Safety Glazing for Custom Steel Windows & Doors

What Is Safety Glazing?

Safety glazing is glass engineered to reduce risk where a person could come into contact with it: doors, sidelites, low-height windows, and other locations building codes treat as hazardous. Studio Steel offers two constructions that meet this requirement, Tempered Glass and Laminated Glass, each addressing a different set of priorities beyond the baseline safety requirement itself.
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Both satisfy safety glazing requirements. The difference is what each does beyond that baseline. 

Tempered glass is the standard specification across every Studio Steel assembly: heat-treated for strength, and engineered to break into small, blunt fragments rather than sharp shards. 

Laminated glass adds a further layer of performance: it stays in place after breakage, resists penetration more effectively, reduces sound transmission, and filters UV, making it the specification path where security, acoustic, or code-driven requirements go beyond standard safety glazing.

Learn more about Tempered Glass →

Learn more about Laminated Glass →

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At a Glance

PropertyTempered GlassLaminated Glass
Meets safety glazing requirementsYes, standard on every assemblyYes
Breakage behaviorFractures into small, blunt fragmentsFragments stay bonded to the interlayer
Penetration resistanceStandardHigher, due to the interlayer
Sound reductionStandardImproved, due to the interlayer
Post-breakage barrierGlass no longer in place after breakingAssembly stays in the opening after breaking

See Laminated Glass for the full comparison and where each construction is combinable with the other.

Building codes require safety glazing in specific hazardous locations, most commonly doors, sidelites, and low-height windows, though requirements vary by jurisdiction. Confirm specific code requirements with your local building department or code official during project planning.

Frequent Questions

Glass engineered to reduce risk in locations where a person could come into contact with it, such as doors, sidelites, and low-height windows. Building codes require it in these hazardous locations.
Tempered glass is the baseline, standard on every Studio Steel assembly. Laminated glass adds further performance beyond that baseline: it stays in place after breakage, resists penetration more effectively, reduces sound transmission, and filters UV.
That depends on the project. If the opening only needs to meet standard safety glazing requirements, tempered glass, already standard on every assembly, is enough. If the project has security, acoustic, or code-driven requirements beyond that baseline, laminated glass is the specification path. See Laminated Glass for that case.
Yes. Laminated glass can be built from tempered lites rather than annealed lites, combining both properties in a single assembly. See Laminated Glass.
Not on their own. Fire-rated glazing is a separate code category requiring its own certification, and neither construction carries a forced-entry rating from Studio Steel. See Tempered Glass and Laminated Glass for what each does and doesn't cover.
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Specify With PINKYS Studio Steel

PINKYS Studio Steel's custom architectural service works with architects and design-build teams from early feasibility through fabrication and installation.

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See it before you specify

The PINKYS Los Angeles Flagship is a by-appointment showroom in Vernon, CA, with Studio Steel doors and windows on display. Bring the opening dimensions. Walk the profiles, glazing options, and finishes in person before the specification is final.

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