See-through cover for well?

[phil1806]

Hi - this is a bit of an unusual question I think.

We've discovered an old well underneath some slabs we're relaying for a patio. We'd like to make it so the well is covered, but so you can still see in. So after a long hunt I found a company that makes laminated glass blocks, but they've quoted about £500 for a half-metre square slab.

So I'm just wondering if there's any cheaper alternative I should be looking at?

Thanks

Phil

 

[stephenf8542]

How about thick perspex and IP66 lights.Make a feature of it

 

[phil1806]

How about thick perspex and IP66 lights.Make a feature of it

Do you have a source for that?

 

[stephenf8542]

I'm about 400 mile away from you so my local supplier wont be much good.Get on Google and see who's local to you

 

[ColJack]

http://www.hgreensmith.co.uk/images/19_818.jpgtommy walsh did something similar on one of his programs..

had to re-build the last meter and half of the well and put some lights and a glass top on it with a metal ring..

this was in the middle of someones extension.. made a nice feature..

etc etc..

some window firms may be able to help you out, and quite a few have examples of glass well covers and glass flooring on their websites..

 

[Thermo]

ive got this on a job at the moment. the problem you have is safety over cost and vice versa. many glass supply companies will not supply anything less than pedestrian glass if they know it is for a well as they scared stiff of the ramifications.

You could go for thinner laminated glass, but you would need a grid underneath to stop anyone falling through

 

[ColJack]

what's pedestrian glass?

surely 3 or 4 laminations of 10mm glass would do the job?

the covers they talk about are only listed as 30mm (ish) thick..

 

[Thermo]

ah welcome to the world of banging your head against a brick wall!

pedestrian glass is glass that can be walked on. its thick at about 38mm thick.

Tried the suggestion of laminated glass and they wouldnt supply it. I had this from 4 glass suppliers. If there is any risk that anyone can stand on it then that is the road they all seem to go down. Its not cheap either!

 

[ColJack]

the covers in those pictures are all laminated glass..

most are 25mm laminated to 10mm making 35mm..

are they trying to say that a single sheet of glass 38mm thick is better than 2 thinner sheets laminated to make the same thickness?

surely not?

huh... just googled "pedestrian glass" and the top reply was my post above.... he he....

 

[Thermo]

ive lost count of how long ive spent arguing this with them! ive got a 12mm laminated conservatory roof thats had god knows how many people walk across it, so i agree totally with you. Luckily the client has now asked her window guy to see if he can source it!

 

[ColJack]

I worked for a company that made "bandit screens", a large pneumatic driven steel plate that rose out of a counter in less than a second when a panic button was pressed..
they occasionally had to make ones with bullet proof glass with the usual cut outs for places where there were sometimes problem customers, so that they could raise it before they came in and still conduct whatever business they had to through it..

this bullet proof glass was about 30mm thick and was made from 6 or 7 sheets of glass laminated together..

so if something like that can be bullet proof, then you would think you'd be ok to walk on it?

 

[Thermo]

i know. The job we are doing this for is for a quiet house in teh country, with two children. The well is surrounded by a wall and you would need to climb up to walk on it, but still the argument came back the same from the glass suppliers.

 

[dave.m]

Why not contact Blackpool Tower and ask what they used for the Walk of Faith.

http://www.visitnorthwest.com/blackpool/tower-video1.htm

Contact details:

http://www.theblackpooltower.co.uk/contact.php

 

[Thermo]

its pedestrian glass. exactly the example i was given by the glass suppliers!

 

[ColJack]

i know. The job we are doing this for is for a quiet house in teh country, with two children. The well is surrounded by a wall and you would need to climb up to walk on it, but still the argument came back the same from the glass suppliers.

if it's raised, then get yourself a glass topped patio table and use the top from that and stick some chairs round it to discourage kids walking on it..

there is no such thing as pedestrian glass.. if you google it you get this very post as the top reply.. closely followed by some websites with the words glass and pedestrian in them.. one of which is the grand canyon skywalk..

all just mention glass pedestrian walkways...

one of the websites you get if you google "walk over glass" is a company that makes glass walkways, where they say that they make them from 25mm laminated to a sheet of 15mm or 25mm to 25mm for heavy traffic areas..