Laminated Glass for Custom Steel Windows & Doors
What Is Laminated Glass?
Laminated glass is more difficult to penetrate than standard annealed or tempered glass of the same thickness, since a forced-entry attempt has to work through both the glass and the interlayer rather than a single brittle layer. This is a general property of laminated construction. Studio Steel does not currently hold a specific forced-entry rating (such as ASTM F588) for its assemblies; where a project requires a certified forced-entry rating, confirm current testing status with the Studio Steel team.
When laminated glass cracks, the fragments remain bonded to the PVB interlayer instead of falling away. The assembly stays in the opening and continues to provide a visual and physical barrier until it's replaced, which is the main functional difference from tempered glass, which fractures into separate fragments. See Laminated Glass vs. Tempered Glass below.
The PVB interlayer dampens sound transmission more effectively than a single pane of equivalent thickness, which is part of why laminated glass is specified in projects with acoustic requirements, near traffic corridors, airports, or between interior spaces where noise control matters.
PVB interlayers block a substantial portion of UV transmission, which helps reduce fading of interior furnishings and finishes exposed to direct sunlight through the glazing.
Laminated glass is used in schools, healthcare facilities, government buildings, retail storefronts, office buildings, transportation hubs, and other security-sensitive or acoustically sensitive facilities, as well as in overhead glazing applications where post-breakage retention matters structurally.
Laminated Glass vs. Tempered Glass
| Property | Tempered Glass | Laminated Glass |
|---|---|---|
| Breakage behavior | Fractures into small, blunt fragments | Fragments stay bonded to the interlayer |
| Penetration resistance | Standard | Higher, due to the interlayer |
| Sound reduction | Standard | Improved, due to the interlayer |
| Post-breakage barrier | Glass no longer in place after breaking | Assembly stays in the opening after breaking |
Both are heat-treatable and both are used across Studio Steel assemblies; the choice between them depends on whether the project's priority is impact breakage behavior (tempered) or post-breakage retention and penetration resistance (laminated).
Laminated glass can be built from tempered lites rather than annealed lites, combining tempered glass’s impact strength with the breakage behavior described above in a single assembly. This construction is commonly specified for demanding commercial applications where both properties are required at once.
Laminated glass is also available built into an insulating glass unit (IGU), combining the properties described above with the thermal performance of a standard IGU in a single assembly. Availability varies by steel system.
See Double Pane with Laminate for system availability and the full specification path →
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