Commercial Vestibules

Patterned glass is used extensively as an ornamental element. It finds uses in numerous places including cutlery manufacturing, decorative items, furniture, jewelry, commercial and residential partitions, railings, balustrades, shelving in refrigerators, doors, windows and several others. The very first attempt at patterned glass was made to create furniture knobs. The credit goes to an American named John P. Blakewell. He patented the technology way back in 1825.

Patterned glass is made in numerous ways now. The most common method is to use a plunger to fill molten glass in molds. When the glass cools, molds are removed and the glass gets a pattern. Another way of creating patterns on glass is to use ribbons to press impressions into the glass during its annealing or cooling stage. Rollers are used to make continuous patterns of glass. Usually, manufacturers use machines with changeable rollers to create different patterns.

Patterned glass can be given different kinds of textures. For instance, you can laminate it to add strength. Patterned glass can also be tempered to toughen it. Double glazed patterned glass is also available in the market. These are tougher and less resistant to cracking. Glass can be patterned to make it opaque. The designs you can create in glass are infinite. So, if you are looking for patterned glass to suit your home or office décor, you are sure to find one.

You no longer have to worry about installing glass for the entrance of your store or anywhere else for that matter. With advancements in metallurgical technology, innovators have come up with a wonderful material called laminated glass. This high performance material is created by providing a thin plastic coating over glass. When the sheet sustains impact, plastic takes the load of it and keeps the glass safe. It is not without reason that this material is called a “safety” glass.

Although laminated safety glass provides great protection, it is not completely unbreakable. If force of the impact is heavy enough to penetrate the plastic protection, the glass does shatter. However, since it is coated with plastic, the glass shreds do not splatter out. The shards remain together.

Sometimes, the plastic laminate layer shatters as well. In such cases, it covers sharp edges and prevents them from causing physical damage to any person or thing. In order to enhance safety, laminated safety glass is made by joining two glass sheets. The double layer lends more protection and does not break easily. The plastic layer on the double glass makes protection stronger.

Owing to all these features, laminated safety glass finds uses in numerous places, from commercial enterprises and hospitals to homes and schools.

Glass is a naturally brittle and fragile material. However, certain changes in the process of manufacturing and finishing make glass sturdier and stronger. There are three main kinds of safety glasses – laminated glass, tempered glass and Gregorian wired glass.

Gregorian wired glass is made by reinforcing the glass with steel wires. The wires form a kind of grid and hold the glass together. This kind of glass is not a very new invention. You can find it in houses that are decades old. However, because of its high visual appeal, this glass variety is used more for ornamentation rather than as an architectural element.

Gregorian glass is strong and hence, it is safe. It is also very durable. The steel wires that run through the panels ensure that the glass does not shatter at the lightest impact. Another feature of the glass is that it does not sustain holes. Owing to these features, Gregorian glass is used for windows in places that experience harsh climates. By standing sturdily at the windows, they protect interior spaces from excessive heat and cold. Since they do not shatter easily, these glasses are used for roof lights. They are not damaged during hailstorms or if debris strikes them during storms.

Glass shower enclosures can be quite an investment. So, you need to make sure that you make the right choice. Here are some tips to choose the best ones. The kind of glass used should be a major consideration. The glass used for shower enclosures should have minimum iron content. Since iron rusts because of the moisture in the shower, the glass becomes brittle and unusable after a short while. Secondly, use thick glass that can withstand temperature variations.

Frameless glass shower enclosure is extremely stylish. However, it cannot prevent water from flowing out of the bottom of the enclosure because of the lack of frame. In order to correct this problem, you can install an acrylic base with an outer edge.

The third consideration while shopping for glass shower enclosure is ease of maintenance. High quality stain resistance glass is the best option. This kind of glass is not susceptible to discoloration as well. Make sure that you use only high quality cleaning agents in order to maintain durability of the material. Before selecting your glass shower enclosure, ensure that you are aware of the precise measurements of your bathroom. You don’t want to end up with an ill fitting enclosure, especially after spending so much time and money on buying the best one.

Frameless glass doors lend a very suave look to a room. They make an awesome first impression when you use them at the entrance of your home or office. Should you buy and install them in your space? What are the limitations? Here is an overview.

The good thing about these doors is that they increase the value of your space by making it look polished and elegant. Secondly, since these doors do not come with frames, they are easier to maintain. You can clean them more thoroughly using a high quality glass cleaner.

Special glass is used for manufacturing frameless doors. The glass is much thicker and more crack resistant when compared to conventional glass. So, you don’t have to worry too much about its fragility. Even if the glass shatters on heavy impact, it does not split into sharp edged shards. Broken pieces have blunt edges. Different kinds of glasses are available for frameless doors. If you want more privacy, you can use tinted, tempered or opaque glass.

The drawback of these doors is that they are expensive since the glass is of a much higher quality. If you do not have a problem with costs, installing these doors in homes or offices can be a great idea.

