Our Frequently Asked Questions

The most common way to reduce the amount of light through a window for ease on the eyes is using tinted, coated, or translucent glass. Glass can be manufactured in several different tints, as well as numerous Low-E coatings. In Colorado’s high altitude, solar fading to furniture/rugs/curtains/wall hangings is common. Applying tint or manufacturing glass windows utilizing Low-E is the best way to combat this problem.

Hansen Glass does screen repair. This includes anything from just replacing the fiber screen material to replacing the metal and plastic components of the screen frame and, in extreme cases, totally remanufacturing the screen to its’ original specifications. We also provide pet-resistant fiber material, which is resistant to Fido tearing normal screen materials off.

No, double-pane windows or insulated glass units (IGUs) are sealed at the factory. Once a seal has failed, repairing it is not possible. Hansen Glass can assist you in ordering a new replacement IGU and installing it into your existing window frame. Our team will provide you with options based on your needs.

No.

Yes, we will need the exact measurements, or you can bring in the frame or table to ensure a perfect fit.

A single unit consists of 2 to 3 pieces of glass sealed in a frame with an air space in between them is an insulated glass unit. Insulated glass units are sandwiched glass with a filling of air in between two pieces of glass and an internal channel of desiccant. These units are one of the most effective ways to reduce outside-inside heat transfer.

Laminated glass consists of at least two sheets of glass bonded into a “sandwich” configuration by a plastic interlayer. Laminated glass is used for safety and security. It limits the risk of injury in the event of glass breakage, such as hurricanes, defenestration, and vandalism, as well as providing excellent noise abatement.

Four times stronger than annealed glass, tempered glass is created by heating the glass to over 1000 degrees F, then rapidly cooling it to lock the glass surface in a state of compression and the core in a state of tension. Tempered glass is considered safety glass because when broken, the fragments are smaller and less sharp than other kinds of glass. Hansen Glass suggests this kind of glass for tabletops that do not sit on a solid surface. Additional applications include IGUs at certain locations within a home and are mandated for shower enclosures and bathroom glass.

Also called “flat” glass, annealed glass has been through a controlled cooling process to prevent stress in the glass. Annealed glass is clear and can be cut, drilled, edged, and polished. When broken, this glass has extremely sharp edges versus tempered glass, which breaks into “cubes” and is not nearly as sharp.

When used as a cover on a wood surface, normally a thinner glass such as 1/4″ is used. The edges of the glass would usually be polished to create that reflective surface and avoid the possibility of injury from the sharp edges. When glass is used as a wood surface cover, there is no need for tempering the glass. Tempered glass is a regulated mandatory requirement for shower enclosures and certain locations within a home or business.

• Low-E Coatings or low emissivity is a coating on a piece of glass that better insulates a room. It has been 46 years since Low-E was introduced to the North American glazing market. The product has developed from a premium option limited to residential windows in cold, northern markets to a standard window component across many glazing applications. With annual shipments exceeding 600 million square feet, Low-E is a testament to both the patience required in developing building-product markets and the success of the glass industry in enhancing the value of its product offering. Current developments in energy policy are likely to ensure continued strong growth.
• When heat or light energy is absorbed by glass, it is either shifted away by moving air or re-radiated by the glass surface. The ability of a material to radiate energy is known as emissivity. In general, highly reflective materials have a low emissivity, and dull, darker-colored materials have a high emissivity. All materials, including windows, radiate heat in the form of long-wave, infrared energy depending on the emissivity and temperature of their surfaces. Radiant energy is one of the important ways heat transfers occur with windows. Reducing the emissivity of one or more window glass surfaces improves a window’s insulating properties.
• Since energy-efficient windows reflect much more sunlight than simple glass windows, they can focus sunlight and cause damage when they are somewhat concave. Damage to the sidings of homes and automobiles has been reported in news stories. Low-E windows may also block radio frequency signals. Buildings without distributed antenna systems may then suffer degraded cell phone reception.
• Since Low-E has two panes of glass, when the heat inside your home tries to escape through the window, the Low-E glass reflects it back inside. The same thing happens when outdoor heat tries to enter your home, and this results in a more comfortable indoor environment regardless of the weather.
• It restrains around 40 – 60% of heat energy, which would have been lost by ordinary glass, and helps lower heating and cooling costs, which account for 4% of the total annual US energy consumption. In 2017, about 4,015 billion kilowatt-hours were used in electricity alone, which means that 1,003.75 billion kilowatt-hours were used just to heat and cool buildings; imagine if no windows were Low-E, and all of our cooling and heating systems were going full speed all the time. It also helps in reducing interior home fading due to outside ambient light.