Glass Partitions

When you want to separate areas within a larger zone without closing them off entirely, glass walls are the ideal slimline solution. They establish an upmarket modern image while maintaining a bright and open appeal.

Here are just some of the benefits of having glass partitions installed:

• Improved light flow

Allow light to filter through the space with glass walls, maximising natural light. Higher levels of diffused lighting will create a more appealing place to work or live in.

• Noise reduction

Need to keep private conversations strictly within meeting rooms? Glass office partitions are ideal for sound insulation and reducing distractions for greater productivity.

• Versatile options

There are many types of glass partitions that can be used in a wide variety of settings. Free-standing glass screens also have the benefit of being moveable at any time.

• Bespoke designs

Frosted and/or coloured graphics (called manifestations) can be added to glass panels to complement your interior design scheme or represent your corporate branding.

• Fast and affordable

It takes much less money, time, and effort to fit a glass partition wall than building a traditional wall. This minimises disruption as well as refurbishment costs.

In the end, glass walls simply look more stylish than solid walls or outdated solid partition screens. Glass partition walls are always an excellent investment for creating more collaborative spaces with a stronger image, more light, and fewer noisy distractions.

The primary purpose of a glass partition wall is to delineate spaces without sacrificing light levels or sightlines, saving on floor space and construction. However, there are many different situations where glass panels and glass doors can be used, from offices and schools to the contemporary home.

Here are some examples of where to use glass wall partitioning in a commercial setting or public building:

• Framing and extending glass doors and entranceways to enhance their appearance
• Creating distinct work cubicles or ‘pods' without closing them off entirely
• Using frosted patterns or coloured graphics as a unique design feature
• Sealing off sound-proofed meeting rooms while still being part of an open-plan layout
• Separating a reception office and/or waiting area from the rest of an indoor space

Glass walls and sliding glass doors are also becoming more popular in modern home decor. The range of creative residential uses include:

• Screening the toilet or shower from the rest of the bathroom
• Forming a 'sound and smell' barrier between the kitchen and living area
• Separating a dining area from the cooking area in a kitchen
• Creating a home office within a bedroom, living area, or kitchen
• Dividing a shared bedroom to give roommates more privacy

The options are limitless – a 10mm toughened glass partition can completely transform a space with very little effort, cultivating an image of sophistication and modern luxury. Sliding glass doors can be especially useful if the space is on the smaller side.

For more ideas on how and where you can use glass partitioning and toughened glass room dividers, check out the Glass Interiors blog on this very topic.

At Glass Interiors, we offer several types of glass partitioning systems to meet a range of customer requirements. We provide a choice of glazing, framing, configurations, and manifestations, with pivot or sliding glass doors also available. The final design always depends on your preferences.

You may want frameless glass for the ultimate seamless look, or glass partitions with aluminium framing for a stylish industrial effect. Maybe you'd benefit from a moveable glass partition for easy adjustment instead of a fixed glass wall. Whatever you need, Glass Interiors can provide the solution.

Our straightforward single-glazed glass partitions are the perfect option for most settings, with sound protection up to 44 decibels. If your partitioned room requires a higher acoustic performance, our double-glazed glass partitions can provide sound reduction up to 55 decibels.

For more vulnerable areas requiring flame-resistant barriers, we also supply fire-rated glass partitions and doors. We explain a bit more about fire-resistant glass over here.

Glass Interiors offers a full design and specification service for every type of glass wall partitioning to help you achieve the ideal image and effectiveness for your premises, whatever the purpose may be. Browse our website and the Glass Interiors blog to find more information on the different types of glass partitions we can provide.

The majority of the systems we provide at Glass Interiors are demountable, meaning it is relatively easy to uninstall and relocate them. However, if you want a fully moveable glass partition that can be relocated quickly, we recommend looking into our freestanding glass screens.

A freestanding glass screen is typically made using 10mm toughened glass up to 1,900mm high, fitted with clamps between welded steel posts and sitting on a 5mm steel base. Hinged gates can be fixed to the posts, and the steel can be powder-coated in an RAL paint colour if you prefer.

