Is australia behind in selling glass?

[GeckoRider]

Hey guys,

Recently I've been watching videos on how to build enclosures most of the DIY videos I've found are from America.

From what I've noticed they can buy large sheets of glass for around $10 from places like homedepot the same size here would cost me 6X as much.. why is it so expensive here also why dosnt bunnings sell glass...

why is it so god damn hard for me to find glass.. cant even buy it online..

Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[GeckoJosh]

You can't buy glass online as it's too risky to ship.

 

[thomasssss]

bunnings will never sell glass as it is to breakable and could a) cause injuries in untrained staff and customers b) the profit loss when it does get broken

also glass isnt really that expensive if you know a guy in the trade or work in it , its just that businesses have overheads and have to make some profit to stay a float

 

[Monitors_R_Us]

Hey guys,

Recently I've been watching videos on how to build enclosures most of the DIY videos I've found are from America.

From what I've noticed they can buy large sheets of glass for around $10 from places like homedepot the same size here would cost me 6X as much.. why is it so expensive here also why dosnt bunnings sell glass...

why is it so god damn hard for me to find glass.. cant even buy it online..

Does anyone else have this problem?

Find a local glazier and make friends but also quite a few people I know who build their own enclosures use thicker glass ( raises the price ) then what they need for the species being kept.

For say monitors i would use 5mm, beardies 4mm and so and so. When i see people using 5mm for say a hatchy gecko or dragon tank i would personally just use 3mm.

 

[GeckoRider]

Good points but America has found ways around this.. just really wondering how glaziers can justify these prices when it can be made for much cheaper

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I have an old fish tank but it's 10mm so I have to get my brother in-law (He's used to be a glazier) to cut it

 

[thomasssss]

Find a local glazier and make friends but also quite a few people I know who build their own enclosures use thicker glass ( raises the price ) then what they need for the species being kept.

For say monitors i would use 5mm, beardies 4mm and so and so. When i see people using 5mm for say a hatchy gecko or dragon tank i would personally just use 3mm.

not necessarily correct , ive said this quite a bit on here , i was a glazier and with how easily 3mm float breaks i would never use it in any enclosure regardless of the inhabitant

its the fact that in a sliding track system the edges are exposed which are the weakest point in glass if anything hits it from the outside with the slightest force its going to shatter and all fall inside the enclosure , this goes for any float glass really but obviously the thicker it is the harder to break

the reason they can get away with using 3mm glass in windows is the simple fact the edges are held firmly and evenly plus covered over making the glass alot stronger than it is ever going to be in a sliding track system

to solve this i would personally only use laminated glass in an enclosure for the fact that if anything hits it like a falling chair or any number of possibilities it may still break but will be held together unlike float which will go all over you animal possibly resulting in injuries

 

[Monitors_R_Us]

not necessarily correct , ive said this quite a bit on here , i was a glazier and with how easily 3mm float breaks i would never use it in any enclosure regardless of the inhabitant

its the fact that in a sliding track system the edges are exposed which are the weakest point in glass if anything hits it from the outside with the slightest force its going to shatter and all fall inside the enclosure , this goes for any float glass really but obviously the thicker it is the harder to break

the reason they can get away with using 3mm glass in windows is the simple fact the edges are held firmly and evenly plus covered over making the glass alot stronger than it is ever going to be in a sliding track system

to solve this i would personally only use laminated glass in an enclosure for the fact that if anything hits it like a falling chair or any number of possibilities it may still break but will be held together unlike float which will go all over you animal possibly resulting in injuries

Well i guess this is each to their own but I have been keeping hatchys in enclosures made with 3mm glass for years with no problem.

 

[thomasssss]

because nothings hit then hard enough yet , keep them off ground level and it should be ok but just know that it is a fact that float glass will shatter to the inside of the enclosure if it is hit hard enough from the out side where as laminate will not

 

[Monitors_R_Us]

because nothings hit then hard enough yet , keep them off ground level and it should be ok but just know that it is a fact that float glass will shatter to the inside of the enclosure if it is hit hard enough from the out side where as laminate will not

I do not know much about glass all that much as in construction wise but so you're saying as long as no force is hit through the edges it will not shatter ( i mean from general use obviously )? I guess i do take good care of my enclosures as to why I have never broken a 3mm yet .

