Whether you own a home or a small business, tempered glass can help protect your property and ensure that your glass features are ultra-durable. Tempered glass, also called safety glass, goes through a heat treatment that makes it up to four times stronger than regular glass. This enhanced durability makes it resistant to breaking, and it minimizes injury risk in the case the glass does break.

From frameless glass shower enclosures to sliding glass patio doors and from glass tabletops to residential windows, tempered glass is a premier choice for any glass home feature that you need to be strong and long-lasting. However, sometimes it can be difficult to tell whether the glass you’re buying is truly tempered. To have peace of mind, it’s important to know these three signs that your tempered glass is the real deal.

Check the Edges

The first way to tell if your tempered glass is authentic is to check the edges of the glass, if possible. Real tempered glass should have almost perfectly smooth edges when you run your finger along the side. There shouldn’t be any noticeable ridges, bumps, or chips.

If your glass edge feels rough to the touch, it’s likely standard annealed glass (glass that hasn’t been heat-strengthened). The sharp, rough edges indicate that the glass has been cut with standard tools and likely isn’t authentic.

Search for a Stamp

Another way to tell if your tempered glass is the real deal is to look for the bug. In glass manufacturing, the term “bug” refers to a stamp or logo etched or sandblasted into the glass pane. These bugs are typically very small and found in one of the corners of the glass sheet.

The bug will show the manufacturer’s name as well as the Consumer Product Safety Commission standards. The bug isn’t always visible once the glass is installed, but if you can see all four corners of your glass sheet and don’t notice a clear stamp, your tempered glass may be an imitation. 

Don’t Write Off Imperfections

Many homeowners assume that glass with scratches or other imperfections must be fake. However, this isn’t at all true. In fact, imperfections are typically a sign that you are dealing with authentic tempered glass.

While it’s important to look out for large imperfections that could indicate an imitation product, it’s normal for there to be small surface scratches or air bubbles in the glass. Otherwise, the glass would be too perfect to be tempered, and it would likely shatter very easily. 

Searching for these small particles and imperfections is one of the best ways to identify real tempered glass once your pane has been installed. Once the edges of the sheet are no longer accessible, you won’t be able to feel the smoothness of the edges or locate any bugs, so it’s important to recognize that imperfections in tempered glass are to be expected.

Whether you want to transform your bathroom with modern frameless glass shower enclosures or you need a showpiece glass tabletop to finish your dining area, Golden Glass is the go-to contractor for all things tempered glass in Southern California. Headquartered in Fullerton, we’re a family-run business that will give you the personal attention of a small business with the world-class fabrication quality of a national corporation. To learn more about Golden Glass residential glass contractors and our tempered glass fabrication and installation services, give us a call at 800-64-GLASS or fill out our online contact form today.