Window Moisture

Very few people ever take note of the window glass in their home, which is not surprising considering the nature of the material - it is there specifically NOT to be seen. It is, however, an important component of a building's exterior cosmetically and integral to its energy efficiency.

Insulated glass is a unit formed by bonding two glass panes together with a sealant (more on this later.) Generally, this material only gains the attention of homeowners once it starts to break down and make itself visible in the form of condensation build-up. We've all seen it, water droplets forming a halo in the middle of a window - it might even strike you as beautiful at first, but as time passes the moisture becomes permanent and eventually gives way to an ugly chalky build-up that muddles your view and reduces the value of your home.

In this two-part blog posting, we'll take a look at the make-up of insulated glass units (IGUs), what causes moisture infiltration, and what cost saving measures are available for restoring your windows to their original clarity.

What Am I (Not) Looking At?
Like I mentioned above, the basic components of an IGU are two pieces of glass separated by a spacer and held together by sealant - not exactly exciting stuff, but important to energy conservation in your home. Let's look a little closer at the individual parts and how they can effect your energy bill.

Glass
IGUs found in homes typically use 3/32" to 1/4" glass. The thicker the glass, the less thermally conductive the unit. When the temperature outside drops thinner, more flexible glass bows inwards, decreasing the distance between the two panes thus facilitating heat transfer. In some extremely thin units the panes actually flex so severely that they touch in the center.

Another important feature to note is low-E coating, which is an add-on component, not found on every IGU. This reflective coating, applied to the glass during manufacturing, greatly reduces the heat absorbed through the unit by deflecting a portion of the sunlight, keeping your house cooler during the summer months. Low-E is applied to the inside of the exterior pane so it can provide the most protection possible without allowing it to degraded by the elements. Low-E is particularly useful in windows located near a valuable piece of furniture or a treasured family heirloom, because it blocks out harmful UV rays.

The last thing to bare in mind with IGU glass is whether or not it is tempered. Tempered glass is heat strengthened and therefore less susceptible to breakage due to heat stress. You'll know your glass is tempered if you find a small block of white print in a corner referred to in the glass industry as a "bug". Like low-E, tempered glass will substantially increase the cost of the unit.

Spacer
As the name would imply, the spacer is used to separate the glass panes, but it also plays a role in reducing thermal conductivity. Spacers are typically made from either aluminum or structural foam and there are advantages unique to both. Aluminum is a durable material but also highly conductive when there is no barrier between it and the glass. Our company uses aluminum, but the units are dual-sealed with butyl tape which forms an insulated barrier between the materials and resists energy transfer. Structural foam is able to achieve the same low thermal conductivity, but lacks the strength of aluminum.

In the diagram above, you'll notice that the spacer is hollow and packed with minuscule balls. This highly-absorptive material is called, desiccant, and prevents moisture build-up in the unit.

Around the perimeter of the spacer and between the edges of the glass, a polysulfide sealant is used to hold the unit together and further insulate it against energy exchange.

Air/Monatomic Gas
The space between the two panes is filled with either dry air or a gas that has low thermal conductivity. The most common gases used for insulation purposes are argon and krypton; argon has 67%  the thermal conductivity of air, while krypton has half the conductivity of argon. These gases can increase the energy efficiency of your home, but you definitely pay for that benefit up front.

Next posting: What's causing moisture build-up and what can be done about it.

High Water Marks - Two Brands Giving the Best Value in Glass Protectant

A few months ago, American Glass's Lite Revelations gave you the skinny on the clarity retainment  product ClearShield that can keep your glass shower enclosure looking lustrous and pristine. Today, we’ll explore another worthwhile answer to the mineral etching and scummy build-up that can taint the pièce de résistance of your designer bathroom.

SHOWERGUARD

Showerguard is a permanent coating ionically-bonded to the glass which seals the surface and assists in preventing chemical corrosion and scale build-up. The limits of human eyesight allow us believe the surface of glass to be smooth and uniform, but place a fleck under an electron microscope and you’ll see that an amoeba would tell you otherwise. As you'll notice in the photo above, at this level of magnification the material is anything but even, with plenty of crags for coercive elements to nestle into and produce that milky etching that takes over an unmaintained shower door. Showerguard effectively seals the glass surface with a thick coating, filling the microscopic crevices, and offering protection from foreign elements. The coating is densely fused to the panel during the tempering process, which provides permanent protection, never calling for retreatment.

