Blast-resistant glazing in Greater Manchester

Blast-resistant glazing in Greater Manchester: what will it cost?

Budget £450 to £1,495 plus VAT (£540 to £1,794 inc VAT) per m² for blast-resistant glazing in Greater Manchester, supplied and fitted. Larger panes, thicker makeups and difficult access cost more; the price is fixed in writing after the 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

Blast-resistant net curtains as a fragment-catching layer
Work planned from the threat assessment and engineer's design
Manufacturer's test evidence supplied with your quote
Sealed units with a laminated inner pane
Anti-shatter film with edge-retention systems for existing windows
Laminated glass with thick or stiff interlayers

Covering Greater Manchester

We can arrange surveys and fitting anywhere in Greater Manchester, including Manchester and Oldham. Dates depend on installer availability. Choose your town below for local details.

Greater Manchester mixes city-centre offices and converted mills with Victorian terraces in Salford, Oldham and Bolton, suburban high streets and large out-of-town retail parks.

Typical settings for blast-resistant glazing:

Government, council and civic buildings
Embassies, courts and police premises
Transport hubs, venues and stadium frontages
Laboratories and industrial sites with process risks

Towns in Greater Manchester

Getting the right glass for your building

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.

Fragment hazard

Some designs accept that glass will break but keep it in place; others allow controlled failure into a catching system. Both aim to stop flying shards.

What the rules say in England

England

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.

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.

How it works

Tell us about the glazing
Survey, measuring and frame check
Written quote naming the glass
Fitting and handover

Blast-resistant glazing in Greater Manchester: questions

Which towns in Greater Manchester do you cover?

We can arrange work anywhere in Greater Manchester, including Manchester, Oldham, Wigan, Bolton and Stockport, and in other towns across the area.

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.

Other glazing in Greater Manchester

Get a guide price now and book your free survey in Greater Manchester.