See also: glazing materials.
Sheet glass and plate glass have now been almost entirely replaced by float glass, which is made by floating molten glass on a bed of molten tin, producing a very flat, high-quality surface, better than sheet glass, and almost as good as plate glass but without the expense of grinding. Float glass is made in five qualities, from best to worst:
| Metric designation, millimeters |
Nominal decimal inch | Traditional designation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.04 | Micro-slide |
| 1.5 | 0.06 | Photo |
| 2 | 0.08 | Picture |
| (The sizes above are not used for glazing windows.) | ||
| 2.5 | 0.09 | Single-strength |
| 2.7 | 0.11 | lami |
| 3.0 | 0.12 | 1/8 inch or double-strength |
| 4.0 | 0.16 | 5/32 inch |
| 5.0 | 0.19 | 3/16 inch |
| 5.5 | 0.21 | 7/32 inch |
| 6.0 | 0.23 | ¼ inch |
| 8.0 | 0.32 | 5/16 inch |
| 10.0 | 0.39 | 3/8 inch |
| 12.0 | 0.49 | ½ inch |
| 16.0 | 0.63 | 5/8 inch |
| 19.0 | 0.75 | ¾ inch |
| 22.0 | 0.87 | 7/8 inch |
| 25.0 | 1.00 | 1 inch |
| 32.0 | 1.23 | 1¼ inches |
The maximum size of pane that can be installed depends on the strength of the glass and on the load–mainly, how strong local winds are. The local building code may specify double-strength or even thicker glass.
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Last revised: 1 February 2010.