People choose tempered glass for a reason — these are more durable than regular glass. That’s why if you’d like to have some glass shelves, it’s better to choose tempered glass material so that it can last longer and can handle the weight more.

Tempered glass is stronger than standard glass and does not shatter into large shards when broken. Tempered glass is often used in applications where using standard glass could pose a potential danger. Manufactured through a process of extreme heating and rapid cooling, tempered glass is much harder and stronger than normal glass.

Yes. Tempered glass is normally used. You can order any of our glass types and use them for glass shelves. You can use annealed glass (weaker, but cheaper), Laminated glass (2 sheets of glass with plastic sheet between) or Ceramic glass (high temperature applications). To order, click on the red order now button at the top of the page and start by selecting the type of glass that you want.

Since all of our projects are custom made to order, there is no standard thickness for shelves of any given size. The most important thing is that the glass is tempered which is what gives the glass strength. For this reason, much of the choice is aesthetic and will vary from person to person and project to project.

Use our Glass Weight Load Calculator to calculate how much weight your glass shelf can safely hold.

We live up to our name! Most orders are shipped within 1 business day after being submitted and approved. We do our best to ship orders received before 12:00pm (Noon) Pacific Time for all the same day they are ordered but generally ship no later than the next business day. If your piece is extremely labor intensive (ex. IGU, cut to a pattern), larger than 24″ x 48″, requires edgework, or an uncommon tint/thickness, it may take us extra time to get it just right.

Once your order is placed, your email order confirmation will display the estimated production time and estimated delivery dates based upon your order specifications and the delivery option chosen.

Glass thicknesses are shown as a Nominal Thickness, meaning “in name only”, used solely for identification. These are commonly listed as 1/8″, 5/32″, 1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″, 3/8″, and 1/2″. The nominal size may not match the exact thickness but will be within the acceptable industry-wide thickness range and can correspond to a large number of highly standardized dimensions and tolerances.

It is simple to measure a radius by using our radius measurement tool. Download the tool by clicking here. Print the tool. When printing please make sure page scaling is set to none. To verify you have printed the tool to the correct scale measure the 1″ Scale Line at the bottom of the page. It should measure out to exactly 1″. If it does not measure correctly please check your printer settings.

The correct radius will fill the entire curved area on the template.

A “seamed” edge is one that has been lightly sanded to remove any sharp burrs. Glass with a seamed edge is safe to handle but is not decorative. It is our standard finish and is available at no extra charge. We will never send out glass with sharp edges that you could not handle safely without being cut.

The seamed edge is recommended for all applications in which the edges of the glass are not exposed.

For example, if your glass will be installed into the frame of a fireplace door and no one will see the edges once the glass has been installed, a seamed edge is all you need.

For shelves, table tops, or the like, you may want to consider upgrading to a more finished/decorate edge.