Example of our glass services
How is glass made?
Molten glass is formed by heating up a combination of silica and sodium carbonate, with added lime, magnesium oxide and aluminium oxide, to form soda-lime glass. This is then rolled down a bed of molten tin that has been subjected to a atmosphere of nitrogen and hydrogen to prevent oxidization of the tin.
This molten glass is then cooled and cut by machine using a diamond cutter, and then subjected to nitrogen gas at high pressure to give it a shiny finish. Glass created using this method is called “float glass”, which is name used for the “normal” glass used you find in glass installations today.
Alva toughened glass services
Express Alva glazing experts offer a variety of safety glass services including toughened glass installations and replacements. Toughened glass will usually shatter into small fragments instead of sharp shards when broken, making it less likely to cause severe injury and deep lacerations. This is particularly useful for certain frames such as cat flaps, glass doors and tables.
Our Alva toughened glass normally takes three to five working days to order in for both single and double-glazed options. This glass is recommended for Alva residential customers, as the glass shatters into relatively harmless fragments upon impact, as opposed to the larger, more dangerous shards caused by breakage of normal glass. However, due to the security risk of having a large hole when the glass has been shattered, we do not recommend this for our Alva commercial customers, whom we offer laminate glass to instead.
