Sinks/Lavatories
Materials - Glass

Glass and crystal are the newest and hottest additions to high end bathroom sinks. If you are looking to turn an ordinary bathroom into a stunning work of art, a glass sink is your best choice.

Originally available only in vessel bowls, they are now available in pedestal, wall mount, over-the-counter, under-the-counter models, and countersink models. Glass sinks work well with contemporary or traditional settings.

DURABILITY
Glass sinks are more durable than you might think. Most can withstand a temperature change of 20 degrees without breakage. Almost all glass sinks are resistant to small accident breakage, such as dropping a brush or plastic bottle into the bowl.

However, a heavy object falling into a normal glass sink will shatter the sink. Tempered glass will crack or break, but not shatter. Laminated glass is the most resistant, cracking and crazing but remaining intact.

1. Soda-lime glass is the most common (90% of glass made), and least expensive form of glass. It usually contains 60-75% silica, 12-18% soda, 5-12% lime. Resistance to high temperatures and sudden changes of temperature are not good and resistance to corrosive chemicals is only fair.
   
   
2. Lead Glass (Crystal)
   Lead glass has a high percentage of lead oxide (at least 20% of the batch). It is relatively soft, and it has a brilliance that can be enhanced by cutting. It is somewhat more expensive than soda-lime glass . This glass will not withstand high temperatures or sudden changes in temperature.
   
   Lead glass is most often used for vessel sinks. Design patterns can be hand etched on a lathe or hand cut.
   
   

• Annealed (Normal/Natural) Glass
  Annealed Glass is "normal" glass. Basic glass is made from silica, or quartz sand. ANNEALING it is subsequent natural cooling which is slow and controlled. The absence of stress in the glass means it can be worked even after the bending and annealing (cutting, polishing, drilling).
  
  Sinks made from natural glass are approximately 12mm (1/2") thick. They will shatter on impact and when subjected to rapid temperature changes.
  
  
• Heat Strengthened Glass
  Heat strengthened glass is produced in much the same way as tempered glass, but with lower levels of surface compression, usually in the range of 3,500 - 7,500 psi. The resultant product is two times stronger than annealed glass.
  NOTE: Heat strengthened glass is not safety glass
  
  
• Cast Glass
  Cast glass is heated until soft then laid on a textured surface to cool. The imprint of the surface is left in the hardened glass.
  
  
• Spun Glass
  Spun Glass is actually cast using soda lime glass. Air bubbles formed during the casting process work with naturally occurring pigments to give the glass a somewhat irregular surface that's inviting to the touch. The intensity of their color is impacted by the thickness of the basin walls. The thick glass walls can withstand rapid changes in water temperature.
  
  
• Tempered/Toughened (Safety) Glass
  Tempered, or Toughened, glass is a heat processed glass produced by heating annealed glass to approximately 650°C (1202°F), at which point it begins to soften. The surfaces of this heated glass are then cooled rapidly with high velocity blasts of air. Tempered glass is five times as strong as Annealed glass.
  

  Tempered (Safety) Glass will break!
  However, it shatters into blunt pieces rather than sharp fragments. Many of the things that can break annealed glass can also break tempered glass.
  

  Tempered glass will shatter if attempts are made to "work" the glass after tempering. Therefore, tempered glass must be cut to size and have any other processing, such as edgworking, cut-outs, notches or hole drilling, completed before being subjected to tempering.
  
  
• Laminated Glass
  Laminated glass consists of a tough plastic or resin interlayer bonded together between two panes of glass under heat and pressure.
  
  Once sealed together, the glass sandwich behaves as a single unit and looks like normal glass.
  
  Annealed, heat strengthened or tempered glass can be used to produce laminated glass.
  
  Similar to the glass in car windshields, laminated glass may crack upon impact, but the glass fragments tend to adhere to the plastic interlayer rather than falling free and potentially causing injury.
  
  The flow of the color in the resin or plastic layer of each piece can be influenced but not controlled, so the results are never exact.
  
  

Glass is somewhat unpredictable material. That is why glass manufacturers do not warranty their tempered glass. Be very careful not to chip the edges. The tempering process puts internal stresses in the glass (intentionally) that produces its strength and heat-resistance. After it is tempered, a small chip could localize these stresses and immediately weaken or break the glass.

Hand Blown Glass
Hand blown glass sinks may be single layer of glass or laminated. Hand blown sinks tend to be much thicker (1" to 1-1/8;") than cast or molded sinks (5/8" - 3/4"), relying on the thickness of the glass for stability rather than the glass making process itself.

Finishes Textured, pebbled or bubbled glass is easier to clean. Smooth glass requires frequent cleaning to avoid water spots.

• Textured Glass
  Textured glass is moulded at extremely high temperatures, making shapes such as sinks or bas-relief motifs.
  
  
• Colored Glass
  Colored glass is made by adding metal oxides to the dry mix and melted in the same way as clear glass.
  
  With Cobalt Oxide you get blue, with Iron you can get green, with Gold you can create a beautiful cranberry colored glass. The coloring agents used to produce ruby red glass are Cadmium and Selenium. The more difficult colors to make, such as amethyst and gold, come from glass color factories in Europe. These colors often contain such precious metals as gold, titanium and silver in their closely guarded formulas.
  
  
• Frosted/Etched Glass
  Glass is etched by sand-blasting the glass for an opaque look. When it gets wet, however, it becomes transparent until it dries . In sinks, the etching is done on the exterior, and the interior polished smooth. Etching is used to produce patterns in the glass, as well as a frosted look.
  
  
• Glue Chip
  The outer surface is subjected to the old stained glass art of glue-chipping, which peels flakes of glass from the surface and leaves an organic textured pattern.
  
  
• Polished Glass
  The inner surface of the bowl, and sometimes the exterior, is polished to a smooth finish.
  
  

1. Polished - a smooth and flat, polished edge
   
2. Eroded - a pattern of undulating bumps and valleys smoothed to a worn finish
3. Ground and Polished, - the edge of the sink is ground down to a wide surface, then polished clear. This makes the edge appear as a window with a unique view of the inside of the sink.

Glass sinks are a lot more durable than you might think, but certain precautions must be taken. If a glass sink is chipped, cracked or broken, it cannot be repaired or "fixed like new." It must be replaced.

To minimize the risk of damage, avoid placing a shelf or medicine cabinet
above a glass sink.

• Do clean with plain water or a mild glass cleaner.
• Do wipe the sink dry after every use to prevent water spots.
• Do dust/wipe the outside frequently if the exterior of the bowl is textured.
  
  
• Do not use common abrasive bathroom cleansers to avoid scouring or dulling the glass surface.
• Do not install a glass sink where indoor temperatures are unregulated (such as during new construction). Wide variances in temperatures may cause breakage as a result of thermal shock.
• Do not allow the sink to come in contact with steel or other glass objects which could scratch or chip the surface
• Do not pour boiling water directly into the sink. Doing so may cause the sink to crack or shatter.
• Do not allow extremely hot water to flow into the sink. If it is too hot to the touch it could crack the glass.

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