The flexible nature of this design allows you to adjust your layout as often as you like without too much hassle. Use a single divider or connect them in a row to create versatile glass room dividers; leave them freestanding or fix them mechanically at the base for extra security; the choice is yours.

In addition to the option of glass or acrylic for the screen material and stainless steel or powder-coated steel for the frame, you can also opt for coloured or frosted graphics to decorate the moveable screens with designs that complement their surroundings, enhancing your professional image.

While toughened glass partitions aren't 100% soundproof, they do significantly reduce the transfer of sounds from one side to the other. The level of acoustic insulation depends on the type and thickness of the glazing and how it's sealed. Obviously, a free-standing glass screen wouldn't prevent sounds from travelling around it, whereas full-height glass walls with no gaps around the edges would be able to restrict sound movement.

Here at Glass Interiors, we offer single-glazed partitions with acoustic protection up to 44dB, and double-glazed partitions with sound reduction up to 55dB. We also offer several types of glass doors providing sound reduction from 32dB to 57dB. As an example, ambient background noises such as light traffic, appliances running, and quiet music or conversation comes in at around 40dB to 60dB.

This means that our glass office partitions offer an ideal way to keep noisiness to a minimum in the average working environment. There'll still be a comfortable level of background noise, so you won’t have to worry about the room being awkwardly silent, but conversations will be more private and less distracting for others.

Combining see-through glass with sound reduction creates a healthy working environment, and is likely to help with team collaboration and productivity once installed. Bet you didn't know that glass office partitions can actually improve employee health!

Depending on the type of glass partitioning system you choose, you may require glass doors for access to partitioned areas. We offer several kinds of glass doors, including double-glazed and flame-resistant glass, available in a variety of configurations.

This could be a single door or double door set, frameless or with an aluminium profile frame, and with side or top panels as needed to fill the area. You'll also have a choice of ironmongery and its finish, plus the type of opening and closing mechanism the door uses.

For example, we can provide free swinging or hydraulic hinges, floor spring or soft-close functions, and top or bottom track sliding glass doors. Sliding doors are especially suitable for offices with limited space, where a swinging glass door would be impractical. We can also fit a latch or lock as required.

Our stunning frameless glass doors are a popular choice for modern offices, while our heat-resistant and acoustic-rated glass doors offer enhanced privacy and safety for important areas. The former offer sound reduction up to 28-38dB, while the latter can achieve sound reduction up to 42-57dB.

We offer a range of glass door systems at Glass Interiors, available in 10mm–12mm toughened glass as standard, in dimensions of up to 3,600mm high and 1,200mm wide. These can be manufactured as single doors or double leaf doors, with overpanels as needed.

Should you prefer the frameless look but still need a door, our D25 Clarity Frameless Door can maintain the seamless style, with hydraulic patch or hinge types for adjustable closing speeds and self-close functions, plus pull handles or lever latches.

When it comes to more traditional framed systems, our D25 Clarity Framed Door fits right into the slim aluminium frame, with floor spring, hydraulic hinge, or offset patch opening and closing types. The D25 LOFT Clarity Door offers a more stylised framed option, with free swing or hydraulic hinges.

If you need a space-saving sliding door for your glass partition system, then our D25 Slide Clarity Door provides just the solution. These can be integrated with frameless glass systems, either ceiling-hung or wall-hung to avoid the need for an obtrusive base track.

Check out our pivot and sliding door options for more details – or look into our TG100 system for fire-rated glass doors, or our D90 and SD50 acoustic doors for sound insulation (including an acoustic-rated sliding door option).

According to Regulation 14 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the Building Regulations Approved Document K, any full-height glass wall or partition must be marked to make it very visible. Installing clear glass partitions without obvious handles, frames, or fittings can result in people unknowingly walking into the panel and potentially injuring themselves.

This is why certain glass doors and glass walls are legally required to have ‘manifestations' – some kind of film, stickers, frosting, or screen-printed pattern that makes the glass immediately apparent. Not every window, door, or partition needs them, but ‘critical locations' such as large and wide panels that aren't otherwise demarcated should have manifestations to comply with the law.

