Annealed glass is the minimum standard for glass in the home. It’s also the base starting material for other glass types Low-E, Laminated and Toughened Glass.
Advantages
- Surface strength provides the wind-load performance and thermal-stress resistance needed in most architectural applications
- Excellent visibility
- Available in different tones and opaque options
- Excellent light transmission in clear tone
- Cost effective when budget is tight
Float glass is the most widely used form of glass in consumer products. Due to both its high quality with no additional polishing required and its structural flexibility during production, it can easily be shaped and bent into a variety of forms while in a heated, syrupy state. This makes it ideal for a variety of applications such as
- Automobile glass (e.g. windshields, windows, mirrors)
- Mirrors
- Furniture (e.g. in tables and shelves)
- Insulated glass
- Windows and doors
Disadvantages
- Tends to break into irregular, sharp pieces when broken.
- The strength limitations of annealed glass limit the size of usable pieces. Size limitations are set out by Australian Standards AS1288
