Glass UK

22/07/2013

Glazed Walkway

22/07/2013

Curved Shower Screen - What a beautifull feature to add to your home - Not only practicall, but stunning.

22/07/2013

Glass Design's from heaven let natural light flood into your house

22/07/2013

GLASS UK's INNOVATIVE DESIGN

Glass UK pulls out a trick from their sleeve with a bespoke glass/stainless steel staircase in London.

17/12/2012

GLASS UK INVESTS IN NEW MITRED CORNER UNIT TECHNOLOGY

Glass UK (www.glass-uk.com) have invested in new metal and glass technology that enables them to manufacture beautifully finished, laminated, double-glazed, mitred glass corner units that can be accepted into a far smaller rebate, achieving far smaller sight lines.

Glass UK has been making laminated double mitred corner units for over a decade, but as Sales Director Warren Evans explains, the new technology enables them to create far more aesthetically pleasing units. “In the past corner units have been created with UV glued joints that provided little or no flexibility and which were susceptible to moisture ingress. This sometimes led to failure of the units over time. We have invested heavily in the next generation EVA lamination technique that is hydrophobic and therefore guarantees no moisture ingress, and which provides far greater flexibility within the joint, allowing the unit to move naturally without risking delamination,” he says.

To complement this Glass UK has also invested in a heavy duty metalwork mill. “Standard forming of angles and channels has meant that we have been restricted to creating angles and channels of comparatively large radius in the past,” explains Warren. “Commonly, folding an angle in 3mm stainless steel would mean a 6mm radius corner, which would increase the sight lines. The new mill enables us to remove 2.5mm of metal on the corner, without compromising the strength or integrity of the material, providing just 1mm thickness, which greatly enhances the aesthetic appeal.”

16/07/2012

LOCAL TEAM TURN COTSWOLD HOUSE INTO DREAM HOME

Jeremy and Carole Duckworth bought Swinbrook Cottage in the idyllic village of Swinbrook in 2004, putting down roots and establishing the foundations of a growing family. “Jeremy found the place and it really was love at first sight,” says Carole. “It could barely be more glorious, with a babbling brook running through the grounds, complete peace and tranquillity and brilliant transport links to London and the Midlands. I’m not sure we could have found anything that suited us more perfectly.”

Swinbrook Cottage was originally three adjoining cottages that were knocked through into one building in the 1940’s. When Jeremy and Carole arrived it was evident that the place would need a significant amount of refurbishing and modernising and, with a growing family, Jeremy and Carole decided that they could also benefit from extending the living space. They turned to Burford-based architect Christopher Davis Associates (01993 823646, [email protected]) and were immediately impressed with his professionalism and understanding. “We communicated our needs and aspirations to Christopher and he showed great enthusiasm in coming up with a plan to meet our objectives,” says Carole. Christopher introduced locally-based contractor Jonathan Davis of JND (07977 564451, [email protected])who he had worked successfully with on a number of similar projects.

The main objective was the need to create additional living space and there were two specific areas that fell within this – a perpendicular stone extension to the rear of the property to create a living room and kitchen and an adjoining conservatory, which was earmarked to be for relaxation and entertaining guests.

“Originally I had it mind that the conservatory should be in keeping with the materials and design of the original building, but Christopher put forward the idea of completely departing from this and going for a structural glass box. I was dubious about this to say the least, until I was taken to see a couple of other projects in the area JND had worked on, which had similar glazed extensions”, says Carole. “In the event, when we put the application for the planners they approved the structural glass extension but said they wouldn’t have approved a similar structure constructed of traditional materials or indeed had we wanted a more classical pitched roof style conservatory.”

“We have worked on a number of high specification restorations and refurbishments of listed buildings in the Cotswolds and have established a superb relationship with Glass UK (www.glass-uk.com), a company that pioneers structural glasswork,” says Jonathan Davies. “The great thing about them is that everything they do is fully bespoke. They have their own design team that works with the architect and the contractor to create a unique glass structure that looks beautiful, is engineered and manufactured to the highest standards and which fulfils the client’s objectives. We were very confident that they ‘d work with us and Christopher Davis to create something perfect for Jeremy and Carole, and so it has proved.”

After almost 12 months of toil, Swinbrook Cottage is now complete and Jeremy, Carole and their children have moved in and are enjoying their new surroundings. “The project has been a resounding success and the additional living space is absolutely perfect,” says Carole. “Without a doubt though, my favourite part is the glass conservatory. Natural light just floods in, it is an absolute joy to be there and it’s increasingly hard to sit anywhere else.”

16/07/2012

16/07/2012

Working with architect Lee-Evans Partnership (www.lee-evans.co.uk), and contractor Durtnells (www.durtnells.co.uk), Glass UK (www.glass-uk.com) has designed and installed two huge bespoke structural glass partitions and doors to create separate areas in the church.

