Toughened safety glass in Essex: what will it cost?
Expect £114 to £414 including VAT (£95 to £345 plus VAT) per pane for toughened safety glass in Essex. The written quote names the glass makeup, the price and the lead time before you commit.
Toughened safety glass is ordinary glass that has been heated and rapidly cooled so its surface is held in compression, making it four to five times stronger than annealed glass of the same thickness. If it does break, it shatters into small, relatively blunt pieces instead of sharp shards, which is why it is used in doors, low-level panes and frameless partitions.
Specification at a glance
- Heat-soaked option for large and overhead panes
- Clear, tinted, obscure, low-iron and sandblasted finishes
- Breaks into small blunt fragments
- Four to five times the strength of annealed glass
- Single panes or the outer pane of a sealed unit
- Made to BS EN 12150 and marked for identification
Covering Essex
We can arrange surveys and fitting anywhere in Essex, including Southend-on-Sea and Basildon. Dates depend on installer availability. Choose your town below for local details.
Essex runs from Chelmsford and Colchester's town-centre retail and Georgian streets to Southend's seafront and large post-war and new-build estates in Basildon and Harlow.
Typical settings for toughened safety glass:
- Glazed doors and side panels
- Shower screens and splashbacks
- Frameless office partitions and doors
- Panes below 800 mm in homes and offices
Towns in Essex
- BasildonSS14
- BenfleetSS7
- BillericayCM11
- BraintreeCM7
- BrentwoodCM14
- Canvey IslandSS8
- ChelmsfordCM1
- Clacton-on-SeaCO15
- ColchesterCO1
- GraysRM17
- HarlowCM17
- HarwichCO12
- LoughtonIG10
- MaldonCM9
- RayleighSS6
- South OckendonRM15
- Southend-on-SeaSS1
- Stanford-le-HopeSS17
- Waltham AbbeyEN9
- WickfordSS12
- WithamCM8
Getting the right glass for your building
Heat soaking
Rare nickel sulphide inclusions can make toughened glass break without warning. Heat soaking reduces the risk and is worth specifying for large, high or overhead panes.
Barriers and balustrades
Glass that acts as a barrier usually needs a laminated toughened makeup so it stays in place if one ply breaks.
What the rules say in England
Safety glass in critical locations
In England, section 5 of Approved Document K treats glazing in doors and in side panels within 300 mm of a door edge, from floor level up to 1,500 mm, and any other glazing below 800 mm, as a critical location. Glass there should break safely, be robust, or be guarded. Laminated or toughened glass meeting BS EN 12600 class 3 is the usual answer, rising to class 2 for door and side-panel panes wider than 900 mm.
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
Toughened safety glass in Essex: questions
Which towns in Essex do you cover?
We can arrange work anywhere in Essex, including Southend-on-Sea, Basildon, Colchester, Chelmsford and Harlow, and in other towns across the area.
Is toughened glass a security glass?
No. Toughened glass is strong and breaks safely, but once broken the pane falls out and leaves the opening clear. For security, choose laminated glass or a unit with a laminated pane.
Why did my toughened glass break on its own?
Occasionally a tiny nickel sulphide inclusion or edge damage causes spontaneous breakage. Heat-soak tested glass reduces the risk for large or high panes.
Where must safety glass be used?
In critical locations: in England, Approved Document K covers glazing in and beside doors up to 1,500 mm from the floor and other glazing below 800 mm; Wales has the same idea in its Approved Document N, Scotland in standard 4.8 and Northern Ireland in Part V. Glass there must be safety glass or protected.
Other glazing in Essex
- Security glazed doors and screens
- Shopfront security glass
- Counter and reception security screens
- Laminated glass retrofit
- Security secondary glazing
- Kiosk and booth security glazing
Start with a guide price online, then we survey and fix the price in writing.
