As you watch your new office park being built, you'll hear about contractors who are not part of the glass company that is providing the windows start to ask about glass shop drawings. As these contractors are not providing the glass, this may seem like an odd thing for them to want. But they have good reason. All the glass in the building will affect the rest of the construction. The building has to keep the glass secure, and the contractors have to ensure the glass won't create problems inside the building once the construction is done.
Glass Has Weight
Glass is not light, and builders have to be sure they know the exact dimensions and specifications of each pane of glass to ensure the rest of the wall can hold them up. No one wants a wall to collapse with glass flying everywhere, but that's a risk if the builders don't have specifics from the glass shop about what they'll be installing in the wall. And the more glass you'll have in that wall, the more urgent it is that the builders see these schematics to ensure that everything is safe and sound.
It Will Let Sunlight In
Most glass that's installed in buildings now is dual-pane glass, which helps regulate the temperature inside the building on very hot or very cold days. But even dual-pane glass will let some sunlight in, enough to make areas right by the glass rather hot even if there is air conditioning in the building. Interior designers need to know where that light will hit, and the builders may ask you to decide to add awnings or something to shade that side of the building.
Any Wall Openings for Windows Need to Have Exact Measurements
The architectural plans for the building will have measurements for the windows, of course, but the glass shop's final drawings will contain more information that the builders can use to ensure that the openings they leave match the glass dimensions exactly. If there are multiple windows that all have to be the same distance away from each other, for example, the builders will want confirmation that the glass shop is actually making windows of a certain size and that nothing has changed.
Most of the contractors working on the structure will need to see glass shop drawings, so don't be surprised if some time is spent getting those drawings to the other companies. This is all part of the construction process and will help make your building much safer to be in.
For more information, contact a company such as Architectural Communication & Design.
