decoran Crystallized Glass - INTERNAL APPLICATIONS

Described fully as crystallized, annealed glassceramic, this pioneering material should not be specified as glass per se but more as a unique stone-like material. Just as you would expect and desire from a natural stone, this exquisite material exhibits natural inconsistencies and flaws, is generally thick, with one finished side (unless the calibrated underside is intended to be polished), and cutting and edging is processed.  Given that the material is not toughenable, like granite it will break into shards and pellets during destruction testing.

Based in the UK,  The Greenhouse Effect Ltd are the main technical sales agents for German patent holders and producers Indupart Glaskeramik GmbH.  Sheets are held both in the UK and abroad in order to facilitate completion of decoran projects.

decoran glass ceramic, formed from 100% recycled float glass, is a revolutionary and highly versatile material, with the combined characteristics of glass and natural stone.  Primarily aimed at internal applications as an interior cladding material, decoran offers either the warm opacity of natural stone, or refined, contemporary levels of translucency – and even transparency – coupled with an unrivaled anti-stain quality and durability.  

glass ceramic is the luxury solution for interior and non anchored applications, including internal linings, feature walls, kitchen and bar surfaces, flooring and stairs, memorials, screens, vanity tops and sinks, and should be specified as a stone slab material.

With a competitive edge over translucent stone rival Onyx, in terms of price, sustainability and evenness of colour, glass ceramic has unrivalled anti-stain qualities, as well as highly enviable environmental credentials, as no resins are used in the bonding process.  Instead, glass crystals are heated to a sintering point and then control-cooled.

Material Nature and Characteristics

This highly sought material is produced entirely from float glass (or bottle glass as with some decoran®) manufacturers’ waste cullet and formed in 2780mm by 1260mm sheets in varying thicknesses of between 15-23mm. Consuming just a third of the energy otherwise required for reprocessing at high temperature, the material is fired using bio-gas energy sources, wherever possible.  Once the material has been sintered and formed into sheets, these are then control-cooled, such that the tensile stresses within the glass are moved to the panel edge, providing increased stability, and thus rendering the material in its nature more like granite. The naturally textured “hammered” top surface which results, similar to the bush hammering of stone surfaces, can then be polished down to create a more luxurious reflective finish. Although the underside is generally left as a calibrated flat surface, this too can be polished upon request if visible.  Air bubbles contained within are another unique characteristic of the material, and are kept below a 3mm diameter, predominantly away from the top surface. On cutting, these can be left open, appearing on the rear side.

Colours    
Translucent colours Jade and Galaxy, produced from float glass and low iron glass respectively, form our standard colour range. Highly popular, these colours are keenly specified due to their glass-like qualities and are, therefore, generally held in stock for decoran®.  On request, however, a full range of bespoke opaque colours is also available.  Unless UV damage requires otherwise, the pigments thus added are organic.  Using smaller cullet sizes with greater crystallization, then hammered finish, opaque colours which result are more akin to natural stone.

• Material Benefits:

• Outstanding degree of hardness

• Scratch-resistant as hammered surface

• Colourfast

• Translucent, offering lighting uses

• Acid, petrol and hydroxide resistant

• Available in two alluring colours translucent, and in almost any bespoke colour opaque

• Easy to use in combination with other glass or natural stone

• Able to incorporate logos or motifs, and even sand blasting reliefs

• Resistant to temperatures of between -50 and +200 degrees Celsius, except in heat shock with a pan

Offering a tough, yet contemporary, cold and resin-free solid surface, this eco-friendly material is highly prized since it is also fully recyclable. As all panels are finished to an exemplary standard before delivery, only bonding and joint-filling work are subsequently required.

Processing down from full sheet size is achieved either by waterjet or by circular saw, and all visible edges are then fully arrissed and polished for strength and usability.  Similarly, all cutouts for taps and hobs also receive an arriss.  In an endeavour to avoid unnecessary costs, the design should afford due deference to our various sheet sizes, allowing 100-150mm wide material by cutouts to guarantee safe transportation.  This may, however, affect the choice of under mount sink or hob unit.  Polished cutouts should allow minimum 25mm radius corners in order for this to be achieved.  Over mounted sink types can be used and the material let in to create a flush finish.

