All you need to know about Hurricane Resistant Glazing
In locations where hurricane storms are a seasonal occurrence, hurricane resistant glazing is essential to the overall performance of a structure and therefore mandated by local building regulations and safety codes all over the world.
This guide will explain what can be achieved with the latest hurricane resistant glazing technologies and detail what considerations need to be made to ensure the best application of hurricane resistant glass elements in a structure.
Hurricane Resistant Sliding Glass Doors
With ultra slim sightlines of just 26mm, our hurricane resistant sliding glass doors make up the ideal configurations for modern and contemporary architecture projects in hurricane prone areas all over the world.
This near frameless design was achieved through the rigorous testing of our triple glazed sliding doors, to ensure their strength and stability against the wind, rain, and overall impact of hurricane storms. While undergoing the cyclic wind pressure test TAS 201, 202, and 203, our ultra slim sliding glass doors have proven to withstand wind pressures up to 3510 Pa, thus achieving hurricane resistant approval all the way back in 2014 at the Rosenheim institute in Germany.
Hurricane Resistant Glass Walls
Glass walls are achieved through three possible configurations: fixed structural glass, oversized sliding glass doors, or a combination of the two. When specified as hurricane resistance glazing, IQ’s own Invisio structural glazing system provides strength and stability as the glass panes are toughened and laminated in a triple glazed configuration for extra support. This means that no matter the desired design, all three types of glass walls can be tailor made to hurricane resistant specifications.
Hurricane Resistant Glazing Locations
Hurricane resistant glazing is of course more commonly specified in areas of the world where hurricane storms are a seasonal occurrence, affecting ocean facing and island projects spanning from the Channel Islands to the Caribbean, and beyond. For instance, in a largely coastal location such as Florida, USA, properties within just one mile of the coastline are required to have impact resistant and wind resistant glazing installed to withstand wind speeds upwards of 140mph, if not greater; therefore, is it imperative to consider and communicate a site’s proximity to the coast, as well as the reach hurricane storms might have in a project’s area, so that glass units may be engineered to the appropriate specifications.
Specifying Hurricane Resistant Glazing
Communicating a structure’s exposure to hurricane storms in the early design stages, be they due to coastal or internal extreme climates, is essential in specifying hurricane resistant glazing for your projects. Once the wind load details are provided, IQ’s own team of experts will design, engineer and install bespoke hurricane resistant glass configurations specifically suited for your projects all around the world.
To enquire about hurricane resistant glazing for your next project, or if you have any further questions, contact the IQ team today.
