Home Building - Glass & Acrylic Block

Glass and acrylic block offer a unique, yet practical way to enhance most any home. It's beautiful, strong, sound-deadening, thermal insulating, good security and fire protection, and allows natural light to enter while still giving privacy. And with a host of exciting new products, colors, shapes and custom configurations, applications are limited only by your imagination.

Traditional Glass Block

Traditionally, glass blocks are set like bricks or concrete one block at a time in carefully constructed rows. Each individual block is set in mortar, and then the mortar is struck off as it dries to form clean joints. It's a process that usually takes an experienced installer and can be a costly upgrade but is a beautiful addition to any style home.

Since glass block has become very popular over recent years, a growing number of companies now offer a variety of options. Acrylic blocks, silicone grouts, preassembled window units, and even operable block windows make it more affordable to use.

To save money and the mess of building glass walls on the construction site, most manufacturers now offer pre-assembled blocks which are set into a frame that are delivered to the job site and installed as a single unit like a conventional window
To maintain that traditional look you can still get pre-assembled window units that utilize actual glass blocks set with mortar. Most frames come with a white or almond-colored aluminum frame. Vinyl-wrapped aluminum frames are also available. There are several styles, colors and block sizes to choose from. Window sizes range from a single block usually eight inches square or rectangular up to approximately four by seven feet.

With preassembled glass block windows, silicone grouting is another choice. Silicone offers easy maintenance, is lighter in weight, and improves flexibility in areas of high wind or where moving the window could be a problem.

Acrylic Block

For a surprisingly accurate imitation of traditional glass block without the weight and high cost, acrylic blocks offer a great option. Acrylic block is durable, energy efficient and easy to install. From shower walls and partitions to door inserts and block windows, they let light flow through your home like glass block also offering privacy. Since acrylic block isn't heavy like traditional glass block, they can be used almost anywhere without reinforcement and you have more options with windows that operate.

Acrylic blocks are manufactured in the same sizes and essentially the same surface textures as glass block, but are made from virgin acrylic instead of glass. Most acrylic blocks are preassembled with synthetic rubber caulk in aluminum or vinyl frames, and their lighter weight and greater flexibility in the manufacturing process results in a wide variety of shapes and custom configurations - triangles, half-rounds, octagons, and other interesting possibilities.

With acrylic blocks, the window sash is actually light enough that the entire window can operate. Awning and casement styles are both available, resulting in a window that looks like a traditional block installation when closed, but that opens easily with a crank for ventilation when desired. Curved walls are also available with acrylic blocks and can usually be prefabricated and shipped as one unit.

Combining Traditional Glass Block with Acrylic

If your tastes run to traditional glass blocks instead of acrylic, there is the option of combining a glass block assembly with an operable window in one unit. The window uses glass blocks grouted with silicone for flexibility, set into a common frame with an operable awning window which can be placed above, below, or even in the center of the block assembly. The entire unit is factory assembled, and the common frame gives the unit a unified look while making installation very simple.

Glass and acrylic block window assemblies are available by special order through most window companies and through some of the larger lumber yards and home centers.

Curved and Specialty Glass Block

Curved blocks are now available to provide unlimited possibilities for curved glass block construction. Imagine having the option to make beautiful columns with ease.

End blocks and double end blocks add to the design capability of any glass block project. Where once you had to enclose your design, now you can design walls without limitations

Glass Block Precautions

Don't put glass blocks in areas where they will be required to support part of your home's structure. They are not designed for bearing loads.

Will the blocks scratch?

With normal use, scratching isn't a problem with acrylic block. However, if your acrylic blocks do become scratched, those scratches are easy to remove using a plastic polish.

How do I clean the blocks?

If you use a high quality acrylic product your glass block will only require a small amount of care when cleaning. Wash only with a mild soap or detergent and lukewarm water, or a good quality plastic. Use a clean sponge or soft cloth to minimize scratching. Rinse well with water. Do not scrub or use brushes. Harsher cleansers are not necessary--always check with the cleanser's manufacturer for compatibility with acrylic.

DO NOT USE: Tile cleaners, or abrasive cleaners, such as Tilex®, SoftScrub®, or Clean Shower® and never clean in hot sun or elevated temperatures.

How long does it take to get a glass block window?

Depending on your location and particular manufacture, you will usually receive your windows in about two to four weeks. Some of the better glass block manufacturers offer quick ship programs where you can get a qualifying window in just 2 days, at no additional shipping charge.

