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Archive for June, 2011

We are surrounded by lots of types of glasses everywhere. Here I want to give you some information about the glass and their different types.

Float Glass is a term for perfectly flat, clear glass. The production method, introduced in the UK by Sir Alastair, Pilkington in the late 1950′s is still being used today and 90% of flat glass is manufactured using this process.

Body-tinted is a normal float-clear glass into whose melt colorants are added for tinting and solar-radiation absorption properties. This reduces heat penetration in buildings. Coloured glass is an important architectural element for the exterior appearance of shades. It is also used in interior decoration (doors, partitions, staircase panels, mirrors).

Reflective Glass is an ordinary float glass with a metallic coating to reduce solar heat. This special coating also produces a mirror effect, preventing subject from seeing through the glass. It is mainly used in facades.

Low-E Glass is a low-emission clear glass with a microscopically thin coating of metal oxide. This allows the sun’s heat and light to pass through into the building, but at the same time blocks heat from leaving the room, thereby reducing heat loss considerably.

Mirrors are commonly made of glass with a smooth, polished surface.

Insulating Glass is a multi-glass combination consisting of two or more glass panes. Its’ most important function is to reduce thermal losses, transparency by reducing incidence of condensation on the warm air side, and the possibility of using larger glazed areas without increasing energy consumption.

Enamelled/Screen Printed is a decorative glass, is tempered or heat-strengthened, one face of which is covered, either partially or totally, with mineral pigments. It is also a solar ray controller, and is used for glazing and for cladding in facades and roofs. It can be assembled into laminated glass or gazed insulation.

Patterned is an imperfectly smooth structure with different patterns impressed on it. The depth, size and shape of the patterns determine the magnitude and direction of reflection. Patterned glass usually transmits only slightly less light than clear glass. It can be used for interior design and decorations, furniture, windows etc.

Photovoltaic is a special glass with integrated solar cells, to convert solar energy into electricity. This means that the power for an entire building can be produced within the roof.

Electro-chromic is an energy-saving component for building that can change colour on command. It works by passing low-voltage electrical charges across a very thin coating on the glass surface, activating an electro-chromic layer which changes colour from clear to dark.

Liquid crystal glazing is laminated glass with a minimum of two clear or coloured sheets of glass and a liquid crystal film, assembled between at least two plastic layers. In the off state, the liquid crystals are not aligned, which prevent vision, yet allows light to pass through the glass. When it is switched on, the liquid crystals align, turning the glass transparent and allowing vision through the glass. The change of transparency takes place within milliseconds. Liquid crystal glazing is designed for internal applications, including partitions, display cases, bank screens etc.

Self-cleaning is an ordinary float glass with a special photo-catalytic coating. It is made by chemically bonding and integrating a microscopically thin surface layer to the exterior surface of clear glass. This type of glass also has Hydrophilic-properties, meaning that rain flows down as a sheet, washing away the dirt instead of leaving it behind as with normal glass.

Tempered (Toughened) is two or more times stronger than annealed glass. When broken, it is shatters into many small fragments, which prevent major injuries.

Fire-resistant Glass can be classified in two categories, (1) heat transmitting glass that contains flames and inflammable gas for short period of time, but does not prevent the transmission of heat to the other side of glazing, e.g. wired glass, reinforced laminated glass. (2) Fire-insulating glass contains the flames and inflammable gas for longer period and prevents not only the transmission of flames and smoke but also of heat to the other side.

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In many homes, there are many areas with ceramic tile. Perhaps it’s your shower area, your bathroom sink or floors. It could be your kitchen counters, your kitchen floors, your backsplash, or even your entryway. Ceramic tiles are beautiful and cost efficient. But what do you do when your beautifully tiled area has one broken tile? Don’t worry, this is a VERY easy fix. Here is an easy article on how to replace your broken tile.

Materials/Tools Needed:

Grout Saw

Latex Tile Adhesive

Hammer

Chisel

Spatula for applying adhesive

Trowel/Spatula for applying Grout

Sponge

Matching replacement tile

Matching grout

The first thing you will need to do is grab your grout saw. Saw through the tile around all four sides of the tile. This should be fairly easy, but try not to cut into the grout surrounding other tiles.

Next, you will need to break up the tile. You can do this by placing a chisel on top of the tile and hitting the end of the chisel with your hammer. Once it’s broken, use your same chisel to get under the tile and remove it. Also, use this chisel to remove all of the adhesive that is below it. Make sure that you get up all of this adhesive. If there are pieces left behind it could effect the new tile, making it uneven with the others.

Once your old tile and old adhesive is up, you will need to get your new tile. Hopefully, you have some extras laying around from when the tiles were first laid. If not, you’ll have to replace with the closest match you can find at the store or on the internet. I’ve also seen some people get creative, creating a new pattern if they don’t have matching tiles. For example, if all of the tiles are a light color of blue but you don’t have and cannot find an exact match, then you can replace that tile, and every third tile after it, with a dark blue.

Now, you will need to spread the latex tile adhesive onto the back of this replacement tile with a spatula, trying your best to get it evenly spread out. Place the tile down into the gap you’ve created where it will go.

Lastly, spread your grout into the joints around the tile, removing any excess with a damp sponge. Again, you want this grout to match the rest of the grout as closely as possible. However, often there will be a bit of a difference as the older grout will have changed slightly in color with age. There’s nothing that can really be done about this, but the difference will fade over time.