SHOWERGUARD VS. CLEARSHIELD

Bottom-line, which is the best product for your shower door? Well, with both sealants adding the same maintenance and hygienic benefits, that largely depends on the size of your enclosure. ClearShield is a flat fee up to 44 sq. ft, while Showerguard is priced by the square foot, so if you just need a door, or a door and a small panel, Showerguard might be the way to go. For anything beyond that, the pricing scale of Showerguard will greatly surpass that of ClearShield.

Other factors that might weigh into your decision are warranty and environmental concerns. With a lifetime-warranty, Showerguard is the clear winner in that category, compared to the ten-year warranty of ClearShield (although both are impressive.) In regards to the environment, both products eliminate the need to use astringent cleaners that end up down the drain and in our water supply, but only ClearShield highlights on its website the fact that it uses only non-hazardous materials. Now, that’s NOT to say that Showerguard does use harmful materials, it’s just reassuring that ClearShield states unequivocally that it is a safe product.

2013 Home & Garden Show

IT’S HOME & GARDEN SHOW TIME AGAIN!!!

Looking for innovative products, new ideas, and practical advice for your new home or remodeling project? Want to keep up on what’s happening in the world of home design? How about needing something amusing to do on a winter’s day? With hundreds of remodeling, home improvement and gardening experts all under one roof, you can’t go wrong with the Minneapolis Home & Garden Show!

Come say hi to us, at the American Glass & Mirror Booth 3700, and let us know what you think of our sizeable frameless shower door display – an impressive collection of styles and designs. And don’t forget to check out our Essence Series Frameless Sliding Door on Innovation Avenue, recognition we won for our game changing product - we’re pretty psyched!

Check out the promo below to find out when you can catch celebrity appearances and how to pick up tickets on the cheap. The button at the bottom will bring you to the website.

Glass Up Your Home (Part IV)

If you’ve been keeping up with our “Glass Up Your Home” blog series, then I’m sure you’ve noticed a common thread running through the posts: OPTIONS. There are a vast range of glass types available, each with special properties that will modify your home décor in unique and surprising ways. It’s all a matter of finding what best suits your stylistic leanings. Today’s post is no exception. Because of the great variety of glass counter tops available, you’re sure to find one that jives with the look and feel of your kitchen space.

What you’ll gain from incorporating a glass counter top into your home, is a lustrous surface that gives the impression of delicate elegance yet is deceptively robust and durable. You might think that a glass surface in the kitchen would be a disaster due to its susceptibility to cracking and scratching. In truth, glass used for counters runs thick (generally 3/8” to 1”), so even you klutzes and butterfingers needn’t shy away. Additionally, the glass can be treated with an anti-scratching treatment that keeps the surface as pristine as the day it was installed.

Stand-Off Counters

Let’s get back to OPTIONS. Like the glass backsplash discussed, here, you can choose from an array of glass styles, such as: back painted, tinted, obscure, etc. Homeowners that want a touch of The Strip in their kitchen can use LEDs on the counter’s underside to create a resonant glow. Another cool direction to take is to use stand-off glass counters. These surfaces seem to hover in air with the help of metal pegs, and allow the character of the material below to shine through. At the risk of sounding redundant, there are options with this item, as well. Some people prefer to raise the counter only a few inches to form the primary counter surface, while others like a narrower glass counter raised six inches or so, that provides a secondary surface, perfect for a bar area or an auxiliary space when your food prep area gets crowded.

Glass Up Your Home (Part III)

Matte Glass Wall

Glass Partitions

Our latest blog in the “Glass Up Your Home” series, focuses on one of my favorite vitreous additions a person can make to their home.  Glass walls and partitions are a smart choice for sectioning off a room, adding structure to a space, or giving your home a needed shot of the MODERN.  Plain old sheet rock walls can feel so confining, especially in smaller rooms, but a space that’s too vacuous can be oppressive in a different way. We want it all. We want our homes to feel open and flowing, but we still want a sense of structure, rhythm to the flow, and designated and defined spaces for our daily rituals.

    

Repurposed Factory Window

You can have all these things by incorporating glass walls or partitions into your home interior. The brilliant thing about glass is that, because of its transparency, it seems to hover in some indefinite realm of matter. It is almost like the suggestion of physicality. OK, let’s not get TOO deep here. Simply put, with glass dividers you get the structure but not the restrictiveness. Light will move about your home freely, while the eye will note the subtle lines that inform the space.

