Shower door safety glass

[Mark P]

Home built in 1967, frosted sliding glass shower doors have no visible markings indicating if they are safety glass or not. There was a lot of gunk built up on the doors, so the marking could be hidden, but I made every effort and could see nothing. I also have no way of knowing if they are original, but my guess is they are. The seller is a reputable HI in the area, so I’m keen to not make a bad call on this.

My questions are: Is frosted glass typically safety glass? Was safety glass common in 1967? Other than the normal marking in the corner what other clues are there in determining if glass is safety or not?

Thanks

Mark

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by AHIS

Home built in 1967, frosted sliding glass shower doors have no visible markings indicating if they are safety glass or not. There was a lot of gunk built up on the doors, so the marking could be hidden, but I made every effort and could see nothing. I also have no way of knowing if they are original, but my guess is they are. The seller is a reputable HI in the area, so I’m keen to not make a bad call on this.

My questions are: Is frosted glass typically safety glass?

Not necessarily.

Was safety glass common in 1967?

I don't know, but I suspect it was.

Other than the normal marking in the corner what other clues are there in determining if glass is safety or not?

A bb gun works well, or even a rock.

You can use two polarizers, one on either side of the glass. Look through both at daylight. Rotate one of the polarizers. If it's tempered glass, you'll see striations or bands of light & dark in the glass.

Some glass guys claim they can tell tempered glass by the sound it makes when they tap it with a hard object. I've never been able to make the distinction myself.

If I were in your position, I'd explain that it's very important to have safety glass in the shower door and that I can't tell whether or not it is, indeed safety glass. Then I'd write, "Ensure that the shower door is glazed with safety glass."

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Bill Kibbel]

Safety glass was gradually being required by individual states from the mid 1960s until it became a national standard in 1977.

I went head first through a storm door at full speed when I was a kid. I can still see the evidence that it wasn't safety glass.

[Mark P]

Thanks Guys,

I showed the buyer the safety markings on the glass doors in the other bathroom, and explained the problem with the doors with no markings. I thought I had heard frosted glass was safety glass, but was not sure. I also wanted to pick the brains of of the TIJ folks. I'll add safety glass to my list of things I need to learn more about.