Walk On Glass at Home: Is It Safe for Families with Kids?, There’s a real beauty and a luxury feel where glass is concerned, and it can be used all over the home, both inside and out, in different formats.
One example that some homeowners opt for within their interior design is a walk-on glass floor. Whether it’s installed as part of the staircase looking down at the next floor or it’s used as a substantial floor space within an upstairs room, it’s definitely a focal point and a jaw-dropping view to enjoy.
However, is it the most suitable design choice for families with kids? Are there dangers to having a walk on a glass floor in your home?
The short answer is yes, walk-on glass is safe for families with kids. It’s been professionally engineered and installed to the modern safety standards required nowadays.
Key safety features for families to know
When you think of glass, you think about glass windows that can shatter very easily if struck with something by force or by weight. However, walk-on glass is engineered and made differently.
Toughened laminated glass
With industry-standard panels that consist of multiple layers of toughened glass, these layers have then be bonded together with a plastic interlayer.
This design intends that if one layer breaks, the others maintain structural integrity to prevent falls from occurring.
Anti-slip coatings
While glass is a naturally smooth surface, manufacturers will apply an invisible anti-slip coating, grit pattern,s or sandblasted textures to the top of the surface in order to provide a permanent grip.
Even in wet conditions, it is perfectly safe to walk over without slipping.
Load-bearing strength
There’s a significant load-bearing strength that comes with this glass, with a typical 4′ x 4′ structural glass section holding over 2,000 lbs.
Safety standards
Domestic walk-on glass should be at least 25.5mm thick and comply with specific building regulations for both load and impact.
Child-friendly benefits
For children, there are a number of child-friendly benefits to know about.
The transparency of glass floors enables parents to monitor children across different levels of the home with ease.
It’s a hygienic and safe surface due to its ability to wipe clean and doesn’t harbor any nasty bacteria. There’s also no risk of splinters or rust compared to using wood or metal.
Finally, as toughened glass doesn’t break, it crumbles into small and blunt granular pieces, rather than any sharp and dangerous shards.
Important considerations to make
Before committing to walk on glass, there are several important considerations to make. The first being privacy. If the glass floor is above a private living area, you may want to consider frosted or translucent glass to obscure views from down below.
Glass will often show fingerprints and smudges from small sticky hands, so as far as cleaning goes, it will require frequent wiping to maintain clarity.
Other than that, walk-on glass floors can be a great feature to the home, and in no way should you be put off by implementing it with children in the home.
