Interior French doors in an older home provide a sense of elegance and beauty that is generally not the case with full wood doors. These doors also have advantages such as not blocking natural light between rooms and allowing for visibility while still reducing sound between rooms. Parents, for instance, can keep an eye on the kids while not having to listen to the sound effects on a computer video game. If one of the panes breaks, there are considerations involved with Glass Replacement in Plainfield.
Very old doors typically do not have tempered glass, a form of safety glass. Non-tempered glass breaks into dangerous shards and safety glass does not. Residential codes require tempered glass on movable doors and other types of doors. Even on interior doors, the homeowner may actually prefer the safer tempered glass, especially if children live in the house. However, there may be issues with maintaining the antique or vintage appearance of the doors with newer glass. It may not be possible to just replace one pane and keep the appearance consistent. Someone who has concerns about replacing antique glass may Visit Bolingbrook Glass & Mirror for contact information and a chance to ask questions.
An example of a problem involves a broken pane of old decorative or colored glass that the homeowner wants to have replaced with something that matches. A professional contractor who does Glass Replacement in Plainfield may be willing to seek out the replacement glass, or the homeowner may want to handle that part of the project. Depending on the situation, residential codes allow decorative glass that isn’t tempered. Homeowners and glass replacement contractors must consider factors such as the size of the glass and the likelihood that a pane will be broken again. For instance, do children throw balls or other toys in rooms on either side of the doors? What are the odds the door will be slammed shut hard enough to cause glass breakage? Would a big dog ever get excited enough to try to bust through the glass? By giving careful thought to these and other relevant questions, homeowners can make an intelligent choice about how to proceed.