GLASS AND GLAZING QUICK FACTS
Maximum insulating glass unit sizes vary by manufacturer; however units weighing over 300 lbs can become unwieldy.
Warm-edge stainless steel insulating glass spacer is compatible with structural silicone glazing, and can accommodate large sizes. Always review samples and product data.
Almost all windows with between-glass Venetian blinds require heat strengthened glass.
If dual glazed, windows are specified with a low-E coating, it must be a pyrolitic hard coat. Between-glass blinds require venting of the non- hermetically-sealed air space. Triple glazing (exterior insulating glass) is recommended for cold climates.
Heat soaking is an added-cost process, used to identify spontaneous breakage during glass fabrication, rather then in the field. Spontaneous breakage is caused by nickel sulfide inclusions in the body of the glass.
On glass units 7-feet wide or more, roller wave distortion becomes vertical. This may cause aesthetic issues with some coatings in certain lighting conditions. Distortion is usually less visually-evident in smaller units, in which roller wave is horizontal.
Using thin plies of glass (e.g. 1/8” or 3mm lites) in insulating laminated units can create visual distortion.