What are my primary options in fire-rated glass?
The glass product most often associated with fire rating is polished wired glass. It has provided fire protection for more than 100 years, and is frequently seen in schools, hospitals, and other high occupancy facilities. In North America, wired glass is typically rated for 45 minutes in light sizes up to 9 square feet (1,296 square inches), with a 60 and 90 minute ratings restricted to 100 square inches for use in fire doors. The biggest advantage of wired glass has been its low cost. However, its relatively low impact safety resistance and institutional look of the wire are sometimes considered drawbacks and with new building codes being adopted such as IBC 2006, traditional wired glass usage will be severely limited.
The glass product most often associated with fire rating is polished wired glass. It has provided fire protection for more than 100 years, and is frequently seen in schools, hospitals, and other high occupancy facilities. In North America, wired glass is typically rated for 45 minutes in light sizes up to 9 square feet (1,296 square inches), with a 60 and 90 minute ratings restricted to 100 square inches for use in fire doors. The biggest advantage of wired glass has been its low cost. However, its relatively low impact safety resistance and institutional look of the wire are sometimes considered drawbacks and with new building codes being adopted such as IBC 2006, traditional wired glass usage will be severely limited. A second type of fire-rated glazing is glass ceramic. Once installed, this wireless product looks similar to window glass. Glass ceramic products, such as those in the FireLite family, provide fire ratings from 20 minutes to 3 hours, and in sizes ranging up to 24 square
