Industry visual standards
Misty Glass Limtied works to a prescribed acceptable visual quality standard for installed glazing. we use these visual quality acceptability guides to determine an acceptable level of glass appearance in the home.
Based on the Glass and Glazing Federation’s (GGF) various publications concerning the visual acceptable quality of glass, there are basic rules that need to be understood
Visual standards checklist when viewing glass
When
inspecting the glass the
following needs to be
undertaken.
1. View the glass from
inside the room standing a
minimum of 3m away facing the
glass. This is because
under normal everyday
situations, looking through
windows is usually at a distance
and not from close up – say
within 6 inches of the glass.
2. Look through the
glass and not at it.
This is expected as normal as
the glass is there to enable a
view beyond the window, not
stopping at it.
3. Do not inspect in
direct sunlight. This
is because the direct sun will
be refracted by the coating and
any tiny imperfections in the
glass surface, highlighting
items that cannot be seen in
normal conditions.
4. Ensure the glass is
clean and dry inside and out.
It is impossible to check glass
that has rain, dust or
condensation up on it, mixing up
these elements with potential
problems.
5. Ignore the 50mm
perimeter of the glass.
This is because when looking
through windows, the eye is
drawn to central areas and one
doesn’t look through the edge of
glazing when viewing. (Obviously
large obtrusive marks in the
perimeter are not acceptable.)
Using this as a guide,
only items that are intrusive to
the view are deemed as poor
quality glass. This may
include marks in the coating,
deep scratches that are clearly
visible, multiple and clustered
imperfections on the glass
surface or processing marks such
as fingerprints!
Common homeowner queries
• Patterns in
condensation – normal
hydrophobic processing deposits.
• Swirls in the glass when the
sun shines – normal refraction
of light by low e coatings.
• Hairline marks in the surface
– low e marks only visible from
a few inches away.
• Lead discolouring – normal
oxidation of the surface.
• Distorted reflections – normal
movement to convex or concave
position of the glass due to air
pressure and temperature
changes. (deflection)
Our supplier is
quality conscious and endeavours to
deliver high quality products. If we
should have any quality issues, we
address these in co-operation with our
supplier so we both can understand how
the issue has arisen and avoid repeats.
Modern glass is highly sensitive and
processing is intensive. A sealed unit
will undergo many processes from its
component part preparation to final
assembly.