Glass for DIY enclosure

[Newts]

I'm looking at putting together an enclosure so I got a quote for sliding glass panes for the front. I was quoted $116 for two 600 x 800 x 5mm panes, each with edges polished. Does anyone know if this is a good price or should I be looking elsewhere? I have already looked at others advertising online, but I was wondering if there were any word-of-mouth places, or any outside of the box ideas.

 

[saximus]

I was going to say that sounds a little overpriced at first but those panels are pretty huge so it's probably about right.

Back in the day people talked about making them yourself from whatever scrap you can find but that always seemed too difficult/dangerous for me.

The best plan is to find a mate who's a glazier and will do it for a carton of beer .

 

[pythoninfinite]

The polished edges are probably at least half the cost quoted there, so I guess it's not a bad price. It does pay to shop around though, the cost of glass can vary by up to 300% between different suppliers. Even though these are fairly big bits, they'll probably supply them from offcuts. I don't bother getting the edges polished, I have a carborundum file which I run over the edges to remove the dangerous cutting potential... but I'm a fairly handy person and have been doing it for years. If you're not confident about handling heavy and potentially dangerous pieces of glass, I'd certainly recommend the glazier-polished option.

 

[Newts]

Great! Thank you both for your input, very helpful. I thought the polished edges would be a fair chunk of the price, but I have next to no experience with glass so I thought it didn't hurt to ask around.

 

[ronhalling]

[MENTION=41589]Newts[/MENTION], It would probably be a good idea to let people know the area you live in, if they knew that you would be surprised at the amount of replies you get giving you references to like size panes, prices and cheap glaziers, also if you want to negate the cost of the edge polishing you can do it yourself with 1000 grade wet-n-dry sand paper on a wooden block and machine oil, for safety sake please wear riggers gloves or something like them, anyway that's my 13 cents (inflation) ...............Ron

 

[Newts]

Thanks Ron, I didn't want to sound like I wanted people to do the work for me in finding a good price... I'm all open to anyone making it easier though! I'm in central Melbourne if anyone knows a good place, and where delivery won't be too much. Thanks also for the methods of taking off the edges, Jamie and Ron. I would like to do that to reduce costs, and the sand paper method sounds like something I could do. I promise I will be careful; glass cuts are nasty.

On second thoughts, for that much glass might be worth the cost of having them do it well. Anyway, thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[RichardCichlid]

Whilst discussing it, anyone know of a place in Brisbane to get the same size panels?

 

[ronhalling]

The polished edges are probably at least half the cost quoted there, so I guess it's not a bad price. It does pay to shop around though, the cost of glass can vary by up to 300% between different suppliers. Even though these are fairly big bits, they'll probably supply them from offcuts. I don't bother getting the edges polished, I have a carborundum file which I run over the edges to remove the dangerous cutting potential... but I'm a fairly handy person and have been doing it for years. If you're not confident about handling heavy and potentially dangerous pieces of glass, I'd certainly recommend the glazier-polished option.

Sorry Jamie, i skimmed your post and did not see the comment about a carborundum file which would be heaps better than 1000 grade wet-n-dry with machine oil, lol serves me right for not reading whole posts. ...............Ron

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks Ron, I didn't want to sound like I wanted people to do the work for me in finding a good price... I'm all open to anyone making it easier though! I'm in central Melbourne if anyone knows a good place, and where delivery won't be too much. Thanks also for the methods of taking off the edges, Jamie and Ron. I would like to do that to reduce costs, and the sand paper method sounds like something I could do. I promise I will be careful; glass cuts are nasty.

On second thoughts, for that much glass might be worth the cost of having them do it well. Anyway, thanks everyone for the advice.

Hey Newts, it is not like people doing any work for you, the fact is this forum is Aust wide and everyone here tries to help with whatever information they have to help others out of trouble and or save some money, sure you can spend hours "Shopping around" yourself but i find it useful to accept help from others with shared experience who can help with locations and or prices, after all that is what a forum like this is for....good luck mate. ................Ron

 

[pythoninfinite]

Hi Ron, yep, I used to use wet & dry paper with a bit of water, but it can be a bit risky unless you use a block... the file has a handle which makes it easier to use - just have to make sure to use strokes pushing TOWARDS the edges, at about 45 degrees, if you drag the file the other way, away from the edge, the glass can flake.

Jamie

 

[Virides]

While you are looking to get your glass supplied, I would advise against getting ground in the grooves done by the glazier. These grooves make you compress your fingers into an unnatural position and if your panel may eventually (or for some, already is), it makes it hard to open without the risk of cutting the tips of your finger from the pressure then slipping that's likely to occur.