The nave has been re-ordered to form a worship area, now separated from the new multi-use space in the former chancel by the minimally-framed partition set behind the rood screen and arches. This employs the latest technology: five 3.4m high structural glass panels can be made clear or translucent at the flick of a switch. To minimise visual intrusion, these panels themselves support four clear panels above, shaped to match the existing stone arches. This creates a continuous 7 metre-wide screen with a total height of almost 8 metres. The large central arch glazing was completed in only 2 units, each 2.1m wide x 4.5m high, designed so that the central joint is largely hidden from the worship area by the hanging crucifix.
In line with this main screen, one side-aisle has also been partitioned to form a separate area. The clear glass lower section of the screen consists of a pair of pivoted doors with side panels, while a stainless-steel clad cross-beam supports the 4.7m wide x 4.9m high upper section, completed in only three clear glass panels and shaped to sit within the existing stone arch.

It was the Architect's original intention that the screens were stiffened by glass fins and that the steel support structure be clad in oak, but by using laminated toughened glass in wide double glazed units for these screens, Glass UK were able to achieve structural stability without the use of obtrusive fins or deep frame sections, as well as improved acoustic separation. The quality of the finish was such that the Architect asked for the stainless steel pressings to be left exposed rather than clad.
Additional glasswork includes two internal doors with bespoke patch fittings to accommodate the radius of the stone lintels, and four individual clerestory panels, shaped to suit the existing stone arches.

27/03/2012

GLASS UK CLEAR WINNER OF THE APPRENTICE

If you find yourself admiring the Apprentice house as the show unfolds over the next few weeks, and wonder who was responsible for the stunning structural glass conservatory and all the extensive glasswork throughout the building, wonder no more.

The work was undertaken by the appropriately named Glass UK. As its name suggests, Glass UK is one of the country’s leading specialists in bespoke structural glass.

The Apprentice house, a Victorian terrace in Porchester Terrace, Notting Hill, London, is, in many ways, a typical project for Glass UK. The company was approached by the developer to take his plans for modernising the house, and the property next door, to fruition.

To the rear, the property features one of Glass UK’s trademark structural glass living spaces, specifically designed to combine the light sensation of being outdoors whilst providing a climate-controlled indoor environment. This perfectly mirrors an almost identical structure installed next door.

At a lower level is the glazed entrance to a swimming pool, created with Glass UK’s unique bespoke Sheerglaze double-glazed sliding door units, developed to provide a glass plane that is uninterrupted by protruding frames. These particular doors feature enormous 3.2m x 1.8m glass door units.

Inside, the swimming pool has a truly vast 6m x 1.8m toughened, monolithic engineered glass unit, installed as a screen to separate it from an adjoining room. Upstairs the house is bathed in natural light, courtesy of two further over-sized toughened, double-glazed glass units, mounted in the roof.

“We are delighted to see this property featured on the Apprentice, and, as with all our projects, are very proud of the work we have done there indeed,” says Glass UK Sales Director Warren Evans. “We assisted the developer in making his initial concepts tangible and engineered, manufactured and installed all the glass units. Glass UK remains the only company in Europe able to design, engineer and manufacture structural glass units of this size.”

11/01/2012

NEW ELECTRICALLY HEATED GLASS PERFECT FOR OHM IMPROVEMENT

Glass UK has announced the launch of EtaGlass a new electrically heated glass technology, which enables buildings to have far greater amounts of glass without increasing their energy use.

EtaGlass provides a simple room thermostat to control the temperature and can be specified in glass sizes of up to 6m in height. “Etaglass is designed to increase the amount of radiant heat because the cold face of a window always produces a chilly downdraught that causes people to turn up the room thermostat and waste energy,” explains Glass UK’s Sales Director Warren Evans. “The use of EtaGlass means that property owners can reduce air temperature while saving energy and increasing their comfort levels. We put some electrical energy into the glass and this can save significant amounts on the overall cost of heating. Other manufacturers can only offer heated glass in maximum sizes of 1200mm. Oversized glass panel sizes usually mean larger cold spots around the glass. EtaGlass allows structures to be designed with very large glass areas whilst maintaining comfort levels.”

As Warren explains, Glass UK has come up with EtaGlass following demand from architects and developers. “Our reputation has been established by working with architects to design, engineer and assemble fully bespoke structural glass projects on prestigious homes. Architects are always looking for ways to optimise the efficiency of their structures, especially when it comes to the use of heating energy. This is a technically simple solution that may dramatically reduce energy use and cost.”

The structural potential of glass is seldom appreciated: glass walls, doors, floors, roofs, staircases, conservatories and decorative panels can all be designed with their own structural integrity using only minimal secondary framework. This is the area in which we excel.