer™ glass paint can cover about 265 square feet of glass. The paint can be used to achieve full coverage or partial coverage, and can be used to create a frosted effect.

The nanotechnology that underlies Glassprimer™ glass paint actually modifies the surface of the glass, creating a permanent bond with the glass. Being able to create this bond is key to delivering superior UV-protection and performance, even under the most challenging conditions.

Glassprimer™ glass paint works with any kind of glass. A window coated with Glassprimer™ glass paint will provide UV protection and reduce the build-up of heat while still preserving light transmission.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint’s energy efficiency applications, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .
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Photo Credit: Hing-Cheung Li, via FreeImages.com

Using glass to expand your space

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Using glass to expand your space

Using glass to expand your space

Glass is a very versatile decorating material, but it can also become an integral part of the design of a room. Glass has long been used in interior design for commercial spaces, but more people are incorporating glass into their home interiors.

Glass is at home, inside and out!

Glass is attractive as a design element because it transmits natural light. Being able to distribute light more effectively around a space tends to “open up” the design, and gives the space a lighter feel. It also creates more design options in terms of compatible flooring choices and room layout.

Some daring uses of glass in interior residential spaces include glass stairs, glass room dividers, glass doors and door walls, and glass countertops. Glass is the expected material choice for exterior windows, but interior windows and glass panels can help create the illusion of space, even in confined quarters.

Nothing opens a room like floor-to-ceiling glass windows and skylights. Being able to see the sky from an interior space can visually double or even triple the apparent size of a small room.

It’s important to maintain a balance between the amount of interior and exterior glass. When designing a space, it’s important to keep in mind that exterior glass will transmit UV-light. UV-light can get “trapped” by glass and can really heat up a space quickly. This trapped heat will exert additional pressure on the building’s cooling system and can potentially increase the amount of energy needed to keep a space comfortable. Additionally, a large amount of exterior glass can cause heat to escape the building during the winter. Because glass has poor insulating qualities, buildings that use a large amount of glass will also require additional energy to keep the space comfortable in the winter.

Glassprimer™ glass paint uses a patented nano-bonding technology that actually modifies the surface of the glass to allow the paint to make a permanent bond. Glassprimer™ glass paint cures completely within 24-72 hours, and once cured, the paint will remain on the glass permanently. In fact, when applied according to the terms of the Glassprimer™ warranty, Glassprimer™ glass paint is warranted to be free from defects on interior applications for a period of 10 years. This stellar performance allows Glassprimer™ glass paint to create a reliable, beautiful and durable coating and improve energy efficiency for the practical life of the installation.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .
Photo Credit: Pierre Benker, via FreeImages.com

Gorilla glass: What is it?!

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Gorilla glass: What is it?!

Gorilla glass: What is it?!

You may have heard of the term “Gorilla glass,” and wondered what it is. In a nutshell, Gorilla glass is a brand name for a specialized glass product made by Corning. It is designed to be lightweight, resistant to damage and thin. It’s not the kind of glass you’d want to use around the house, and it’s not something you’d want to apply glass paint to, but you probably carry some of it around with you in a pocket or purse every time you carry your smartphone.

What Gorilla glass can do

Gorilla glass – in one form or another – has been around much longer than you think. Corning first started experimenting with different formulations of glass, looking for ways to strengthen it. What they developed was a product they sold under the Chemcor brand, called “muscled glass.” It was a specialty product that was used in automobiles and airplanes, industrial applications and in the pharmaceutical industry until the 1990’s, when it was replaced by other glass formulations.

But while “Gorilla glass” may have fallen out of vogue, it wasn’t forgotten. Ten years later, electronics manufacturers –most noticeably Apple – began to develop iPads and iPods- all with glass covers that were prone to breakage. So, Corning introduced Apple to Chemcor glass. The old Chemcor formulation produced glass that was too thick for the handheld devices we all know and love, but Corning began tinkering with the old Chemcor formula, and the rest is history. By 2008, the new, thin and almost scratchless “Gorilla glass” formulation was in production, and now sells at a rate of more than $1B per year.

But Corning hasn’t forgotten about Gorilla glass’s Chemcor roots. And apparently neither has the Ford Motor Company. Ford is using the Gorilla glass formulation for the front and rear windshields in the 2016 Ford GT. The glass reduces the weight of the car by 12 pounds without compromising the strength of the windshield. (A windshield can weigh 40 pounds or more.)

According to the Ford Motor Company, the new windshield formulation is actually a hybrid of three different layers – one layer of Corning automotive Gorilla glass, a thermoplastic layer and an annealed glass layer. A traditional windshield consists of just two layers – a thermoplastic layer and a layer of annealed glass. This approach to making automotive glass was developed by Henry Ford, and has been in use for more than 100 years.

While Gorilla glass isn’t something you’d use for decorating (yet, anyway), it does underscore the versatility of glass, and how changes in the basic formulation can really change what glass can do!

If you’d like more information about working with Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company