This is why we have made our very popular range of sliding glass finger grips. There are several designs but most people go with our clear product. We use special crystal clear and very strong adhesive to ensure you have a strong hold for even the stiffest of panels and at a distance the product seems to disappear.

You can check out our range at http://www.virides.com.au/shop/sliding-glass-finger-grips
All orders are serviced with Paypal allowing you to securely use your Credit or Debit card.

 

[Newts]

I was actually looking forward to getting some of your grips if I went ahead with this, especially when I saw you had bearded dragon-shaped ones. I wouldn't be building for a week or two, so maybe I'll grab some at the Melbourne expo. Thanks!

 

[meako]

I was going to say that sounds a little overpriced at first but those panels are pretty huge so it's probably about right.

Back in the day people talked about making them yourself from whatever scrap you can find but that always seemed too difficult/dangerous for me.

The best plan is to find a mate who's a glazier and will do it for a carton of beer .

Agreed -I got something similar from the windscreens dudes(dunno if I can say the name) in laminated ie windscreen glass for $110. THEN an old mate who glazes offered me some work and also helped me put the doors together all the while moaning that I didn't contact him for the glass.:lol:

 

[sam92]

I'm doing a little bit of work with windows atm. The company I work for charge about $126 a square metre for 5mm float and about $6 or $8 bucks a metre to polish the edges so the price you got is decent. Knowing someone in your area that works with glass is the go if possible as they can cut off cuts up for you and polish them for next to nothing.

 

[arevenant]

While you are looking to get your glass supplied, I would advise against getting ground in the grooves done by the glazier. These grooves make you compress your fingers into an unnatural position and if your panel may eventually (or for some, already is), it makes it hard to open without the risk of cutting the tips of your finger from the pressure then slipping that's likely to occur.

This is why we have made our very popular range of sliding glass finger grips. There are several designs but most people go with our clear product. We use special crystal clear and very strong adhesive to ensure you have a strong hold for even the stiffest of panels and at a distance the product seems to disappear.

You can check out our range at http://www.virides.com.au/shop/sliding-glass-finger-grips
All orders are serviced with Paypal allowing you to securely use your Credit or Debit card.

Being a site sponsor you get to post things like this, but please don't spread misinformation just to push your products.

 

[pythoninfinite]

I used to get finger grips ground into the glass, but on a couple of pieces they were ground so deep that my fingernails actually broke through the thin layer of glass remaining - that's definitely a reason to go with stick-on grips. Subsequently I've used small rectangular pieces of glass, edges ground, siliconed to the main sheet.

Jamie

 

[Tinky]

My last enclosure had eight glass panels. The glass ended up being the most expensive part of the build, (and the dimming thermostat).

Next enclosure I will look for second hand glass, (stereo cabinets and old buffets etc) and design the enclosure around the glass.

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

Thanks Ron, I didn't want to sound like I wanted people to do the work for me in finding a good price... I'm all open to anyone making it easier though! I'm in central Melbourne if anyone knows a good place, and where delivery won't be too much. Thanks also for the methods of taking off the edges, Jamie and Ron. I would like to do that to reduce costs, and the sand paper method sounds like something I could do. I promise I will be careful; glass cuts are nasty.

On second thoughts, for that much glass might be worth the cost of having them do it well. Anyway, thanks everyone for the advice.

OMG. Thats a bit OTT. I picked up 2 pieces yesterday 445 * 250 * 5mm thick. Cost me $16.
Western subs of Melbourne. Would be worth the trip if you are mobile.

PM sent with details

 

[sam92]

My last enclosure had eight glass panels. The glass ended up being the most expensive part of the build, (and the dimming thermostat).

Next enclosure I will look for second hand glass, (stereo cabinets and old buffets etc) and design the enclosure around the glass.

you could try and get old sliding doors and pull the frame off from around the glass and then buy a cheap glass cutter and score and snap the glass to whatever size you like that way you can still build whatever size enclosure you like.

 

[Tinky]

Australian standards require glass doors to either be toughened or laminate glass and also have a motif. So not a simple option.

 

[Wokka]

When i used to build cages I had a standing order for 6.8 mm laminated offcuts with the local glass guy. $500 for 100 pieces 60 x 40 cm was cost effective and then I just made my cages to fit that standard size. I beveled all the edges with an emery sanding belt which i bought for less than $100 and still use the original emery belt.