Blast-resistant glazing in Birmingham

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

Typical prices for blast-resistant glazing in Birmingham 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.

Specification at a glance

Work planned from the threat assessment and engineer's design
Blast-resistant net curtains as a fragment-catching layer
Anti-shatter film with edge-retention systems for existing windows
Manufacturer's test evidence supplied with your quote
Deep-bite frames and structural silicone or mechanical retention
Sealed units with a laminated inner pane

Fitting in Birmingham and nearby

We arrange surveys and fitting across Birmingham and the B1 postcode district, and in nearby Smethwick (3 miles), West Bromwich (5 miles) and Shirley.

The West Midlands spans Birmingham's city-centre offices and shopping streets, Coventry's post-war precincts, Black Country terraces and long suburban high streets in Wolverhampton and Dudley.

Common uses:

Embassies, courts and police premises
Laboratories and industrial sites with process risks
Offices in city centres and near potential targets
Transport hubs, venues and stadium frontages

What to think about first

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.

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

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.

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.

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 Birmingham: questions

Do you cover Smethwick as well as Birmingham?

Yes. As well as Birmingham, we can arrange surveys in nearby Smethwick, West Bromwich and Shirley. Dates depend on installer availability.

Does blast glazing affect fire doors and fire screens?

Glass in fire-rated doors and screens must stay fire-rated glass tested in that system. Blast measures there need fire-rated products or a specialist design, never a swap to plain laminated glass.

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.

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.

Blast-resistant glazing in nearby towns

Other glazing in Birmingham

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