What you should know if you construct with glass

Perched on a hill top, in a neighborhood surrounded by only trees, lies a magnificent glass house in its entire splendor. The house is constructed by both brick walls and glass on the other side positioned towards the direction of sunrise. In the morning hours, it pours in light in to the room, giving it a breath of life.

During the day, the glass also reflects the surrounding environment on the wall making the compound look much bigger than it actually is. The living room receives a lot of light that makes it looks like one is actually outside. This gives the whole atmosphere a beautiful feeling.

Trendy
It is a trend these days for many building contractors in town to use glass, especially glass facades in their construction. This seemingly popular trend has been favored by those who have made their money and can afford to build residential houses using curtain walling in some parts of the house.

Other home developers who admire the beauty presented by a glass wish to follow suit but might require professional guidance from an architect given the delicate nature of glass. Joab Mugisha, a home developer in his forties wants a curtain wall made of glass for the area around his living room. He is in his final stage of construction having finished identifying a contractor who quoted for him the costs his going to incur and the details about the type of glass his going to use. If his project is executed, it will set him back financially given the expensive nature of the glass and also the skilled expertise it requires.

Considerations
Catherine Muyinda, an architect with K.K Partnership says there are several factors that home developers are supposed to look at before setting out to build that glass house. Muyinda says, you need to first figure out what you want. She advises that before you set out to build that glass house, you need to first study your environment. And such includes factors like the location of the house, the type of glass you are going to use, the direction of the sun.

She also adds that you have to put your needs in consideration.

The curtain walling is best put in public places like the living room. However, for the more private parts of the house like the bedrooms, she advises that you steer away from using curtain wall glass.

Choosing the glass
Muyinda also advises that you have to know the type of glass that you are going to use. The wall glasses are a lot thicker and made to with stand the strain. “The window glasses are usually six millimeters thick and are less expensive compared to the wall glasses. That’s why most houses which are constructed using glass are for high scale developers, usually for those who can afford,” she says.

Most houses constructed with glass have an overlying glass that lets in a lot of light in to the living room, giving it a feel of life.

Many people have adopted a copy and paste culture; they want to have the same houses they see abroad, sometimes forgetting that we have a different setting here.

Privacy
Most glass houses are found in a one home setting where one is assured of total privacy. Unless you have that then you cannot use curtain walling. Other areas of the house like bedrooms do not need to have class in them to ensure maximum privacy.

“You can build a wholly glass walled house if you are going to be the only one in that surrounding so as to create some sort of privacy in the home, but you will incur increased costs, “ she says

She adds that there are different types of glass for different construction purposes. One challenge we face here in Africa is the too much light that we receive. This sunshine can easily affect the glass. She also says you have to position the building well.

Curtain walling
When curtain walling, you have to factor in the issue of the sunlight and heat, you must know the sun’s direction to avoid the greenhouse effect caused by the glare that comes off. Muyinda sites an instance in the U.S where a building in the U.S that was constructed with fully glass, killed plants that were found in the direction of the glare, as a result of the greenhouse effect.

Most offices where there is curtain walling, they have air conditioning systems. “Even if you open the windows you cannot feel the effect of natural ventilation. Most buildings today do not factor in the issue of ventilation. That’s why old building has thick walls,” she explains

If you are going for the glass then you have to have air conditioning inside. But even the air conditioning has its own disadvantages.

You must use professionals
She also adds that not everyone can do the curtain, walling, you must contact specialists to come help you fix the wall, which presents a challenge and also increases the costs of construction.

Constructing using glass is not a walk in the park; you have to seek professional opinion from specialists. Espousing the culture because of the beautiful houses you see abroad is risky because we have different climatic conditions, those out have studied their climate.

She also points out that there are different types of glasses used for both the walls and windows. The curtain walling glass usually has a tint which increases on the costs of construction.

For the huge wall, you have to use the six millimetre glass which is different from the glass used for windows.

Muyinda points out one pros of using glass is it helping to reduces the weight on the foundation and hence makes the building lighter as compared to constructing walls. Besides, glass makes the area look far more spacious, wider and creates a sense of a ‘feel- good’ factor with long windows and brightness. It avoids external wastage.

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