Fits Anywhere Fire Rated Glass Brick Frame Installation
This page, when read in conjunction with “Glass Brick Frame Installation” and “Fire Frame Installation” sections of “Fine Print” page (links at bottom of page) should give you a thorough understanding of not only how to install fire rated glass block frames but why they need to be installed in this particular way, if you are designing a fire rated window, please call us to get everything right the first time (of all the issues we run into on building sites, fire rated panels with poor planning and preparation are the bulk of the problems. Time spent reading now is far less painful than altering walls already built later on).
Figure 1
Figure 1 shows why the glass brick frame needs to be located on the outer skin of the wall. The dotted line shows the steel reinforcing penetrating through the frame into a solid structure. It is not adequate to cover the wall cavity with the frame as you would with a normal glazed window or even a non-fire rated glass block panel (this would place the steel reinforcement into nothing but the air in the wall cavity). The reason this steel reinforcing into the surrounding solid structure is crucial is that the aluminium frame is not fire rated and will melt away in an intense fire. What will keep the integrity of the glass brick panel is this matrix of steel reinforcement holding the glass brick panel in place once the aluminium frame is no longer able to.
If you are set on having the frame recessed in from the external face rather than flush, you must fill the wall cavity on all sides with continuous solid blocking to hold the reinforcing rods.
Figure 2
Figure 2 shows how you would typically finish off the internal face of a fire rated glass block panel.
The plaster lined option is also applicable for cement sheet and tiling in a bathroom (in a wet area like a shower you will need a slight fall on the sill to drain off water but it will give you a very handy shelf for shower accessories)
Figure 3
Figure 3 shows the steel reinforcement configuration, how often the steel penetrates the frame and why the backing must be solid and continuous This is for installation in a brick wall
Figure 4
Figure 4 shows the steel reinforcement configuration, how often the steel penetrates the frame and why the backing must be solid and continuous This is for installation in a precast concrete panel wall.