I was reading an old trade journal and found out glass used to be way thicker for storefronts.

I was looking through some old Glazier's Journal magazines from the 1970s at a used bookstore. One article was talking about the standard for commercial storefront glass back then. It said they often used 1/2 inch thick plate glass as a minimum for big windows. That really surprised me because now we're mostly putting in 1/4 inch tempered or maybe 3/8 inch for bigger lites. The article said the shift started in the 80s with better tempering and laminating, which let them use thinner glass safely. It makes sense when you think about it, but I never realized the change was that big. I guess the old stuff was a beast to handle. Has anyone here actually had to remove and replace some of that original thick plate from an old building?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_jenkins24d ago

That old thick glass was a nightmare to remove and weighed a ton.

tarajenkins4d ago

Yeah evan_jenkins, that weight is no joke when you're trying to carry it out.

avery89724d agoTop Commenter

Actually it's the weight that makes it easier to remove in some ways. That thick glass is usually held in with putty, and the weight helps break the seal when you push from inside. The real pain is the thin modern stuff that flexes and cracks if you breathe on it wrong.

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