How does acrylic block compare to glass block?

In most areas the installed cost of acrylic block window is about the same or less than traditional mortared glass block.

Glass Furnitures Add Style To Your Homes And Offices

Glass furniture is a part of modern furniture, though its origin can be traced back to as early as 1350 A.D. You must be surprised to know that people long as far as medieval, in kings and queens time period especially in European countries of Italy, England and France have used glass made furnitures in different ways to give them a separate identity from the rest. People with refined tastes, have always used designed work of glass to appear different from the ranksGlass furniture has seen many types of materials defining its make since the time it arrived. From silica, a type of sand used to make glass sheets which were then blended with wooden furniture to give a modern contemporary look to nowadays fully assembled, precision engineered glass components supported by classic metallic touch, glass furniture have seen it all.

Whatever the transition, over the years, glass furniture has been able to keep all of its charm and extraordinarily diverse qualities intact.

Glass furnitures: its unique features

Glass is fragile yet resistant, solid yet light, beautiful and at the same time, functional. They are perfect for dark walled less spaced interiors or those rooms without many windows, because glass absorbs less light than wood, metal, or stone. It gives a virtual addition of space by reflecting light in your home. Secondly, the best gift of glass furniture for any home owners who are choosy about designing their homes or offices is that it does not need to be coordinated to match woodwork or surrounding colors. It is one of the classic intrinsic qualities of glass is that it will blend perfectly with any interior design theme and/or color scheme.

A touch of style and sophistication is instantly added when decorating with glass furniture. Glass works wonders when you have to beautify a space instantly. Glass lends a touch of beauty and elegance to any area. Glass side or center tables like coffee tables are easy for decorating purposes, but they are also highly functional. Glass-topped tables are less susceptible to spills and staining with clean wipe using your regular glass cleaner will get back your beautiful furniture.Glass furniture also has a symbol of transparency. This gives a neat look and therefore enables the flow of positive vibes. Glass cuts through the boredom in office environment too. The days of the heavy solid wood furnitures ruling the roost, is on decline. Also these days, transparency is the in-thing in offices in UK as well as around the world and as a result glass furnitures are increasingly making way in the professional corporate world

Glass furnitures: what to look before buying

One of the greatest fear for you as a buyer of glass furnitures is whether it is safe and long lasting. The good news, relax!, technology has taken care of it. Almost all glass furnitures are made from tempered glasses or toughened glasses nowadays and if the one you are buying are not, keep your self away from it. The reason for this is other types of glass when breaks gives out sharp broken pieces and there are many cases of people getting severely injured with this pieces whereas when tempered glass breaks, it breaks into small pieces that aren't likely to cause serious injury. Glass that has been tempered can stand up to oven-like temperatures and a lot of abuse. Its much spoken durability will not leave you with furniture full of scratches and bruises. It is a very strong material that can withstand a lot of scratches from rough tableware or crushing due to something heavy being dropped. This manufacturing quality of tempered glass makes it a beautiful piece of work that is intended to be used time and again for many years to come. However there are many glass furnitures shops who advise their glass furnitures to be tempered which is proved wrong when the accident happens.

In UK, the BS institution hence has provided standards applicable to glass furnitures. These standards make sure that the glass used in the furnitures is of standard thickness of glass that should be used along with the polishing of exposed edges and the long lasting stability of the glass.

If an item of furniture contains safety glass it may have the following markings to prove they are genuinely safe;

* The British Standard number 'BS 6206' carved into the glass or as a sticker on the glass. This may also be followed by the letter, A, B, or C and the word 'Toughened' e.g. BS6206/A Toughened
* A British Standards Kitemark followed by 'BS 6206' etched into the glass or as a sticker on the glass.
* Some items may also be marked 'TEMPERED GLASS' this means the glass has been toughened.

Next thing to look at glass furnitures is how they are joined with the other part of the furniture like a metal or wood. Nowadays U/V bonding based adhesives are much safe and have significant benefits over traditional construction methods. An adhesive distributes loads and stresses over the total joint area to give a more even distribution of static and dynamic loads, instead of concentrating these at high stress points. The adhesive bonded joint is therefore more resistant to flex and vibration than, for example, a bolted joint. Moreover UV (Ultra Violet) curing adhesives are invisible, clean to use and can be used on the UV passing glass to form a permanent and strong bond. This nature of UV bonding gives glass furnitures a minimal form with easy to assemble pack.

