Safety First
By Kirsti Scott
Robin Blackman.
If you grew up in the time before cell phones, you might remember the windows in your classroom having thin wires running through them. Known originally as Georgian wired glass, this type of glass—with a wire mesh embedded within it during manufacturing—was patented in 1892 by Frank Shuman. For more than 100 years, wired safety glass was the only fire-rated glass available.
Jodie Greene. Diana Watkins.
If you have picked up a piece of glass with a wire mesh inside it, you have likely found a piece of this type of safety glass. The wires resemble twisted chicken wire or a grid of metal inside the wire. Where the metal is exposed to the air, there is often some rust.
Tarah Hoffmann.
The main benefit of wired glass is that if it breaks, the glass pieces are held in place by the wire. It also provides a barrier even when the glass is broken.
Cmglee. Simon Abrams.
Since glass can be broken by impact, fire, or other stresses, wired glass is used in fire-resistant and security windows, as well as in doors and windows in schools and industrial buildings. The drawbacks of wired glass are that it’s not as attractive as clear glass and the razor-sharp broken pieces of glass remain in place after the window is damaged, which can cause injury.
It was also expensive to replace, and the glass was actually weaker than ordinary window glass because the wire created multiple stress points in the glass.
Carol Roche. Susan Terry
In 2006, the United States International Building Code banned the use of wired glass where safety glass is required, and it can only be used in smaller sizes and in places that are not in hazardous locations. Today, windows in the U.S. are reinforced with a polycarbonate plastic mesh or the glass is laminated or tempered to make it stronger. Europe, Canada, and Australia still permit the use of wired glass, though Canada is working to restrict its use.
Tarah Hoffmann.
It won’t be long until this type of safety glass is no longer found by collectors on the beach.
This article appeared in Beachcombing Magazine Volume 45 November/December 2024
