Tempered glass is designed to break into tiny, cubed shaped pieces rather than large shards of glass. This is a safety feature of the glass and is required in many installations.
Tempered glass is created by heating and then rapidly cooling the glass to room temperature by ushering it through a system of blowers. The surface of the glass cools much faster than the center of the glass and contracts, causing compressive stresses, while the center of the glass expands because of its temperature, producing tensile stresses. What does that mean? Imagine a piece of glass that could be pulled or stretched to a certain length (tensile stress), while being pushed down and compressed (compressive stress) simultaneously. Both the pulling and pushing stresses achieved through the heating and cooling process give tempered glass its tensile and compressive strength. The differences between these two give the glass 5 to 10 times the amount of strength it originally had.
The edges on a typical piece of tempered glass are very weak. This is caused in part by the rapid release of heat during the cooling phase of the tempering process. To help compensate for this weaker area, the glass is ground down on the edges. When tempered glass breaks, it shatters into small, dull pieces. The differences between the compressive and tensile stresses are what enable the glass to break in this way. The pulling and the pushing of the glass produce a significant amount of energy during the tempering process. When the glass breaks, this energy is released and causes the glass to break into small pieces.

No. Once the glass goes through the tempering process it cannot be cut or modified in any way. Doing so could potentially cause it to shatter.

No, we cannot repair cracks in glass. The process to repair small cracks in automobile windshields only works on the laminated glass that windshields are made of. It will not repair a crack in regular glass.

No, we do not provide scratch removal services.

Yes. We provide shop cut services for most small glass needs. We can cut table tops, mirrors, picture frame glass and more. If we can’t cut it here, we most certainly can order it for you.

The greenish tint on glass table tops, shelves and frameless shower doors comes from the iron content used in the manufacturing process. This is typical of all glass and is known as clear glass. This greenish tint is most noticeable when looking at the glass piece from the edges. The thicker the glass is the more noticeable the greenish hue will be.

When mirrors turn black it is typically due to the reaction of contaminates in the air, as well as moisture and corrosive cleaning agents such as ammonia. When the silver nitrate and the copper sulfate that the mirror coating is made up of reacts to these contaminates it oxidizes, causing black edges and spots. Careful cleaning can help deter the occurrence of oxidization, however, all mirrors will eventually oxidize at some point.

It is recommended to remove water from the glass with a squeegee and dry up any excess water. Regular drying of the glass will prevent future water stains and corrosion. See our Shower door care information for more information on care and cleaning tips.

Yes, we can provide replacement polycarbonate shower door sweeps that can accommodate many shower door applications.

Yes, we can custom order glass to fit into an existing shower door.

The measurements for a new shower enclosure are taken after the tile is completed and any sills are installed. Accurate measurements are imperative to ensure a quality installation. The shower door installation is typically the last step in completing your bathroom remodel.

All shower doors, weather they are framed or frameless, must have a support system. Depending on different applications sometimes it is necessary to have a header across the top of an enclosure for support. Our manufacturers will only supply products that can be safely and properly installed and sometimes that means adding metal, clips, or channels. Sometimes the way the tile is installed determines the installation method. If the walls are too far out of square then it is typically recommended to install any panels with a low profile u-channel. Otherwise you can have significant gaps between the glass and the walls.

Frameless shower doors are NOT going to be water tight. A frameless shower door has by design small gaps in the hinges, seams and around the door. Gaps exist because the unit lacks the traditional thick metal frames. The gaps are in fact required to assure proper operation of the door. There are polycarbonate seals that can be added to lessen any leakage such as a bottom door sweep or a strike if your unit consists of a door and panel. Although polycarbonates are helpful, it may not completely eliminate water leaking out.