- BrandBlock
Glass blocks for floors are normally cast into a reinforced concrete grid work or set into a metal frame, allowing multiple units to be combined to span over openings in basements and roofs. Walls Glass wall blocks should not be used in flooring applications. Hollow glass wall blocks are manufactured as two separate hemispheres and, whilst the glass is still molten, the two hemispheres are pressed together and annealed. The resulting glass blocks will have a partial vacuum at the hollow centre.
Specialist glass blocks are produced for various applications including:-
Bullet and vandal resisting; these blocks are generally solid glass or have very thick side walls similar to pavement blocks.
Fire resisting; fire resistance of varying degrees can be achieved by several methods. Standard production hollow wall block will offer little fire resistance, however, resistance is improved by utilising specially produced hollow blocks with thicker sidewalls, or the inclusion of a special layer of fire resisting material between the two hemispheres of the block during manufacture. Some manufacturers of glass blocks have developed a method of bonding two glass blocks together with adhesive, producing blocks of up to 160 mm (6½") thick with enhanced fire resistance. It is very important that the block manufacturer's recommendations are followed with regards to the installation of fire resisting glass block walls, as without special construction techniques, the wall will not achieve the desired fire resistance.