Now comes the real part of knowing which type of glass furniture is right for you? Due to the versatility in home decorating designs these days, glass furniture could potentially be a superb addition to your home or office. The major question to consider when determining if it is right for you, though, is functionality with peace of mind. With advancement in manufacturing technology and ever increasing competition, glass furnitures are available in varied types and forms. Tables with glass tops are quickly becoming the favorite choice of many home owners when furnishing homes.

While going for a glass top table, make sure that the glass is safely perched over the base with adequate protection and all glass edges polished radius for extra safety. If you have small living room, then you can go for a compact platform dining table which will not only add a statement to your home but will virtually increase the living room area. You can also look at attractive glass chairs to further add to the style of glass dinner table. If you have long craved for furniture complimenting your sofa set then there are wide ranges of stylish glass coffee table like zig-zag coffee table, double z oval coffee table and many funkier furnitures available in the market. Here too if you are concern with space, there are many space saving designer glass side tables with fantastic metallic stands to opt for. If you are still in thought about buying these glass furnitures, there are various other glass accessories like glass house signage or glass media storages or may be trendy glass audio video support to not miss the glass furniture bandwagon.

Lastly while looking around for glass furnitures, see that you are provided with various ranges in terms of colours, flexible custom sizes at your request like modular or stack options for glass center tables, and some may even provide glass frosting for uniqueness. Also look for flat packed sets which can be easily assembled. This saves you lots of trouble and fear of breaking them while moving houses or to pack it if there lots of guest especially children are coming to your home for a party.

Care and maintenance

It is important, though, to be realistic about the glass furnitures you are going to buy and its future maintenance. The reason for this being that if there is constantly clutter for instance, underneath, on top of or even, around the table, it will be apparent to everyone. One might say it is the beauty and the curse of glass: you can see right through it. Furthermore, if your house tends to collect dust quite easily, you should remove it on a fairly regular basis. But to cheer you up, technology has made glass furniture just a snap to clean. Simply use regular glass cleaner on the counter top. You can also use a solution of lemon juice and warm water will make them shine and sparkle and then use newspaper to wipe them. No need to worry about spills seeping into the furniture, like might occur with wood. Simply wipe away any dirt or spills and get back your beautiful glass furniture. In addition, glass is less likely to get scratched and nicked and will maintain it's polished, sleek look for years to come.

Home Glass Table Decoration Tips

You can use a glass table to add emphasis to any room of the home today. With all the models accessible to you today, obtaining one that fits your needs and tastes should not be very hard at all. All it involves is learning what choices are available and familiarizing your self with where to position them in a given room.

Popular Available Styles

The most popular colours for glass tables used now are the clear and black variations, which have been frosted or textured to create just the right impression. Since this line of decor has been invented, this line of dinner furniture has ranged from the very plain to quite elaborate.

Other types of glass table furniture are positioned in homes also. These include a variety of coffee table fashions, which often are placed in living rooms and other open areas and family rooms.

Certain types may also be right for placement in a conservatory or backyard. These are accessible in many different styles, shapes, colors, and textures.

Simple Display Tips

Where you decide to display a glass table might depend upon the purpose as well as the desired theme of the room you wish to portray. It also depends upon other aspects, such as the size, shape, and style of the piece as well as the overall layout of the room where it will be placed.

For instance, if you were to choose a very exquisite model of Rome black or frosted styled dining set it probably would most often be used in a more formal setting. For instance, maybe they would be placed underneath a crystal chandelier.

This table is commonly put in the centre of the room, and surrounding by other select elegant furnishings and accessories. On the other hand, if you were to choose pieces such as a Vienna-styled curved glass coffee table it might be placed in a more modern-style living room setting.

One suggestion for you if you are in need of a new way to decorate with a glass table is to use one of several styles of leather or faux leather chairs found on the market. Some are high-backed and are meant to be used as seats for dinner tables while others are constructed for placement in a living room.

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3 Home Improvement Tasks Where You Need a Handyman

There was a time when DIY was a rage because it was the in thing to be able to remodel your home yourself – you not only saved yourself some money, you also had your DIY stories (both the good and the not-so-good experiences) to use as ice-breakers at a party. Today however, if you’re going to DIY, it’s more because you’re trying to save every penny you can because the economy is not really back to normal. However, you must remember that your endeavour to save money could end up boomeranging on you and you may have to spend much more trying to repair and redo botched up jobs.

