Glass canopies can provide shelter above entrances, walkways and other external areas while maintaining a clean, open appearance.
Because canopy glazing is installed overhead, choosing the correct glass is particularly important. Safety, strength, glass retention and the way the canopy is supported all need to be considered as part of the specification.
For installers and trade customers, this means selecting glass based on the complete canopy design rather than appearance or thickness alone.
This guide explains the main safety glass options for glass canopies and what should be considered when specifying toughened or laminated glass for an overhead application.
A canopy places glazing above people and surrounding areas, making safety an essential part of the specification.
The glass needs to be suitable for the loads and conditions it will experience while also providing appropriate behaviour if breakage occurs.
This makes canopy glazing different from choosing glass primarily for appearance.
Panel dimensions, support, fixings and the overall canopy structure can all influence which glass specification is appropriate. External conditions also need to be considered as part of the complete design.
The appropriate glass depends on the canopy design and required performance.
Toughened and laminated glass are two important safety glass options. They provide different characteristics and can also be combined where a project requires both increased strength and retention after breakage.
Glasscraft manufactures both toughened glass and laminate glass for a range of applications.
The final specification should always be based on the requirements of the individual canopy system.
Toughened glass provides significantly increased strength compared with standard glass.
Glasscraft’s toughened glass undergoes a controlled heat treatment process. If breakage occurs, the glass fragments into small, blunt pieces rather than the large, sharp shards associated with standard glass.
This provides important safety characteristics and makes toughened glass suitable for a range of demanding glazing applications.
However, strength and breakage pattern are not the only considerations for overhead glazing. The way the glass behaves after breakage also needs to be considered when specifying a canopy.
Laminated glass is produced by bonding two or more layers of glass together with an interlayer.
Glasscraft’s laminated glass uses a PVB interlayer between the glass layers. If breakage occurs, the interlayer helps hold the fragments together rather than allowing them to separate freely.
This retention characteristic is particularly relevant when considering glazing positioned above people.
Different laminated glass configurations can be manufactured depending on the level and type of performance required.
The position of canopy glazing means the consequences of glass falling after breakage need to be considered carefully.
Laminated glass is designed to help retain broken fragments through its interlayer. This provides different post-breakage behaviour to monolithic toughened glass, which fragments when it fails.
For an overhead application, the appropriate post-breakage performance should form part of the overall safety assessment.
This is one reason why glass type should never be chosen solely by comparing the strength of individual products.
Toughened laminated glass combines toughened glass with laminated construction.
The glass layers undergo the toughening process to provide increased strength before being combined with an interlayer.
This can provide the strength and breakage characteristics associated with toughened glass alongside the retention characteristics of laminated glass.
For demanding applications such as canopies, this combination may form part of the required specification. The exact glass build-up still needs to be determined according to the canopy design and performance requirements.
Toughened and laminated glass provide different safety characteristics.
Toughened glass offers increased strength and breaks into small, blunt fragments if failure occurs.
Laminated glass incorporates an interlayer that helps retain fragments following breakage.
For canopy applications, these differences are important because the specification needs to consider both resistance to loads and behaviour after breakage.
In some systems, toughened laminated glass may be specified to combine characteristics from both types of safety glass.
There is no single glass thickness that is suitable for every canopy.
The required specification can depend on factors including:
A larger or differently supported panel may require a different specification from a smaller canopy, even when the installations appear similar.
For this reason, glass thickness should be determined from the requirements of the individual canopy rather than selected using a general rule.
Yes. The way canopy glass is supported forms an important part of the overall design.
Different systems may support the glass at particular points, edges or through other structural arrangements. This affects how loads are transferred through the glass and supporting structure.
The glass therefore needs to be compatible with the fixing system being used.
Installers should work from the requirements of the complete canopy design rather than treating the glass and supporting hardware as separate specifications.
Glass canopies are external structures, so the specification needs to account for the loads applicable to the individual project.
These will depend on factors such as the canopy dimensions, location, support system and structural design.
The glass should not be selected based simply on what has been used for another canopy.
Project-specific requirements need to be established so that the glass build-up, dimensions and supporting system are appropriate for the intended installation.
Appearance can form part of the canopy specification, but decorative requirements should not override safety or structural performance.
Depending on the design, different glass finishes may be possible while maintaining the required safety glass construction.
Any additional processing or decorative treatment needs to be compatible with the specified glass and intended application.
For installers, the starting point should therefore be establishing the required safety and structural performance before considering additional visual features.
Before ordering glass for a canopy, consider:
These factors should be considered together as part of the complete canopy design.
Where structural or safety requirements are specified by the project designer or system supplier, the glass should be manufactured to that specification.
A glass canopy is a safety-critical application.
Selecting a glass type or thickness based solely on appearance or previous installations may not provide the performance required for a particular project.
The glass, interlayer, fixings and supporting structure all contribute to the completed canopy.
For installers and trade customers, working from the project’s specified requirements helps ensure the glass supplied is appropriate for the intended application.
Glasscraft manufactures toughened and laminated glass for a wide range of processed glass applications.
For glass canopy projects, toughened glass provides increased strength and safer breakage characteristics, while laminate glass provides the additional benefit of helping retain fragments following breakage.
The correct solution depends on the individual canopy design. Panel dimensions, glass build-up, support, loads and post-breakage requirements should all be considered before the glass is specified.
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