You may not realise but glass is a material that makes up so much of our home decor, from windows, showers, doors, glass partitions, mirrors and so much more.

When you need to call a glazier in the Gold Coast area, you might start wondering about this material, and how it is so perfectly made without any type of flaw.

To help you understand more about glass, True Blue Glass can show you how it is made using modern methods.

Ingredients for Modern Glass.

In the past, glass was made from a material found in sand called silica.

This is a very fragile material which has a high melting temperature, and so over the centuries more and more additions have been combined with the glass to give it a lower melting temperature and more strength.

Modern ingredients include silica, oxides such as magnesium, lead, lanthanum or aluminium, sodium carbonate and even iron. Lime is another extremely common addition designed to strengthen the silica.

Melting the ingredients

The first stage in making glasses to melt all of the listed ingredients.

The silica is heated until it becomes liquid, and at this point it completely transforms, developing an inner structure that changes it so that it becomes a crystallized solid even when it cools.

Making glass windows

In order to make the type of glass that True Blue Glass uses for residential and commercial windows and doors, it is necessary to pour out the molten glass into a surface, which is rather like a kitchen baking tray.

This tray has a fine surface of melted tin, and the glass is then pressed so that it is flattened. The glass will then cool down into a flat surface, a pane of glass which can then be cut to the appropriate size.

Learning more about your glass

If you are having glass installed by a glazier in your Gold Coast or Brisbane property, then you can ask them to tell you more about how your glass is made. The team at True Blue Glass are always happy to help with any enquiries, so contact us today online, or call 1800-672-522 now.

For more glass information, read our previous blogs on the different types of glass!

When you’ve got a chipped or cracked panel of glass, it’s always a hassle. But it’s not always an emergency necessarily. In this blog article, we outline what instances constitute as a glass emergency, so that you know when to call an emergency glazier in Brisbane or on the Gold Coast.

SMASHED GLASS

This is the most obvious reason to call an emergency glazier. If a panel of glass has smashed at your home or commercial property, it’s time to call True Blue Glass. This is especially the case if there’s pieces of glass lying on the ground as this then becomes a safety hazard to both you, your family or your staff.

Important: If there’s smashed glass all over the floor, make sure to cordon it off with a barrier (fence, tape, traffic cones, etc.) and supervise the area to ensure nobody walks through the hazard.

A SEVERE CRACK

Whether an object hits the glass, or it’s caused from extreme heat, having a severe crack can cause the glass to break if left unattended. The rule of thumb is, the bigger the crack, the higher the risk of breakage.

The common window cracks are:

• Horseshoe
• Crater
• Star
• Bullseye
• Spiders web

If your window has one of these cracks, get in touch with us today to have it fixed. Some cracks are small enough that a repair is warranted, whereas bigger cracks may require a full replacement. Either way, we’ll be able to tell once we perform an on-site inspection.

REASONS GLASS CAN SHATTER 

There are a few reasons that glass can shatter on its own. However, by knowing the key reasons, you might be able to take the steps needed to reduce the risk of shattered glass.

Reasons glass can shatter includes:

• Extreme exposure to hot & cold temperatures
• Uneven shading (sunlight is concentrated on a section of glass)
• Garden-related ricochet (rocks from lawn mowing/whipper snipping, etc.)

By keeping these facts in mind, you can take the appropriate measures needed to protect your glass from harm. However, if the unfortunate happens, give True Blue Glass a call. Our emergency glaziers are available 24/7.

Glass never breaks at a convenient time. But for those unfortunate moments, call the experts at True Blue Glass. We provide 24/7 emergency glaziers on the Gold Coast to clean up the broken glass and have the panel fixed in no time. Got a non-emergency enquiry? Fill out our enquiry form for more information.

A hilarious invisible door prank video has gone viral in India.

The store owner is shown miming polishing a door, which an inattentive customer on his phone mistakes for a very clear glass door, causing him to trip and stumble trying to open it.

The customer soon realises he was pranked by the shopkeeper, and they all burst into laughter after having fooled the man.

The prank ironically took place at a store selling glasses.