HomeTeam Inspection Louisville, Kentucky offers the most comprehensive home inspection service in Jefferson and Oldham counties, Ky. We use a team of professionals and home inspectors, including a licensed hvac technician. We also offer mold, termite, and radon testing in addition to home inspections. We are fully licensed and insured and add value to your home buying decision.
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Today we'll take a look at a subject that is often overlooked by many homebuyers, and that is glass safety. In particular, we'll take a look via some videos at tempered glass and one area in which a film covering serves a similar purpose.
So what is tempered glass, and where should it be? I'm glad you asked. If you're as old as I am or older, you remember (old) automobile windshields that would crack and shatter and become a tremendous hazard to the occupants. Car windshields were "tempered" with a process that essentially changes the properties from shattering to cracking but staying in one piece. It's an addition of a plastic that allows the transformation, and it's been quite helpful in keeping rock strikes from becoming disastrous events while traveling at 70 mph on the highway.
Windows in houses began to get some of the same treatment a few decades ago, although building codes have not mandated the changes until the last 10-20 years or so, and the process is a little different. Tempered glass for domestic use is heated and then cooled very rapidly, making it approximately 4 times harder than normal glass. The new properties cause it to "dice" into tiny pieces rather than in long, dangerous daggers of glass.
Local building codes vary, so I will speak in broad generalities here. Recall that a home inspection is not a code inspection, but we do look for safety items, and in my company this is something we look for.
Generally, we look for tempered glass to be in any bathroom areas (you don't want shattered glass around when you are naked and with slippery floors; this is a no-brainer) or in areas where somebody might fall into a big window. That's it. For parameters, we generally consider high risk areas as being near walkways (within 3 ft or so), a window that is over 9 square feet in area, and one which is close to the ground (less than 18 inches). Also, doors should have tempered glass (think "slam").
So how do you know if the window you're looking at has tempered glass? It is required to have an etching near the base with all sorts of info on it. Basically, if the glass is etched, you're probably OK.
If you have an older home or a home that does not have tempered glass in areas you think should, you can alternatively add a film to the window. The film can be decorative, tinted, clear, whatever- the point is to help prevent the window from shattering into jagged shards and hurting somebody.
Check out the vids below for more information.
And as always, contact the professionals at HomeTeam Inspection for all of your home inspection needs in Louisville and southern Indiana.
