Double glazing - is toughened glass a requirement?

ormus

i bought some laminated glass last year for a back door. it was nearly as cheap as plain glass.
15 quid for half a door.

victorias_dad

This is a genuine question, who remembers 'Thats life' - that consumer program which (when they were not searching for rude shaped vegetables) ran a campaign about double glazing that people could not break in cases of real emergency, such as in a fire?
So here is my question; what has changed over the years to make seemingly unbreakable glass, which could result in death due to being trapped, into something that people can fall through?. Did all double glazing use toughened glass in the old days?
As I say, this is a genuine question as I would like to know.

joe14729

The thing about toughened glass is that if anyone falls into it and breaks it, it will shatter into thousands of small pieces. This is safer than falling through float glass which breaks into large dagger like pieces.

System

regulations for fire escape has changed dramatically over the years, and toughened glass will still break, just not the same way a standard glass panel would

elsien

So going back to my fire escape question. The fire escape window if I had it would be in the back bedroom/office.
The old windows at the front would still be easy to climb out of if necessary. Both rooms are closer to the front of the house than the stairs up from the kitchen.
So, a useful precaution or it wouldn't make much difference?

iamcornholio

A fire escape window merely has a opening size enough to climb through - something like 450mm x 740mm. There are no fire escape windows per-se, it's just a term to describe a "means of escape"

If a fire or dense smoke engulfs the staircase and landing, then the escape from a bedroom is the window ..... and you may not be able to cross the landing to another room. All bedrooms should have a means of escape via the window

sashman

Toughened glass. Actually its safety glass, it can be TXG, Laminated or wired. TXG shatters into tiny squares, Laminated holds together on a centre membrane whilst wired holds because of the wire. the GGF do a booklet that describes the vunerable areas I attach the link here http://www.ggf.org.uk/assets/GGF%20Guidance%20Document%20Update%20on%20The%20Workplace%20(Health%20Safety%20and%20Welfare)%20Regulations%201992%20-%20Regulation%2014-4d6ba448a844b.pdf

As for fire escape or fire egress, it is a legal requirement that habitable rooms upstairs, that are not directly connected to a fire exist, must allow an opening so that escape is possible.

Sash windows generally provide the required size as they open vertically however small windows require opening sashes to be modified so that escape if possible.

Finally victorias dad, no old windows didnt use TXG. Thats life and other programmes highlighted the strength of glass when people were threatened by fire. 4mm glass in DG units is much harder to break than 3mm (or less) single glazing. It is possible to shatter DG units to get out but its is FAR better to have windows that open NOT fixed glazing so typical of cheap DG.

I hope this helps

Sashman

Ben84

victorias_dad wrote: »

This is a genuine question, who remembers 'Thats life' - that consumer program which (when they were not searching for rude shaped vegetables) ran a campaign about double glazing that people could not break in cases of real emergency, such as in a fire?
So here is my question; what has changed over the years to make seemingly unbreakable glass, which could result in death due to being trapped, into something that people can fall through?. Did all double glazing use toughened glass in the old days?
As I say, this is a genuine question as I would like to know.

There's a bit of truth in it I guess. Hopefully whoever installed your windows put in big enough opening panes for people to climb out of, but if you have to smash your way out, which is pretty dire whatever window you're breaking, then modern double glazing with two panes is going to be harder, particularly if there's a lot of smoke and you can't find anything heavy to help you.

Just don't put yourself in this situation though, if buying windows get ones with decent size opening panes and don't put locking handles in bedrooms either.

victorias_dad

I don't think anyone has seen the point of my question, I know about escape windows I know about toughened glass I know about laminated glass I used it most days in my job as a office partition fixer but the point is if a person could not break a double glazed window in an emergency why do we need toughened glass in double glazing to stop people falling through it as I said I would like to know.

Leif

victorias_dad wrote: »

I don't think anyone has seen the point of my question, I know about escape windows I know about toughened glass I know about laminated glass I used it most days in my job as a office partition fixer but the point is if a person could not break a double glazed window in an emergency why do we need toughened glass in double glazing to stop people falling through it as I said I would like to know.

My guess is that a person falling against a window is a significant force that could break non toughened glass, but if you were trapped, how would you break it? Your fist? A foot? In which case how much of a whack could you give it? Not much is my guess.