Adding a touch of Modern Flare with Folding Glass Doors

Are Glass Walls Built for Harsh Climates? 

Modern building architecture use glass walls extensively.  This is primarily because Glass walls helps to bring in light and warmth into the building this saving energy costs making it eco friendly.  Glass also allows those inside the building to have panoramic view of the outside and this is especially great when the building is located at a scenic place.

While glass walls open up buildings to outside nature, the main concern for the architect is whether these are sturdy enough to protect the occupants. Would the improvement be at the cost of safety and security of your family?  Would the glass architecture be able to withstand the harsh treatment by nature?

Modern day Glass Wall manufacturers are confident that their products have high level of safety and security.  State of the art manufacturing techniques are ensuring that the glass walls are virtually unbreakable and can withstand high pressure impacts and temperature variations.  It is now possible to install folding walls which are capable of enduring and performing in harsh winter in high-altitudes as well as strong winds in hurricane zones.

The standards set for such folding glass door systems are quite stringent.  The folding glass walls and accessories undergo vigorous tests to ensure that they pass the high standards for structural load, water penetration and air infiltration.  In fact, due to these benchmarks, the Glass walls are actually safer and more secure than the conventional ones.

The Glass Wall manufacturers even claim that their products proved their worth during the Hurricane Sandy in North America when the glass walls helped save many people due to their capability to resist wind damage and water infiltration.  Nevertheless, while selecting glass walls, one should ensure that they have been tested, labeled and rated by NFRC.

There are different methods of installing folding Glass Walls.  This include outswing, inswing, segmented curves and open corners, which can be opted depending on your requirement. 

Due to high safety and impact resistant standards currently prevailing in Glass Wall manufacturing, you can now install them to bring in nature and sunshine to your house and be confident that they are strong enough to protect you during harsh weather.

Opening up to Nature with Folding Glass Walls

Bring in Nature to Your Home with Folding Glass Walls

Modern architectural designs focus on making the building nature friendly by bringing in maximum amount of sunshine and fresh air.  Movable glass walls play an important part in helping the architects and designers to evolve a building design which is modern as well as nature friendly. 

Glass walls are reinforced glass panels which can be moved using a stainless steel rolling system.  These folding glass walls can be moved open easily to reveal the outside scenery as well as to allow sun and fresh air inside the building.  During adverse weather conditions of colder nights these glass walls can be closed to insulate the interiors and protect those inside the building.  Being made of strengthened glass which can withstand high impact, these walls are even stronger and durable than the traditional walls and partitions.

Movable glass walls render a modern and elegant look to the interiors as well as exteriors of the building. If you have a waterfront property, you can take maximum advantage of it using movable glass walls which provide unhindered panoramic view of the nature’s beauty.  This is especially good for establishments such as restaurants and shops to attract visitors. People often prefer places where they can dine or shop while enjoying a beautiful view such as lake.  Glass walls also provide a feeling of being one with nature even while enjoying the privacy and protection of being inside a building.

It is also possible to use movable glass walls to open up rooms in the homes to your backyard garden. In apartments and condominiums these glass walls can be used to merge the balconies with living rooms to enjoy sun and fresh air and enjoy a panoramic view of the cityscape.

By using glass walls you can also save on your energy costs on lighting and air conditioning.  Movable glass walls can be opened to allow fresh breeze to cool your home during warm months and cut down costs on air conditioning.  During colder months, these glass walls insulate and protect from the chill while allowing the sun to warm the insides of the room thus saving on heating. 

Opt for movable glass walls to make your home modern and trendy while being nature friendly and green.

Modernize your House with Sliding Glass Walls

Advantages of Using Glass Walls to Modernize Your Home

The concept of using Glass Walls in residential buildings is catching up among modern home designers and architects.  This is because they are becoming aware of several advantages of using glass to divide spaces. 

When you use traditional walls, you are confined to use available space according to the predefined house layout.  Using sliding glass wall systems frees you from such restrictions. Movable Glass walls allows you to adapt and change space requirements according to need without building additional walls.  Since total space availability is limited in modern houses and apartments, this is a boon for new home owners.

