Heat soaked glass

Both standard toughened glass and heat-soaked toughened glass first undergo the same glass toughening process; they’re heated to a high temperature and rapidly cooled, creating surface compression that makes them considerably stronger than ordinary annealed glass. 

However, what makes them different is that heat-soaked toughened glass undergoes an additional quality-control step after toughening. 

During this additional process, it’s placed in a specialised chamber and subjected to a controlled thermal cycle to identify panes that may contain critical nickel sulphide inclusions. 

It doesn’t make an already toughened pane significantly stronger, but it does reduce the residual risk of spontaneous breakage, making it a safer alternative for a project that requires that extra level of safety. 

Therefore, heat-soaked toughened glass is needed where unexpected breakage could pose greater safety, access, or financial risks, including the following hard-to-reach installations:

• High-rise façades
• Overhead glazing and canopies
• External balconies
• Large commercial glazing panels
• Locations above public or high-traffic areas

Yes! We can supply heat-soaked laminated glass for architectural, commercial, and structural glazing applications, providing added strength where necessary. 

In addition to being tested to reduce the risk of spontaneous failure caused by nickel sulphide inclusions, the panes are bonded together with a specialist interlayer to create a laminated glass construction.

That means if one layer of glass breaks, the interlayer helps retain the broken fragments and maintain the panel’s integrity rather than allowing loose pieces to fall away and cause harm. Heat-soaked glass is beneficial for:

• Structural glass balustrades
• Balcony barriers
• Walk-on glass floors
• Glass stair treads
• Glazed canopies
• Overhead glazing
• Large façades

We can work with architects, contractors, developers, installers, and other trade customers to manufacture a suitable heat-soaked laminated glass for your project.

We’re an established UK safety glass manufacturer that supplies made-to-measure processed glass for residential, architectural, and commercial projects across the country.

As a business that’s been in the industry for years, we’ve perfected our processes, focusing on in-house manufacturing to oversee every aspect of our glass production to make sure it meets our high standards.

This means the glass can be cut, shaped, edge-worked, drilled, toughened, and heat-soak tested so it meets the specifications of your project, leaving you with a one-of-a-kind glass panel. 

We can support projects ranging from individual bespoke panels for homes to larger-volume commercial orders. We carry out the heat-soaking process in accordance with the relevant requirements of BS EN 14179-1, which covers the manufacture and characteristics of heat-soaked, thermally toughened soda-lime silicate safety glass for use in buildings.

No, heat-soaked glass isn’t always fire-rated glass, and neither should be confused with heat-resistant glass that’s designed for fireplaces, ovens, industrial equipment, or fire-protection systems.

‘Heat-soaked’ simply describes the manufacturing and testing process that reduces spontaneous breakage after the glass has been toughened. This type of glass isn’t designed to withstand heat for prolonged periods or to provide fire resistance. 

While toughened and heat-soaked glass generally offers better resistance to temperature changes than ordinary annealed glass, it doesn’t have a fire-resistance classification. 

Instead, fire-rated glass is specifically designed to resist flames, hot gases, and, in certain cases, heat transfer for a specified period. Similarly, glass used near stoves, fireplaces, or other hot areas may require a specialist ceramic or high-temperature glass product rather than standard heat-soaked safety glass.

No manufacturing process can guarantee that toughened glass will never break spontaneously.

However, heat-soak testing significantly reduces the risk posed by critical nickel sulphide inclusions by encouraging affected panes to fail within the controlled chamber. Yet, a small residual statistical risk remains.

Glass can also break for other reasons unrelated to nickel sulphide, such as damaged edges, incorrect installation, frame movement, excessive loading, impact, incompatible fixings or severe thermal stress, which can’t be completely prevented. 

No, heat-soaked glass has already been thermally toughened before it enters the heat-soak chamber, and once it’s been toughened, it can’t be cut, drilled, notched, or reshaped without the pane breaking.

That’s why all dimensions, holes, cut-outs, notches, and edge finishes must be confirmed before we begin manufacturing, so you receive a finished glass product ready for installation in your project.