Wall mirrors are great for use as functional as well as ornamental elements in your home. The choice of these elements depends on the purpose for which you need them and the size of the room.

If the mirror is solely for use as a decorative element, consider the size and décor of your room while making the selection. The style of frame depends entirely on these two aspects. For smaller rooms, choose wall mirrors with simpler frames. Grand and ornate frames look large and out of place in small rooms. When the space is roomier, choose frames that are larger so that the mirror does not seem insignificant. Reflective properties of the mirror should be put to good use. So, install mirrors in places where they are exposed to light so that they can reflect it.

When you buy wall mirrors for functional purposes such as for dressing tables or in bathrooms, make sure that light does not fall on the mirror. Light should fall on the face of the person looking into the mirror. You can install a lighting fixture on top of the mirror for this purpose. Always select high quality mirrors because cheap quality ones develop black spots and begin to look unsightly over time. Also, when used in bathrooms, make sure that the mirror has a waterproof backing.

Commercial partitions are extensively uses in shops, showrooms, offices and other business-related buildings with the intention of making better use of the available space. In addition to creating separate niches for different activities, partitions make the space more organized and enhance visual appeal of the entire area. If you are looking for some commercial partitions, you have three broad options – fixed partitions, movable partitions and suspended partitions.

Among the different kinds of partitions, movable partitions are preferred because they allow to you change arrangement of the space in the future. They are mounted on wheels and can be shifted from one place to another. Suspended partitions are attached to the ceiling alone. They are not fixed to the floor. They can be conveniently opened and closed.

Different materials are used to create partitions in commercial spaces. The most common materials are glass, wood, fibreglass and synthetic panels. Glass is the most preferred materials because it makes the space look airy and spacious. For privacy, you can use opaque glass or put up curtains to block the view. The flexibility that these partitions offer is high.

Your office should be visually pleasing, if you intend to create a grand impression on visitors. So, choose the best partitions and make the most of your interior design budget.

Mirrors, being reflective surfaces, bring in a lot of light into the room. You can make the most of them by using them creatively and placing them in strategic niches. Here are 4 creative ways of using decorative mirrors.

Placement of mirrors is subject to the size of your room and light availability. For example, in small rooms, angle the decorative mirrors such that natural light falls of them. So, they reflect the light and illuminate the entire space, thereby making the area look larger and more spacious. In large rooms, you don’t need to add space. So, place mirrors in niches that reflect images of ornamental articles in the room.

Whatever be the size of the room, the decorative mirrors you choose should always blend with the decor of the space. If your room is contemporary, choose mirrors that have sleek frames with only a bit of ornamentation. For traditional homes or Victorian homes, mirrors can have ornate and intricate frames.

While use of mirrors is excellent, never overdo it. Mirrors reflect heat in addition to light. So, by incorporating too many mirrors, your room feels stuffy and hot. Visually, they create confusion because so many things are reflected simultaneously. Always place decorative mirrors on walls that are painted in a darker shade so that they reflect lighter walls. This makes the area look very spacious.

Glass, when used as an architectural or interior design element, adds an awesome visual appeal to the space. However, a lot of people stay away from it because glass is fragile. It breaks on the smallest of impacts. You don’t have to worry about such aspects anymore. Technology has created a special kind of glass called tempered safety glass which has admirable strength.

Tempered safety glass is constructed in a unique manner. During the annealing process, glass is subjected to very high temperatures. Once the maximum temperature is reached, glass is cooled very quickly by forcing air on it. This sudden cooling creates a lot of strain within the material and it becomes tough. Owing to this feature, tempered glass is also called toughened safety glass.

In terms of strength, tempered safety glass is almost five times stronger than normal glass. A major safety feature of this kind of glass is the way it breaks. When a large force of impact hits the glass, the surface breaks into small pieces with blunt edges. So, the glass is safe when it breaks as well. Another advantage is that tempered glass is scratch resistant to a great extent.

The drawback of tempered glass is its brittleness. Although it is tough, the strain inside the material makes it more brittle. You cannot grind, scratch or drill it without causing it to crack.

The space between the indoors of the building and outdoors of the outer world is called a vestibule. Though they are an important part of the building, they do constitute the hardcore structure of the building. It provides a converging space that can be put to use for multiple functions. All the architectural buildings have a defined vestibule that adds to the beauty of the building.

A commercial building has vestibules installed usually on the entrance doors. The main motive of a commercial vestibule is to reduce the rate of air infiltration into the space. This will ensure energy conservations and will also provide better comfort to its users. A vestibule is treated as an entrance court in a commercial building. The builders are of the opinion that it lends a formal touch to the overall look.

A vestibule can be used in a number of ways. They are often used to achieve energy efficiency as they lock in the building temperature, avoiding the outside weather fluctuations. They also help in cutting down noises. A vestibule can trap a lot of dust and needs to be kept organized. The proportion of a vestibule must be in tandem with the construction of the entire building.