 

[thomasssss]

no not just the edges , anywhere really but they are the weakest point and in most sliding track systems they are left uncovered which makes the whole piece alot more unstable than if it where set up like a window with all edges held firm even and covered over

if something chips the edge , then a crack will easily form as well just another down fall with sliding track sytems

in nsw (maybe aus wide not sure) law anything at ground level (like those roof to floor windows)has to be made up of laminated glass for much the same reasons as ive stated here float glass is to weak and shatters so if a little kid was to roll into it with force or something was to happen it could end badly

 

[Ratatouile]

bunnings will never sell glass as it is to breakable and could a) cause injuries in untrained staff and customers b) the profit loss when it does get broken

Bunnings does sell glass panel but mainly for pool fencing. I called my local one but unfortunately they can't cut it to the size I require

 

[BIGBANG]

i called a couple glaziers the other week looking to make a frog tank for my missus, the tank was gunna be 750Hx500Wx600D it was gunna cost me 300+ just for 4mm glass at one place, you can buy them a hell of alot cheaper already made off the net, and then i got a square meter price on 4 mm and there was $25 difference between glaziers, i dont know what people pa a SQ/m in melb but the told me up here it was $110 at one place and $85 at another

 

[Reptilez123]

My dad gets off cuts from a local glazier for free and since he use to work there he just cuts it to the shape he likes

 

[Mitch_89]

it cost me 100$ to do my coffee table hardend safty glass

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i figured that was cheap

 

[BIGBANG]

View attachment 268860it cost me 100$ to do my coffee table hardend safty glass

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i figured that was cheap

is that normal glazier price or from a mate in the industry?

 

[thomasssss]

Bunnings does sell glass panel but mainly for pool fencing. I called my local one but unfortunately they can't cut it to the size I require


that stuff is incredibly strong thats probably why they can sell it without to many breaks , i was talking about stuff like float glass and lam like your local glazier does , you know raw glass extremely sharp edges easily breakable if things go pear shaped with the handling of that glass it can sever arteries and do all sorts of damage , defiantly not something that should be handled by the general public and sold at bunnings

 

[Cypher69]

It's always best to tell the glazier what you'll be using the glass for. That way, they (the professionals) can recommend what thickness & type of glass to use.

Honestly though, in my experience of buying custom sized glass, I've never found it too expensive, even when I've asked to taper the edges or even drill holes in them.

 

[buffcoat]

Glass is such a pita to cut. My parents replaced the windows in their house. I had my dad save me a few pieces so I could cut them to size. After talking to several people and finding out how much it would be to have a professional cut them to size, I decided on 3mm plexi. That's about $60 a sheet here and can be cut using a jig saw. Way cheaper in the long run.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk 2

 

[thomasssss]

Glass is such a pita to cut. My parents replaced the windows in their house. I had my dad save me a few pieces so I could cut them to size. After talking to several people and finding out how much it would be to have a professional cut them to size, I decided on 3mm plexi. That's about $60 a sheet here and can be cut using a jig saw. Way cheaper in the long run.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk 2

cutting glass isnt done the way alot of people think it is , its done with a tool that works by scratching a tiny line along where you want to cut this has to be done firmly and consistently in one long line otherwise you will just stuff it up then if its laminate the line has to be in the exact same spot on the other side theres a bit of a trick to getting that exactly right

then you crack it with these plier thingys thats the part that should really be done by someone who knows what there doing with lam we used to just pour metho over the cut line after it was cracked on both sides give it a little wiggle to get it into the cut the set it on fire to melt the laminate worked well

just out of curiosity what did most glaziers want to cut the glass ? it really only takes a few mins depending how much and what sizes

 

[GeckoRider]

cutting glass isnt done the way alot of people think it is , its done with a tool that works by scratching a tiny line along where you want to cut this has to be done firmly and consistently in one long line otherwise you will just stuff it up then if its laminate the line has to be in the exact same spot on the other side theres a bit of a trick to getting that exactly right

then you crack it with these plier thingys thats the part that should really be done by someone who knows what there doing with lam we used to just pour metho over the cut line after it was cracked on both sides give it a little wiggle to get it into the cut the set it on fire to melt the laminate worked well

just out of curiosity what did most glaziers want to cut the glass ? it really only takes a few mins depending how much and what sizes

I actually made my first glass cuts today, it was surprisingly easy, for 10mm glass anyway lol

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