There are a lot of interesting directions you can take with glass partitions. They’re perfect for sectioning off conjoined rooms, creating charming nooks, or giving just a modicum of privacy. As you'll notice from the photos, there's also a lot of options in terms of glass finish and thickness. Get creative with it, like the home in the photo on the right. They repurposed an old factory window to serve as a divider between the kitchen and dining/living room. The grids do a lot to emphasize the division between the rooms, yet the space retains its sense of openness.

Glass Up Your Home (Part II)

Glass Railing

The next item we want to feature on the American Glass & Mirror blog is the glass railing system. This product is useful both in the home, giving your staircase a contemporary edge, or outside on the deck, opening up your view to the backyard. In your home’s interior, glass railings allow the charm of surrounding materials to shine through and create light, clean lines that subtly break up a space. Outside the home, glass railings are the perfect way to enjoy a vista unimpeded by wood or metal railings – if you live lakeside, or on a hilltop, it’s a must! We installed a system in our family home about five years ago and have been thrilled with the results. Now, in the mornings I watch the birds frequenting the feeders with ease, and can enjoy the backyard football matches without rising from my deck chair.

Styles

With an impressive variety of styles and designs to choose from, glass railing systems can be used to fit into any design scheme; it’s just a matter of finding the one that will work for you. If your tastes tend toward minimalist, there is an assortment of austere systems that lack top and bottom rails and are secured only by utilitarian hardware at the base of the glass panels – well-suited for a chic loft or modernist dwelling. If you want something warmer and more resistant to abuse (kids love to climb…), go with wood or metal on the rails and framing posts.

Glass

You also have options in terms of glass – thickness and style. We went with ¼” glass at our home because it was the cheapest, and we chose a system with a metal top rail, where the top and bottom of the glass were not exposed. If you want something more regal, or if the top and bottom edges aren’t secured in a channel, you might want to go with 3/8” or ½” (remember: the thicker the glass you use, the more cost the project will incur.) In addition, you can choose from a multitude of glass designs. There are endless varieties of pattern, tinted, and cast glass that can be used in your system, not to mention the option for customize sandblasting. That said, clear glass is by far the most popular, because of its pellucid properties and the reasonable price.

Glass Up Your Home

Glass Counter Top

We've been seeing a lot of non-traditional uses of glass in new homes, of late. Gone are the days when glass was relegated solely to the realm of windows and picture frames. People are incorporating it into their interior design in inventive ways and achieving bold and captivating results. The popularity of this material has grown in recent years because of state-of-the-art scratch-resistant coatings and a slew of new products on the market. Of course, the timeless appeal of glass is the ease of maintaining it (just need a mild cleaner and a rag) and its luminous surface that reflects and amplifies the character of surrounding materials. This month our blog will feature a series of stylish glass items that can give your home a contemporary edge. First up, the backsplash.

Clear Glass

Backsplash

Glass is a great solution for keeping your kitchen or bathroom walls grime-free. You have a couple of options to consider with a “glass splash” – you can either let the glass merely protect what exists behind it or you can make it the star of the show. Say you have chic wallpaper or the perfect paint color behind your oven range and you don’t want it getting steamed, spattered with grease, and the like – clear glass is the ideal barrier between the destructive by-products of cooking and your kitchen’s aesthetic. It allows you to have the design elements you want to bring you décor to life, yet keeps your cooking area functional.

Cast Glass

The other direction you can take is imbuing the glass with character and making it an integral part of the kitchen’s look. Back-painted glass is simply clear glass painted on the reverse side with a color you select. It offers a space the same qualities of a painted wall, while adding a lustrous sheen and, of course, the protection you require. Another option is using a pattern or cast glass, which can give your wall surface a subtle or arresting effect, depending on your personal tastes and the style of glass you choose. Because these types of glass offer a variety of patterns and textures, you can match them to a paint color, wall paper, or back-paint to create a staggering range of effects.

Back-painted Glass

Glass tile can also serve admirably as a backsplash – it looks really sharp and can create a nice accent on your kitchen walls. There are, however, a couple of drawbacks to using glass tile, the first being price. Glass tiles exceed the cost of ceramic, porcelain, and even natural stone, so you can image how quickly the bill on a sizable job adds up. Another disadvantage of glass tile is that it needs to be grouted in. Without special attention from the person cleaning it, that grout line can become discolored with time, or a breeding ground for bacteria. Glass panels, on the other hand, don’t have seams that harbor gross elements, like mildew, or cooking grease.