installation

The installed glass.

I don't usually post pictures of the installations in progress but these guys impressed me so much yesterday I thought I would share. They always do an excellent job which is why I use them, but yesterday they performed a miracle as far as I'm concerned.

This panel measures 58” x 58” and weighs 150 pounds. Notice the four notches, two up and two down. This is where the clamps will go that will hold it in place in the marble clad opening.

Initially, a different guy came out and did the measurements of the space (which is slightly out of square) for ordering the glass. While one guy checked the measurements and square and starting marking the opening for the holes to be drilled in the marble, the other guy carried in all the gear.

This has to be fairly precise so that the clamps will line up properly with the notches in the glass and so that there aren't unused holes in the marble.

After all the holes were drilled, half the clamps were seated, with screws into the wood beneath the marble cladding.

We put a plastic film on the back of the glass to protect it from getting scratched and from back-blast during the etching process and then on the etched side when we are finished to protect it and keep it clean. In the picture below, you can see the top clamps and the film on the etched side of the glass. The guys are removing the film on the clear side in the picture in preparation for hoisting it up and in place. The black circles towards the bottom corners are the suction cups they use for handles.

Normally, the cups would be on the outside face of the glass but because of the etching, the cups can't get a vacuum which is what holds them on the glass. In this case, the cups had to go on the inside surface making it way more awkward as they had to reach around the glass and grab hold to lift it and seat it in place.

I would have taken a picture of them lifting it and fitting it in the opening if I had thought about it but watching them, it was pretty scary and I was too busy thinking OMG OMG. At one point, the glass was leaning back about 45˚ as they struggled to get the bottom seated at least 3' off the ground (maybe more) in a space that had about 1/8” leeway on each side. One bonk of a corner on that marble wouldn't have meant just a chipped corner but, because it was tempered, the whole piece would have exploded.

Once they got it seated, one guy stayed on one side while the other went around to the other side as they shifted the glass an infinitesimal amount so that it was perfectly centered in the opening and then attached the second half of the clamps to hold the glass in place. Last was putting a bead of silicone in the air space around the edges on the shower side to seal the opening.