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The Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) has recently released CAN/CGSB 12.1-2017, essentially removing traditional wired glass from its national building standards.
Traditional wired glass (GPW) was designed to provide fire resistance. Often mistaken for “safety glass”, wired glass actually breaks twice as easily as annealed (float) glass. Unfortunately, impacting wired glass is extremely hazardous, and it has caused horrific, life-changing injuries over the years – even death.
3M window film is a highly durable, optically clear polyester film which, when applied to glass, provides impact-safety protection by preventing glass penetration and containing glass fragments. Window film is regularly used by fire-rated glass companies in many of their products to provide impact-safety resistance. It is applied to existing windows & doors and is cost effective.
Vision panels in doors, sidelites adjacent to doors, large windows in common areas and gymnasium glass where human impact is likely, should be retrofitted with the proper safety film or replaced with fire-rated glass with safety-impact properties.
School Boards are proactively fortifying their glass to help improve the safety of students and staff.
School safety is now a critical topic of concern. Perimeter glass, especially on entrance way areas, continues to be an extremely vulnerable area in the security of the school envelope. Most schools do not have laminated glass. When non-laminated glass is impacted by an object, even shot at, the entrance way glass falls to the ground and access is nearly immediate.
3M window film is highly durable, optically clear polyester film which, when applied to glass, provides an invisible layer of protection. A bead of structural adhesive is applied to bond the filmed glass to the frame creating a “catch” system to contain shards in the event of breakage. The invisible system surprises intruders by making entry extremely difficult and noisy, pften thwarting the attempt.
From a vandalism perspective, 3M Security Film adds shatter resistance to the existing glass assembly. However, should the glass break, the film will hold the broken shards together and maintain a barrier from the outside preventing further damage from the elements such as rain. Broken filmed glass reduces disruption of classroom sessions, as any glass shards apparent would be on the exterior of the glass.
Olympus Window Films is an Authorized 3M Window Film Seller with professional 3M authorized installation in Toronto and the GTA. We offer both residential and commercial degradable film with expert solutions that provide increased safety, privacy, and sun protection.
Olympus Window Films is an Authorized 3M Window Film Seller with professional 3M authorized installation in Toronto and the GTA.