Glass walls are transparent and bring in natural light.  On the other hand, opaque traditional walls make the rooms appear constricted.  You can now use the available space efficiently for different purposes, without blocking the free flow of natural light, by using movable glass walls.  You can now combine and expand the available space for conducting parties using movable walls when needed, and then revert back afterwards.

When you are planning to renovate your house and make changes in your floor plan, you can opt for movable glass walls.   This would help you to optimize the use of available space for different purposes. Movable glass walls render the feeling of openness for the house, which is required as modern day houses are becoming smaller.  It is now possible for you to compartmentalize the available floor space without constructing permanent walls and thus sacrificing open airy feel.

Another advantage is that movable glass walls can blend into any type of interior decoration of the homes. They are mounted with adjustable brackets on discreet rails on floor and can be easily moved or folded.  You can also find movable Glass walls hung on overhead guide tracks fixed on the ceilings.

If you want to create separate spaces adaptable for different purposes while maintaining the openness of the available spaces the best option would be to use movable glass wall partitions.

Insulated Glass Walls for Cold Climates

How to Keep Your Window and Doors Well Insulated

Monarch Glass Walls

Irrespective of all the amenities and facilities which you can think of to make a house or apartment luxurious, the most vital aspect which makes a house livable is the insulation it provides from harsh weather conditions.  This is especially significant in areas where the weather variations are extreme.  Providing good insulation is vital for getting full benefit from the heating and cooling system of the home.  In addition to this, a fully insulated house would help you to save a substantial amount from heating and cooling charges.

There are two important functions of a good insulation.  Firstly, insulation should help to trap the heat inside so that the house is kept warm during cold seasons.  Secondly a good insulation should be able to keep the house cool during summer by not permitting heat inside.  Another benefit of insulating a house is to keep the inmates protected from adverse weather conditions.  The thermal conductivity of insulating materials is measured using R values and the aim should be to get maximum R value.

If you want to keep your house well insulated, you need to focus on adequately insulating your doors and windows.  It is normally through doors and windows that air movement happens thus adversely affecting the heating and air conditioning.  Even without any movement of air, the heat can easily penetrate through the glass of doors or windows during summer and the heat from inside can also escape during cold seasons.

While constructing a new home or renovating an existing one, you need to give prime importance to check and ensure that the insulation is properly done.  This would include insulating materials inside walls, floor and roof.  However, the most important places to properly check would be the doors and windows. 

The R value of a house can significantly improve by making changes to doors and windows. This would include double glazing or coating the glass with insulating materials.  One of the modern methods to get full benefit of outside view, openness and natural light while keeping the house fully insulated is to install glass walls.  As compared to normal glass and even traditional partitions, glass walls have very high level of insulation while retaining the transparency of glass.  Glass walls also keep the house fully secured and protected from natural elements and insects. 

Implementing Glass Wall Partitions in a Home

Modern Houses and Glass Wall Partitions

Due to limitations of space, especially in metropolitan cities, modern apartments tend to be increasingly smaller and also there is a limitation in getting natural lighting.  Hence, the current trend is to make maximum use of available natural light and adopt interior themes which make the space look open and expansive.  Both these objectives can be achieved by judicious use of glass partitions.

Glass partitions are available made with clear or textured glass. In addition, you can also obtain them in different tints, shades and colors.  Let us discuss the various uses of glass partitions.

One of the preferred methods adopted by designers to make the apartments roomier is to go for an open floor plan.  This is made possible by using glass walls or dividers.  These dividers can be of clear, textured or stained glass. Textured glass can provide privacy and can be used in areas such as bedrooms and bath.  However since they are translucent, you may not be able to take maximum advantage of natural light. 

If your apartment is smaller in space, traditional walls can make it appear even smaller.  Use of Glass partitions instead of traditional walls would render the feeling of space even in cramped spaces.  You can use glass partitions between dining room and kitchen, living room and kitchen, bedroom and living room etc. depending on the requirements of each apartment.  Use of glass partitions can make both the room appear considerably bigger. In case you want to introduce an element of privacy, you can still use curtains, which can be drawn in when required.

The advantage of using stained glass is that they provide privacy in specific areas, while allowing the light to permeate. Stained glass would be ideal to separate a bedroom and attached bathroom. In single room apartments stained glass can be used to create sleeping space with privacy.  You can also use a stained partition to keep the clutter out of children’s room by making a separate play area.

