Blast-resistant glazing in Berkshire: what will it cost?
As a guide, allow £450 to £1,495 plus VAT (£540 to £1,794 inc VAT) per m² for blast-resistant glazing in Berkshire, supplied and fitted. Size, glass makeup, access and frame condition move the price, which is confirmed in writing after the free survey.
Blast-resistant glazing is laminated glass fitted in a frame and fixing system designed to stay in the opening, or fail safely, when hit by the pressure wave from an explosion. Its purpose is to stop glass becoming high-speed fragments, which cause most injuries in a blast, and it is designed from a threat assessment rather than chosen off the shelf.
Specification at a glance
- Deep-bite frames and structural silicone or mechanical retention
- Manufacturer's test evidence supplied with your quote
- Laminated glass with thick or stiff interlayers
- Glazing classed to BS EN 13541 or tested to ISO 16933 and 16934
- Work planned from the threat assessment and engineer's design
- Anti-shatter film with edge-retention systems for existing windows
Covering Berkshire
We can arrange surveys and fitting anywhere in Berkshire, including Reading and Slough. Dates depend on installer availability. Choose your town below for local details.
Berkshire pairs the glass-fronted offices of Reading, Slough and Bracknell with Victorian and Edwardian housing and listed riverside buildings in Windsor and Eton.
Typical settings for blast-resistant glazing:
- Offices in city centres and near potential targets
- Laboratories and industrial sites with process risks
- Government, council and civic buildings
- Embassies, courts and police premises
Towns in Berkshire
- BracknellRG12
- CrowthorneRG45
- MaidenheadSL6
- NewburyRG14
- ReadingRG1
- SandhurstGU47
- SloughSL1
- ThatchamRG18
- WindsorSL4
- WokinghamRG40
Getting the right glass for your building
Who sets the level
The design pressure comes from a threat and risk assessment by a security adviser or blast engineer, not from the glass supplier.
New glazing or retrofit
New facades can be designed as a full tested system. Existing buildings often get film with edge retention, internal secondary glazing or curtains instead.
What the rules say in England
Listed buildings and conservation areas
In England, listed building consent from the council may be needed to replace historic glass such as crown or cylinder glass, or to alter glazing bars, sashes and frames. Historic England publishes guidance on traditional windows. Secondary glazing and window film are often easier to agree because they can be removed later, but the council's conservation officer makes the decision.
Glazing in workplaces
Regulation 14 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires windows and transparent surfaces in walls, partitions, doors and gates to be of safety material or protected against breakage where health or safety makes that necessary, and to be marked so people notice them. The employer or the person in control of the premises decides what is needed through their risk assessment.
How it works
- Postcode and a few photos
- On-site survey
- Fixed written price and lead time
- Fit, check and explain
Blast-resistant glazing in Berkshire: questions
Which towns in Berkshire do you cover?
We can arrange work anywhere in Berkshire, including Reading, Slough, Bracknell, Maidenhead and Wokingham, and in other towns across the area.
Can existing windows be made blast-resistant?
They can often be improved. Anti-shatter film with an edge-retention system, laminated replacement glass in strengthened frames or internal secondary glazing can cut the flying-glass hazard, depending on the threat.
What does ER1 to ER4 mean?
They are explosion-pressure classes in BS EN 13541. Glass samples are tested in a shock tube, with higher classes meaning higher pressures. The class applies to the glass, so the frame must be designed to match.
Is blast film enough on its own?
Film helps hold glass together but works much better when the film is anchored to the frame so the whole pane cannot fly in. Plain film without retention offers less.
Other glazing in Berkshire
- Security secondary glazing
- Misted unit replacement with laminated glass
- Laminated security glass
- Security glass for doors
- Patio and bifold door security glass
- Security window film
Start with a guide price online, then we survey and fix the price in writing.