The glazing here is mostly inside a bar or restaurant rather than around an office: back-bar mirrors, bottle shelves, glass partitions and screens between seating areas, table tops. A partition screening a booth is toughened and fixed at the floor, so it cannot be pushed over on a busy night. It is decorative work that takes very hard use, and the specification has to serve both, which is a narrower path than it sounds.
Bottle shelves and what they are really carrying
A back-bar shelf holding full bottles is carrying far more weight than a display shelf, and it is loaded unevenly and restocked in a hurry.
Span matters more than thickness — a shelf twice as long deflects far more than twice as much.
So the answer is usually more supports rather than thicker glass, and toughened rather than annealed throughout. We ask what goes on it and how long the run is before specifying, because a shelf that fails behind a bar is a serious matter rather than an inconvenience.
Mirrors behind a bar
A back-bar mirror is in the wettest, warmest part of the room, and an ordinary mirror will black at the edges within a couple of years.
That is moisture getting behind the silvering, and it only spreads.
So these want a mirror made for damp conditions with a sealed backing, and they want fixing mechanically rather than glued. Both cost a little more. In a room this hard on fittings, both are the difference between a mirror that lasts and one that is replaced twice.
Table tops that get moved every night
Glass table tops in a venue are shifted constantly to rearrange seating, and they get knocked at the edge doing it.
Toughened glass is strong across its face and vulnerable at the edge, so an edge knock is what takes a top out.
So every edge is polished and every corner rounded, and we would specify a slightly thicker top than the drawing calls for. It is the cheapest insurance available on an item that is handled several times a night.
How the job works
- Tell us about the jobSend a few photos, rough sizes and what you need. Use WhatsApp or the form. For a repair, a short video of the door moving helps a lot.
- We call you back in about 2 minutesWe confirm what you need and a time to visit. Where we can, we give you a rough price on the call.
- We come and measureWe measure the opening and check the walls, floor and ceiling around it. Anything made to size is made to these measurements, so they must be right.
- You get a written priceIt lists each item, with GST as its own line. If anything about the job changes, we tell you before we go ahead.
- We fit itYou approve the price and pay the advance. Our own team fits the work, checks that every door and window opens and closes properly, and clears up. Most jobs are done in 3 to 4 days.
