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The beauty and aesthetic benefits of a glass floor should be balanced by choosing the right type of glass, ensuring it has a surface designed to avoid slips and be strong enough to meet regulatory standards for flooring in British buildings.
The importance of daylighting for the health and wellbeing of building inhabitants, especially in a commercial office building, means that every element of your design should balance the need for natural light with the need for privacy and to avoid glare.
In many cases, working with the right suppliers, the right contractors and the right designers will ensure you get the right results, but here are five of the most common mistakes you need to avoid, and how to ensure they won’t affect the quality of your glass floor.
Not Understanding The Purpose Of Your Glass Floor
Every single flooring choice should be made based on how it will end up being used, and a common mistake is assuming that a glass floor is the best option in every situation.
If you are going to have a glass floor in your reception, for example, especially if you intend to incorporate underfloor lighting or some kind of aesthetic flourish, you need to ensure that it is built to withstand hundreds, if not thousands, of people walking through it a day.
This would need more strength and thicker glass than the decorative glass edging of a room with an otherwise solid floor.
Not Choosing The Right Type Of Glass
Not all glass is the same; every type of functional, structural glass is created using different methods, often using multiple layers of bonding, toughened glass and lamination to maintain a thoroughly robust surface area even if damaged.
Walk-on glass must be as strong as any other flooring surface, and to get that, you need to speak to the experts.
Choosing The Wrong Glass Floor Thickness
More specifically, your structural glass needs to be thick enough to support the loads of people standing on it.
Even if it does not immediately break, if a piece of glass feels unstable or as if it has the potential to shatter, the people in your building will feel unnerved and concerned.
The exceptionally cruel Taihang Mountain glass bridge prank shows the exact reactions you can expect if glass is not thick enough to feel robust.
Neglecting A Slip-Resistant Coating
Given that glass is inherently smooth, it can very quickly become slippery, especially on wet days when people are tracking in mud and moisture. This can cause liability issues as smooth glass is inadvertently a slip hazard.
There are ways to measure a slip-resistant floor, but the best way to avoid the issue is to apply a slip-resistant finish.
These can be additional layers, or chemical treatments that add a texture layer to the floor that makes it far easier to walk on.
Ignoring Regulatory Requirements
Specifically, your floor must conform to BS EN 1991:1-1-1 requirements for thickness, robustness, bracketing, support and anything else to ensure that it is fit for purpose and conforms to legal requirements.
