What is Plate Glass? Understanding Plate Glass and the Transition to Float Glass

Fun glass fact: Glass started being used over 4000 years ago by the ancient Egyptians. It wasn’t used in construction though, but was used to enclose small objects. The Romans became master glass craftsman a little bit later, their methods went on to be used all the way up until the 18th century. It wasn’t until the 19th century that glass became popularized and used in common, everyday construction.

 

What is Plate Glass? Understanding Glass Types Part 1

What is Plate Glass? Understanding Glass Types Part 2

Plate glass is made of several types of raw materials such as water, silica sand, soda ash, dolomite, limestone, nepheline syenite, salt cake, and potentially others. Plate Glass is thick, fine-quality glass, it’s typically used for doors and store windows. It gets its names from how it’s made, which is originally cast in plates. People often refer to any type of window that’s not stained or decorative as a Plate Glass window. In all actuality, most glass windows are not Plate Glass at all, it’s usually “Float Glass”. Genuine Plate Glass is rarely used today. The diverse types of glass will vary in trait and manufacturing process, these variations will ultimately determine what type of glass it is. Plate Glass truly was the industry standard between the 1920’s and the 1960’s. Plate glass that was made before the 1920’s was basically hand-crafted by true glass craftsman, or Glaziers. These men were skilled craftsman that made beautiful hand-made glass. The glass they produced was valuable then, and extremely valuable now. In our modern day in age we manufacture glass in very different way.

Float Glass, the New Plate Glass

Float Glass is manufactured through industrial process that produces it more efficiently, faster, and with less man-made flaws. Using recycled glass in this industrial process is quite common in the 21st century. The entire process is done with machines, humans simply overseeing the manufacturing process. Float Glass has a much smoother surface and requires a lot less finishing work when compared to the old-school Plate Glass manufacturing process. Float Glass is typically used in most residential and commercial glass projects. This is due to it being far less expensive than the Plate Glass manufacturing process. Today, is far likelier that you’ll receive a Float Glass piece of glass opposed to a Plate Glass product. The primary difference between these two types of glass is the manufacturing process, texture, price, and overall finish of the glass product. A Cutting Edge Glass & Mirror embraces the history of our amazing trade. Our goal is to provide you with the best glass services and industry information. We understand that an informed buyer is a happy buyer. This article was brought to by the glass professionals at A Cutting Edge Glass & Mirror of Las Vegas, Nevada.