I’m not questioning your DIY abilities; it’s just that there are some jobs that are just not advisable without a handyman, unless you’re a regular DIY guy who has home improvement experience under his/her belt. So before you put on your comfy overalls and pull out the stepladder, check out these home improvement/remodelling tasks that require you to call a handyman:

· Plumbing: It’s not really a dangerous job, but unless you’re familiar with your home’s plumbing network and have done plumbing jobs before, it’s best not to tackle this one on your own. You may have access to DIY information on how to unclog drains, replace your toilets, faucets, sinks, showerheads and basins in your bathroom, drain your home’s plumbing system, increase/decrease pressure to your pipes, repair leaky faucets and toilet flushes, and perform a hundred other plumbing tasks, but that is certainly no reason to be foolhardy and attempt to do these tasks yourself. You may end up flooding your home and ruining your possessions in the process if you’re not sure of what you’re doing, so call a handyman and get the job done easily and efficiently.

· Electricity: Now this a dangerous task because you could end up electrocuting yourself or other people if you’re careless. It’s easy to change a bulb, but when it comes to more complicated tasks like replacing plugs and cords, understanding service panels, testing and replacing switches, troubleshooting fuses, and bending and connecting conduits, you’re better off calling in qualified personnel to do the job.

· Flooring: While some forms of flooring are easy to redo or renovate, others require a professional touch. While linoleum floors and hardwood floors that are going to be carpeted are pretty much DIY choices, parquet and other complicated options require a handyman to be present. The professionals in the business prevent you from making a mess of things and having to redo your improvements from scratch and incurring additional costs in the process.
Even if you cannot afford the services of professionals for the above tasks, talk to qualified people before you DIY, or seek the help of friends and family members who have gone down the DIY road before and tasted success.

By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Nicole Adams, she writes on the topic of construction management degrees . She welcomes your comments at her email id: nicole.adams83@gmail.com .

The Childproofing Challenge – Making the Kitchen Safe for Your Child

No sooner does your child start to move and crawl that you start worrying about the many dangers that await him at every corner. The fact is that you should worry about these aspects much before your child actually starts to crawl. In fact childproofing is something that you need to think about before the child comes home. This is mainly because of the fact that once the baby comes home, you are not likely to have the time to do anything but to mind the baby and catch up on the sleep that seems so difficult.

Those who are childproofing for the first time find it extremely difficult to do so because they have no idea of the kind of trouble that a child can get into. Start with the nursery and move outwards, attacking the kitchen in the end because that is one area that will need your complete attention.

Childproofing the Cooking Area
The cooking area is the main place where there is a lot of danger that lurks around. There are hot surfaces that can be touched, pans with hot liquid that can be toppled over, cabinets with sharp knives and forks that can be accessed, open drawers that can be shut on little fingers and appliances that can be switched on by mistake. For starters make sure that all drawers and low cabinets have childproofing latches so that they cannot be opened.

You may want to leave a cabinet that contains harmless plastic stuff open for the child to explore as you cook in the kitchen but make sure that it does not shut easily to avoid accidents. It is good childproofing practice to use the back burners to avoid the warm surfaces being touched. Pans and pots in the burners should be turned towards the back so that they cannot be pulled. Getting hold of burner knob covers is a good idea because then your stove cannot be switched on by mistake. Appliances should never be left with the plug in the switch. A small movement of the hand can get them started and cause problems later.

Childproofing the Cleaning Area
The cleaning area or the sink also needs to be taken care of. Make sure that the sink is kept clean and that the dishwashing liquid, floor cleaners are not stored under the sink. These should be transferred to another over the head shelf. The garbage can should also be secured. Either you should get a lock for the trash can itself or you should get a cabinet latch for the below the sink cabinet itself. Ensure that the chemicals that you use for cleaning are also not stored in this area.
Other than these areas, the refrigerator should also be secured since it tends to has containers with food that can spill over when the refrigerator is opened without taking adequate care. If you do not have one that can be locked, you can get childproofing latches for the same.

Finding childproofing products that fit and work in your home can be difficult. There are almost too many choices that many busy parents just keep putting it off. The professionals at www.childproofingtips.com know how important it is that you have the accurate resources and information you need and have provided it all in one place. Now parents just like you can child proof their homes like a pro!

New and Approved Cityhammer Coming Soon!

To all of our visitors and members. Sorry we haven't posted any new blogs in the month of January however we are working hard to get a new and approved cityhammer out. We will give you more information soon as we hope to be having all of the new improvements completed in the next couple of months. Stay tuned and we will see you soon.