10mm clear toughened glass is the panel we cut more of than everything else in this catalogue put together. It is the standard infill for framed glass balustrade systems — indoors and out, domestic and commercial — and unless your job has a specific reason to be something else, this is almost certainly the glass you want.

Every panel is made to your own dimensions, to the millimetre. We do not hold standard sizes and there is no stock list to pick from — put the length and height you need into the calculator and the price shown is for that exact panel, cut and toughened for your job.

Tell us about any holes, cut-outs, notches or radius corners at the same time. Toughened glass cannot be cut or drilled once it has been through the furnace, so everything has to be done before it is toughened and nothing can be trimmed on site. For anything unusual use our bespoke toughened glass service.

Why 10mm is the usual answer

Thickness in a balustrade is really a question of how much work the frame is doing. The more the glass is held, the less it has to hold itself.

10mm sits at the point where the frame is doing its share — a channel, a clamped system, posts and rails — and the glass simply needs to be strong enough to fill it safely. That covers the large majority of balustrades, which is why it outsells every other thickness we stock.

You would move away from 10mm in these cases:

• Fully framed in timber, internal domestic staircase — 8mm is the usual specification.
• An internal door, or an internal domestic balustrade with a handrail — 12mm.
• Frameless, with a handrail — 15mm, because the glass is carrying far more of the load itself.
• Frameless with no handrail at all — that is laminated territory rather than a thicker single pane. Our glass balustrade regulations guide explains why the handrail changes the answer.

If you are not sure which of those describes your job, send us the sizes and tell us what is holding the glass. That is a five minute conversation and it is cheaper than the wrong panel.

Not for table tops and splashbacks

Worth saying plainly, because people arrive here looking for it. Furniture glass is a different job: a 6mm panel sitting flat on a timber surface, or 19mm where the glass is self-supporting. Neither is 10mm, and 10mm is not the right thing for a coffee table.

Ordering cut to size

Most of what leaves here is made to a customer's own sizes rather than bought off the list, so this is the normal way to order, not a special request.

To quote we need the finished sizes in millimetres, and any cut-outs, holes or radius corners at the same time. Toughened glass cannot be cut, drilled or notched after it has been through the furnace — everything has to be done before it is toughened, which is why we ask for exact dimensions rather than approximate ones, and why a panel cannot be trimmed on site to fit.

If you are replacing a broken panel, measure the glass itself rather than the opening, and tell us how it is held. A photograph of the fixing is worth a paragraph of description. For anything unusual, use our bespoke toughened glass service.

If the edges of the glass will be on show and someone is going to look closely, we also do a 10mm low iron version, which has less of the green tinge on a polished edge. It costs more and for most jobs it is not worth it — but it exists if your specification calls for it.

Edges and corners

Every panel leaves here with polished edges and a proper 5mm radius corner as standard, on all four corners.

That is worth knowing when you are comparing quotes, because it is not what everybody supplies. Plenty of suppliers will give you a dubbed corner instead — the sharp point simply knocked off. It is rough and ready and it is quicker to do, but it is not the same thing. A machined 5mm radius is consistent corner to corner, it is safe to handle and to fit, and it looks like a finished component rather than a cut sheet.

If you want a different edge or corner treatment, tell us when you send the sizes. Our full material and finish standards are set out separately.

Safety glass carries a permanent manufacturer's stamp, usually in a corner — that is how you know a panel is genuinely toughened rather than annealed glass sold as safety glass.

Worth knowing: the laminated option

10mm toughened is a perfectly proper balustrade glass and it is what most framed runs use. BS 6180, the code of practice for barriers, treats a handrail as sufficient, and this is the panel behind the large majority of the balustrades we supply.

Some customers choose 10mm laminated instead, and it is worth knowing why before you order rather than afterwards.

If a toughened panel breaks it is gone — it collapses into granules and leaves the opening empty. The handrail remains, but so does the gap beneath it, and a small child can go through that gap. A laminated panel is held together by its interlayer, so even broken it stays in the opening and stays a barrier.

It is not required, and it costs more. But on a high balcony with young children it is the upgrade people are glad they asked about. If that is your situation, give us a ring before you order.

The same panel in other finishes

10mm is the one thickness we offer across the full range of finishes, because it is the one people ask for:

• 10mm frosted — the same glass, sandblasted. For privacy where you still want the light through: shower and bathroom screening, or the neighbouring side of a balcony with clear on the view.
• 10mm grey tinted — our most popular tint. Takes the glare off a south-facing screen and hides marks better than clear. Tinted is 10mm only.
• 10mm laminated — two plies bonded with an interlayer, so if one breaks the panel stays in the opening.

Standards

Manufactured to BS EN 12150, with impact classification to BS EN 12600. Toughened glass is roughly four to five times stronger than untreated glass of the same thickness, and it breaks into small blunt granules rather than long shards — which is why it is classed as a safety glass and required in critical locations.

Fittings, systems and delivery

Glass on its own is rarely the whole job. We supply the balustrade and handrail components that go with it — including glass clamps sized for 10mm — so the glass and what holds it come from the same place and actually fit each other. If you would rather buy the whole thing, our metal and glass balustrades come as complete systems with the glass sized to suit, and our walkout balconies are supplied glazed.

Glass is heavy and fragile, so it travels crated on our own vehicles or on specialist pallet couriers. Nationwide delivery is typically 3–4 weeks; check terms for excluded zones. Deliveries have to be signed for and checked on arrival, so open the crate before the driver leaves — once glass is accepted as sound it is difficult to argue about afterwards.

Made-to-size glass is made to order and cannot be returned, which is the same position as any bespoke item.

Send your sizes to sales@diometonline.co.uk or call 0114 243 9009. If it is easier to sketch it, photograph the sketch and send that — we read drawings all day.

A note on specification

The guidance on this page reflects what we typically supply for jobs of this kind, and is offered in good faith to help you order the right thing. It is not a structural specification and it is not a substitute for project-specific design. Barrier heights, spans, loadings, fixings, substrates and exposure all vary from site to site, and the final specification for your project remains the responsibility of you, your designer, your structural engineer or your building control body. We manufacture and supply to the sizes and specification you give us. If you are unsure, send us the details before ordering and we will tell you what we would normally supply for a job like yours.