| 1. What is inlaid (laminated)
art glass? |
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Inlaid art glass represents a new technique for creating art glass by inlaying
pieces of true hand-blown or machine rolled stained and textured cut glass onto
structural (clear) glass via a resin lamination process. This method provides
significant architectural advantages, compelling aesthetics, meets safety codes,
and has nearly limitless design possibilities. Tooley
Art Glass Studio
learned this technique from Meixia, the
innovative pioneer in commercialization of this process. |
| Now
we do our own design and fabrication in our studio and have a contract
laminator do the final step.
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| 2. What makes
this inlaid technique so different? |
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Three things: structural performance, aesthetic versatility, value. For a more
complete explanation of each of these, send an information inquiry with the
specifics of interest.
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Send an Request for more info. |
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| 3. What are
applications for inlaid glass? |
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The list is quite long! At
Tooley
Art Glass Studio, we focus on windows and panels
for architectural applications like churches and public spaces like train
stations, hotels, etc.
Some of the other possibilities
that we also handle are lobby, entry and foyer systems, sidelights, transoms, doors, skylights,
signs, brand insignias, restaurant panels, wall murals, ceiling-mounted murals,
light boxes, decorative store fronts, glass table tops, privacy panels, room
dividers, bathroom enclosures, stepping stones, fireplace screens, furniture and
office fixtures, and retail artwork. |
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| 4. How are the
pieces of glass held together? |
|
No lead is required in the inlaid technique. The art glass layer is
assembled using a resin joinery technique that can be of varying widths, from
as thin as 1/32 inch wide to as wide as 3 inches. The art glass layer is then resin
laminated to a layer of clear structural glass.
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| 5. How do you get such
fine cuts in the examples of your glass? |
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Many of the cuts you see in the images cannot be hand cut. Most of our glass is cut using a
high pressure jet of water. A computer controlled
pin-size jet stream of water and garnet powder is used to give a clean glass cut
of any shape and dimension. The water-jet is controlled by a vectorized computer
graphic containing the desired glass art image. |
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| 6. Will it
the resin yellow or
delaminate? |
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Unlike the windshield laminating process that uses polyvinyl butyral
plastic under heat and pressure, the inlaid bond is a cold process that assures
there will be no yellowing and delaminating. |
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| 7. How long has this
kind of inlaid glass been around? |
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Actually, the laminating technology has been used in architectural applications
for over 30 years. The most recent innovation is incorporation of
finely cut pieces of art glass to create a mosaic similar to leaded stained glass. |
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| 8. What kind of
longevity does it have? |
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From a chemistry standpoint, the constituent materials are designed to withstand
deterioration and decomposition indefinitely. From a fabrication standpoint, the
inlaid technique does not rely upon materials that can fade, malleable framing
systems that bow and stretch (like lead), or the brittle nature of ‘plain unsupported’
stained glass. This helps preserve the art glass over the long term. |
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| 9. How does this
compare in price to other forms of art glass? |
|
The inlaid technique compares favorably. On average, the cost of inlaid panels
is very similar to leaded glass panels. The design advantages of the
inlaid technique are achieved with additional materials and a reduction in labor
that nearly balance. |
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| 10. What factors impact
the cost of this technique? |
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The fabrication cost is primarily a function of size and complexity of the
design, primarily the number of pieces and intricacy of the cuts. Other factors common to glass
art, such as the type of glass and its origin, are also involved. The more
complex the image, the greater is the cost per square foot. Design, framing and
installation are additional value components which can be handled by our Tooley
Art Glass Studio
or by others. |
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| 11. Can you give a
ball-park of the costs for inlaid art glass? |
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When we design and fabricate moderate complexity designs in either lead or
inlaid glass, the range is usually between $175 and $250 per square foot,
depending on the design and type of glass.
That's a good average,
but some panels have been done for less and some for over $300/ sq-ft.
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| Want
a project-specific estimate?
Send us more
information about your project for a better estimate: estimate
request.
|
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| 12. What are the lead
times? |
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The design process is dependent upon the client approval process, which if often
the unpredictable and limiting factor. Once the design is approved and the initial
investment paid, small interiors projects can take between 8-12 weeks and large
architectural projects 6-12 months to fabricate. |
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13. What kind of glass
can be inlaid using the inlaid technique?
|
| Any
hand-blown or machine rolled stained or textured glass from key glass
makers around the world can be used. For the structural glass,
(sometimes called the substrate), any of the typical
glasses including float glass, heat strengthened, and tempered glass may
be used. |
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| 14. What are the size
limitations for a section of inlaid glass? |
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Theoretically speaking, about 10 feet x 12 feet. But really, that is one huge
chunk-of-glass! More common is an 8 foot dimension. But tell us what you
need and we’ll see if it can be done. The Meixia technique affords a lot
of art glass in one contiguous piece of glass, without special framing or
installation requirements – more so than any other glass art technique in the
world! |
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| 15. How is inlaid glass
installed? |
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Just like normal clear glass. Hence any local glazing contractor or glass shop
can install this into standard framing systems. We’ve seen it done many times. |
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| 16. Are there special
framing systems required? |
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No. Any kind of wooden, aluminum or other window, storefront, and ecclesiastical
window system may be used with the our inlaid glass. |
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| 17. What is the
thickness of the glass?
|
| Most commonly it is
5/16 inch to 1/2 inch thick. But the thickness varies with the application
requirements. For example glass table tops are usually thicker than shower
doors. Theoretically there is no limit on overall thickness. |
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| 18. What kind of
insulating properties does this glass have? |
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Thermal, noise and UV insulating qualities inherent in laminated glass apply to
the inlaid technique as well. |
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| 19. Does this glass
pass safety codes? |
|
Yes, both ANSI Z97.1 and the 16 CFR (Category 1 and Category 2) standards. This
means that you can have beautiful art glass anywhere. |
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| 20. Can this glass be
repaired? |
| Yes.
Damaged
sections of the art glass layer can be repaired onsite, though sometimes it may be more
productive to remove the panel and do it in-studio. If the substrate layer is
broken, the work will need to be re-inlaid, which is an in-studio process.
However by it's very nature, inlaid glass is much stronger than leaded glass.
21. Still have a question?
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