Glass

Glass reaches a surfaces catalogue in two quite different forms. Sheet glass — usually back-painted or laminated — is specified as a splashback, a wall panel or a shower surround. Recycled-glass slab sets glass chip in a resin or cement binder, and behaves more like terrazzo than like glass.

What the two share is the property specifiers come for: glass absorbs nothing. There is no porosity to seal, nothing to stain, and no lot-to-lot variation to reserve against.

Where it performs

• Splashbacks behind ranges and sinks, where a single uninterrupted sheet removes every grout joint
• Wall panels and shower surrounds
• Vanity tops and feature surfaces in recycled-glass slab
• Any specification where an exact colour has to be matched rather than found

What to watch

• **The colour is exact, and that cuts both ways.** Glass will match a paint reference precisely and will not develop the variation that makes stone read as natural. When a scheme wants character, this is the wrong family.
• Edges and corners are the vulnerable point. Glass chips at an impact where stone would mark, and a chipped edge cannot be repaired in place.
• Back-painted glass shows what is behind it. The substrate and adhesive have to be right or they read through the panel.
• Heat near a range is a real consideration for sheet glass; confirm the product is rated for the position rather than assuming.
• It shows fingerprints and water spots more readily than a honed stone.

Finishes

Sheet glass is glossy, satin or acid-etched, and back-painted to a specified colour. Recycled-glass slab is polished or honed, and the chip size and binder colour are specified independently in the same way as terrazzo.

Thickness

Sheet glass is thin and carried by its substrate — the panel thickness is a fabrication detail rather than a slab specification. Recycled-glass slab follows the usual 2cm and 3cm convention.