Glazed doors are a great way to make your business look sleek, stylish, and modern. But when choosing glass for your storefront, you’ll need to consider factors like safety, esthetics, quality, and energy efficiency. Here are four types of glass to consider for your commercial doors.

Tempered glass

Tempered glass is four times stronger than standard annealed glass. The thermal tempering process allows it to withstand extremely high temperatures, impacts, blows, scratches, strong winds, and other weather events. It’s less susceptible to breakage than other kinds of glass. When it does break, tempered glass shatters into small, harmless pieces, unlike annealed glass that breaks into sharp shards.

Clear tempered glass is the way to go if you want to showcase your goods to passersby. For more privacy or to shield your storefront from the hot, bright sun, choose tempered glass that’s tinted. You can also purchase frosted tempered glass that allows plenty of light in but distorts identifying details.

Laminated glass

Laminated glass is made of two sheets of annealed glass chemically bonded to either side of a strong film made of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), or thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). This film seals the pieces together, making them very difficult to break. If the glass does break, it stays in one piece instead of shattering into razor-sharp pieces. Therefore, laminated glass can help protect your business from weather damage and vandalism.

Laminated glass also helps shield your business from the harmful effects of UV rays by preventing your floors, carpets, furniture, wall hangings, and more from fading. Some manufacturers can add additional layers of glass and film during the manufacturing process to enhance the protection. Once the laminated glass is about five centimetres thick, it becomes bulletproof. This may be a consideration if your business requires a high level of security.

Insulated glass

Insulated glass consists of at least two panes of glass separated by an inert gas like argon or krypton. You can also opt for insulated glass with three or four panes of glass. Argon and krypton gas are widely used for insulating glass because they’re inexpensive, colourless, odourless, and non-toxic. For further protection, the gas between each pane of glass acts as a shock absorber to protect your business against inclement weather and intruders.

The layer of gas between the windowpanes also helps prevent heat loss, allowing you to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature all year round. Insulated glass also helps reduce the amount of ultraviolet and infrared light that enters your business, allowing you to save money on your energy bills.

In addition, insulated glass provides good sound deadening to help you create a more peaceful ambiance in your building. Your business won’t be disrupted by outside noises, so the visitor experience is improved.

Fire-rated glass

If your business requires fire protection, look no further than PYRAN® Platinum. This product is the first eco-friendly, fire-rated glass-ceramic because it’s manufactured without the use of hazardous heavy metals, antimony, or arsenic.

Unlike other fire-rated glass-ceramic products with a distracting amber tint, PYRAN® Platinum is colourless and highly transparent. It’s also available in filmed and laminated versions for added impact resistance.

PYRAN® Platinum installed in commercial pedestrian doors effectively prevents the spread of fire, smoke, and hot gases for up to 180 minutes, allowing your building’s occupants ample time to exit in an emergency.

The team at Creative Door Services^TM can help you customize your pedestrian doors to make your business attractive and secure.

Discover the Best Commercial Doors in Western Canada

If you want your business to stand out, Creative Door Services^TM can help. We carry a wide range of commercial pedestrian doors customizable for material, colour, glazing, and more.

Our accessible door hardware and accessories bring together the entire look of your storefront. We provide professional installation, maintenance, and repair services for automatic and manual pedestrian doors, ensuring the safety and security of your business for years to come.

Contact us today to learn more about our products and services or get a free quote. You can find us in Kelowna, British Columbia; Vancouver, British Columbia; Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; Fort McMurray, Alberta; Regina, Saskatchewan; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.