While the manifestations need to be placed at particular heights to make them more noticeable, there are no strict rules for what they can be. This gives you a lot of creative freedom to turn your glazed office partitions into a unique decorative feature. Whether you want an elaborate etching, a basic motif, your company logo, or another image, it's an opportunity to truly customise your glass office partitions.

The type of glazing you need depends on how you will use the space, as double glazing is known to be stronger and thicker than single glazing, offering greater insulation properties. Both are available in standard toughened, acoustic laminated, or toughened laminated types.

Our single-glazed glass partition systems can be framed or frameless glass, with the S525 system available in 10mm–13.5mm thicknesses up to 3,200mm high, and the SG30 system offering toughened laminated glass up to 17.5mm thick and up to 3,600mm high.

Our double-glazed glass partition systems are also available framed or frameless, in 10mm–17.5mm thicknesses up to 3,600mm tall, but with more acoustic laminate options. The DG70 system offers acoustic protection up to 45dB, while the TG90 system goes up to 55dB.

Single glazing can achieve sound insulation up to 44dB with thicker glass types, so if soundproofing is a priority for your room, then double glazing could be the better choice.

The minimum thickness of toughened glass that can be used safely in glass partitioning, including screens and walls, is 10mm. Here at Glass Interiors, we provide partitions and walls in a range of thicknesses, depending on the glass partition system you choose.

Free-standing glass screens are only available in 10mm toughened glass. However, our single-glazed and double-glazed systems can be installed with standard toughened glass at 10mm or 12mm thick, or toughened laminated glass at 13.5mm or 17.5mm thick.

For sound reduction, these systems – plus our LOFT framed glass partitions – are also available with acoustic laminated glass at thicknesses of 10.8mm, 12.8mm, or 16.8mm. This type and thickness can reduce sound transmission by 44dB–55dB.

We also provide heat-resistant glass partitions using PYRANOVA® 30 in thicknesses of 15mm or 18mm, offering integrity and insulation for 30 minutes. PYRANOVA® 60 is also available at 23mm thick, which offers integrity and insulation for 60 minutes.

The thickness you need depends on where you will be installing the glass in the room and whether you want extra features such as sound insulation or fire protection.

und insulation or fire protection.

The viable size of a glass partitioning panel depends on where and how it will be installed in a room – for example, whether it will be set within an aluminium framing or frameless glass system, if it will incorporate a glass door, if it needs to provide sound reduction or fire integrity properties, etc.

At Glass Interiors, our SG25 single-glazed partitions can be installed up to 3,200mm (3.2m) high, while the SG30 system is available up to 3,600mm (3.6m) high. Both the DG70 and TG90 double-glazed partitions are available in heights up to 3,600mm (3.6mm).

Meanwhile, the LOFT aluminium-framed system can include panels up to 3000mm (3m) high, as can partitioning systems using flame-resistant glass. If you want free-standing glass partitions for easy movement, these are only available in heights up to 1900mm (1.9m).

However, our single-glazed partitioning systems are fully demountable, so they can be un-installed and relocated relatively easily. These are also available in larger sizes than free-standing screens, for when you need to cover more of the width of the room.

The size of the glass panels also informs the thickness, as the larger the panel, the thicker it should be to ensure it is strong enough to withstand impacts.

No, not all glass partitions need to be fireproof. This is only a legal requirement in particular locations within certain types of buildings – the minimum requirements for health and safety standards are set out in the Fire Safety Building Regulations.

If you do need glass partitions with ratings that comply with regulatory standards, or would prefer for your glass walls and glass doors to provide fire protection for your own peace of mind, you can find several options to choose from here at Glass Interiors.

These resistance ratings are presented in letters and numbers, with E standing for its integrity against flames and smoke, and I representing its insulation level to prevent heat transfer. These are measured in minutes, with 30 minutes being the minimum legal rating.

Our fireproof glass partitions use PYRANOVA® 30 and PYRANOVA® 60 glass, which have EI30 and EI60 ratings respectively. These are available for free-standing screens and doors as well as standard glass partition systems.

However, in some cases, such as double-glazed partitions, only an integrity (E) rating is available, so these may not meet your protection needs if you require glass partitioning with an insulation (I) rating as well.