Glass walls are great for separating and allocating spaces in offices and apartments. Glass partitions are available in panels with metal or wooden frame.  These types of walls can be used to separate balconies and living areas to bring in natural light and fresh air.  Movable glass walls are ideal in apartments as they can provide a panoramic view of the surroundings and provide seamless integration between interior and exterior areas of an apartment.

These are some of the reasons why it is trendy to use glass partitions in modern apartments and offices.

Schools Encourage the use of Movable Glass Walls

Use of Movable Walls in Institutes of Learning

Recently there has been an unprecedented increase in the demand for glass walls in educational institutions.  The architects and designers are incorporating use of various types of automated glass walls while designing and constructing buildings for schools, colleges and universities.  Glass walls are also being used in constructing art centers, auditoriums and dance studios.

Use of movable glass walls has a number of benefits.  Glass walls can help you maximize the use of space.  Movable glass walls can be used to enlarge or reduce space as per the requirements.  They also provide flexibility, for adjusting and reallocating the available space according to the changing requirements.

Most of the automatic movable glass walls have very high acoustic and smoke related rating.  These glass walls can thus provide complete privacy to individual divided spaces which is essential in educational environments, especially in class rooms.  The acoustic insulation ensures that the students are not disturbed from sounds coming from outside and also others are not affected due to activities in the class rooms.  The smoke related rating ensures the fire safety of the building.

One type of glass walls which is used often in educational institutions is the one which can is housed in the cavities in the ceiling.  The advantage is that these glass walls can be lowered when required and they do not affect the floor space.  These glass walls can be lowered and raised with the touch of a button.

These glass walls are manufactured with toughened glass.  They are highly durable, resist wear and tear and have a very long life span. Since they are not manually handled, they are not easily damaged while using.  This is the reason they are safe and ideal for use in educational institutions where there is continuous activity. 

Most of the educational institutions are situated in serene and naturally beautiful surroundings.  The glass walls can help provide a good view of the surrounding landscape, which is ideal to create an atmosphere conducive for learning.

These are some of the reasons why the trend of using glass walls are catching up while constructing new educational buildings and also while modifying and renovating existing buildings. 

Beautify your Building with Glass Walls

Luxury Renovations at Half the Cost

The trend of renovation of existing properties to transform them to reflect the modern style and trend is catching on.  In addition to making the buildings better these renovations are also aimed at increasing the value of these properties so that they can fetch a better price when sold.  Due to the current recession in economy, a number of people rather prefer to renovate their existing homes than going for new houses.  Also, renovation of existing homes helps them sell it at a better price for upgrading the lifestyle or for adjusting for retirement.  Houses are renovated also to make them comfortable for retirement living.

Glass walls are playing an important part in renovations as well as new constructions these days.  One of the main reasons for this is the ability of glass walls to make the rooms appear more open and spacious.  This is especially relevant where internal area of houses and apartments is limited.  Glass walls also help in the house or apartment look modern and trendy.  Glass walls also facilitate in lighting and heating the room using natural sunlight thus reducing electricity charges and expenditure for heating.  The glass walls are made of reinforced and treated glass which makes them virtually unbreakable and sturdy to withstand extreme weather conditions.

Those who have houses cottages in mountains or lake side with a fantastic view are increasingly opting for replacing the regular walls with glass walls.  This helps to maximize the use of sunlight inside their homes.  Those residing in these cottages and their guests are also able to fully enjoy the surrounding natural splendor through these transparent glass walls. These glass walls are also helping in providing these houses a sense of expansive space.

Modern Glass Walls are treated with coatings which protect those inside from harmful UV radiation.  Such tinted glass walls also can protect the furnishings inside the house from getting damaged due to harsh sunrays.  Double panel glass walls with gas inside are also available for providing full protection and insulation for those inside from excessive cold or heat outdoors.  Different types of glass walls are available which can be selected according to your needs for privacy, comfort and safety.

Glass walls are equally good for public buildings such as schools.  These help in creating open floor plan as well as modifying floor plan as per requirements.  The exterior glass walls would help provide panoramic view of the surrounding scenery to those inside creating a good atmosphere for study or other activities.  The glass walls also help the institution look modern and thus enhance its popularity.