Blast-resistant glazing in Reading

How much should I budget for blast-resistant glazing in Reading?

Typical prices for blast-resistant glazing in Reading are £450 to £1,495 plus VAT (£540 to £1,794 inc VAT) per m², supplied and fitted. Use the quote tool for a guide figure, then we survey and confirm a fixed price.

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.

Choices you can make

Work planned from the threat assessment and engineer's design
Glazing classed to BS EN 13541 or tested to ISO 16933 and 16934
Anti-shatter film with edge-retention systems for existing windows
Deep-bite frames and structural silicone or mechanical retention
Blast-resistant net curtains as a fragment-catching layer
Sealed units with a laminated inner pane

Fitting in Reading and nearby

We can arrange blast-resistant glazing across Reading, the main centre for Berkshire, and in nearby towns including Wokingham, Crowthorne and Yateley.

Berkshire pairs the glass-fronted offices of Reading, Slough and Bracknell with Victorian and Edwardian housing and listed riverside buildings in Windsor and Eton.

Common uses:

Transport hubs, venues and stadium frontages
Government, council and civic buildings
Laboratories and industrial sites with process risks
Offices in city centres and near potential targets

What to think about first

Frame and fixings

The frame must hold the glass and the fixings must hold the frame. Upgrading glass alone can move the failure to the frame.

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.

Consents and safety: England

England

Planning permission

Changing the glass in an existing window or shopfront does not usually need planning permission, because the building looks much the same afterwards. A new or altered shopfront, or security features added to the outside of a building, may need planning permission from the council. Bollards or barriers on the pavement need the highway authority's consent, which is normally the council.

Fire-rated glass is different

Glass in fire doors, fire screens and protected escape routes has to be fire-rated glass tested as part of that door or screen system, under Approved Document B and the fire safety duties of the building's responsible person. Laminated and security glass are not fire-rated unless the product says so. Where a pane needs both fire and security performance, it must be a product tested for both.

How it works

Guide price online or by phone
Survey in Reading
Accept the fixed quote
Fitted by glaziers working under our contract

Blast-resistant glazing in Reading: questions

Which areas near Reading do you cover?

We can arrange work in Reading and in nearby Wokingham (7 miles), Crowthorne (10 miles) and Yateley (10 miles). Dates depend on installer availability.

Who decides what level of protection we need?

Your security adviser, insurer or a blast engineer, based on a threat and risk assessment. Government guidance from the National Protective Security Authority covers the approach.

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.

Free quote in Reading