Any unpolished cutouts for hobs should, where possible, allow for radiused corners of between 10-15mm to add strength and to ensure that all decoran® is fully supported.  If translucent types are to be used, with no lighting appliance beneath, we strongly advise the use of either a silver or light grey paint on the reverse to prevent shadowing occurring from the carcassing.  Light films as underlay are also usable.  Further up-to-date product information is available on request.

Visible cut edges, as at sinks, should be fully polished and, if requested, any open bubbles glue filled.  Front edges are best designed in accordance with the thickness of the material and expression of the layers, perhaps using inset anodized angles.  Deeper front edges will be difficult – and costly – to achieve with thicknesses in excess of 23mm.  Potentially of a lower strength, they will also require jointing.

Jointing slabs at maximum intervals of 2700mm is achieved via a minimal 1-2mm arriss and clear silicon bond.  All slabs are adhered with an elastic bond to the background to prevent thermal movement damage.

Products are manufactured either from a CAD file or from templating site measurements. Although we do not offer this service in-house, we are able to recommend suitable fitters. decoran® surfaces may be cleaned by the use of any glass cleaning product, although it is wise to avoid the use of abrasive cloths or cleaning agents.

We are able to supply either 15mm or 20mm decoran® for use as an LED lit splash back.  Although predominantly specified in Galaxy polished type, it is not as strong in the 15mm version as in the thicker version, and must therefore be protected.  Please note that 15mm decoran® is currently not held in stock.  Examples of our latest projects are available on request.

Highly versatile, decoran® can be used in shower screens and other such dividers. Since this is a one-sided material, it should be specified with its rear side polished and filled (please refer to our later section on decoran® as a barrier and consider it a free standing granite sheet rather than glass).  Fixing can be easily achieved either by pre-drilling holes or via shuffle glazing channels.

Glassceramic is ideal for use as an internal lining material in many applications, including commercial lobbies, lift cars, boardrooms, conference rooms and sanitary areas.  Fixing detailing can be tailored to customer needs, with open or closed joints, depending on the background.  Panel sizes can be specified and are available from maximum sheet size to 100mm widths.   It is advised that all visible returned edges are polished, and UV bonded mitres are available on request.  Shuffle glazing methods are generally used in preference to anchored fixings, panels are either bonded to the rear or to mullions at the 20mm edge, and angles are adhered to the rear sides.

Unsurpassable in both quality and appearance and highly popular, the exquisite, highly sophisticated translucent versions of decoran® present an outstanding alternative to a lit bold strata Onyx, to a bland sandblasted, and to other decorative glass, offering added random feature interest.  Previewed earlier, in application as a reception desk, translucent decoran® is the ideal choice for bar fronts (below) and tops, lit flooring and internal lit walls.  Light fittings produce either a graded or diffused effect, and LED/RGB solutions offer unrivalled diffusion evenness, as well as low maintenance costs and a thin construction package.  Further product and project information is available on request.

Following light transmission ISO 9050 testing on Galaxy hammered, we found its Visible Light Transmittance value to be 15.07%, its Solar Light Transmittance to be 13.67%, and showing a U Value of 5.20 W/MsqC.

More suited as a decorative rather than a structural floor covering, as a stone-like material decoran® offers an R9 non-slip finish in the natural, hammered surface. Slabs can be laid in most formats, although economic panels are either 600mm square or a suitable sheet division such as 1200mmx400mm, in a thickness of between 20-23mm.  All cut edges receive a top arriss, and bonding to a solid background is achieved via an elastic adhesive (as with a ceramic tile), although with fully combed spread to avoid unsupported loading.

To achieve a translucent structural glass floor, the decoran® may be viewed by engineers structurally as a sacrificial layer, as decorative floor covering, laid on a 2mmx10mm toughened glass background, as per specification.  Laminating the material to glass is, however, not without risk, and is therefore best avoided.  Budget pricing starts from around EUR 370 per m² for available low wastage schedules and Jade Hammered type.

As regards slip resistance, BS slippage test data reveals that decoran® hammered has pendulum values of surface roughness RZ average of 12.024 (against the required minimum of 10).  In wet conditions, however, this puts the material in the medium risk category, while in dry conditions, the material performs very well. With a H&S slip resistance value of 64.5 in dry, and 18.3 in wet conditions, it is advisable either to add a ceramic frit, or to cordon off cleaned wet areas.