From contemporary businesses to modern homes, glass shelves provide a fashionable alternative to traditional shelving materials like wood, metal, or plastic.
Offering a minimalistic solution that puts the items on display at the forefront, creating a ‘floating shelf’ effect with clear glass adds an elegant touch by reducing visual clutter.
They’re aesthetically pleasing, versatile for use in different settings, and easy to clean – but what about the more pressing practical aspects?
The most important question to answer is: are glass shelves strong enough to use safely?
If you’re impressed by the sleek look of glass shelving but unsure about its safety, here’s what you should know about glass shelves to help you make a confident design choice.
Is glass shelving safe to use?
Yes – durable glass shelves are made from toughened glass, also known as tempered glass, which has gone through thermal treatment to make it several times stronger.
Toughened glass shelves are resistant to scratching, moisture, and high temperatures, so you don’t have to worry about them warping or rotting. This makes them suitable for holding items of various sizes and weights.
In the rare event that a toughened glass shelf breaks from a big impact, it will shatter into small pieces with rounded edges like little pebbles, reducing the risk of injury.
As with any other type of wall-mounted shelving, to prevent them from breaking or falling, you must ensure that your glass shelves are properly secured and aren’t overloaded.
You should carefully calculate how much weight you expect the shelf to hold so you can order the right glass thickness and length and the appropriate number of shelf supports.
How thick should a glass shelf be?
A toughened glass shelf doesn’t need to have a specific thickness, though it should at least meet the minimum thickness of 4–6mm for storing lighter items.
However, as the dimensions of the shelf will depend on the weight you want it to hold, it’s important to adjust the thickness based on how much you want to store on the shelf.
The larger the shelf surface area, the thicker it will have to be – and the longer the shelf, the more support brackets it will need – to make sure it can hold the weight effectively.
As mentioned, shelves around 6mm thick are best suited to low storage needs, such as a bathroom shelf holding some toiletries. For most purposes, such as displaying decorative items, an 8–10mm thickness should suffice.
For shelves intended to store larger or heavier items, or a greater quantity of smaller items, it would be best to invest in a thicker shelf at least 12–15mm thick.
When you’ve settled on the right glass shelf thickness, be sure to choose shelf supports that are designed to fit that thickness and adhere to the manufacturer’s advised size limits – e.g. a maximum load of 20kg for a 10mm thick shelf up to 200mm deep.
How do you install glass shelves?
Installing glass shelves is fairly straightforward, as they can be mounted to various wall surfaces with minimal fittings to maintain an open display for the ‘floating shelves’ look.
Using screw-fixed metal clamps is the most common way to mount glass shelves, as they are small with a shiny finish that complements the sleek aesthetic, while providing enough strength to hold the sheet of glass firmly in place.
The glass itself doesn’t need to be pre-drilled, because the metal anchors that attach to the wall will clamp onto the edge of the glass securely with rubber gaskets. This ensures the metal doesn’t damage the surface while creating a firm grip.
Each clamp should fit a specified thickness range, such as 4mm–10mm, so you shouldn’t buy the wrong size anchors that could end up being too loose or too tight. You must also double-check their maximum depth and weight capacity.
The number of brackets required to mount a glass shelf will depend on its length, as it’s generally not advised to space out shelf supports more than 40cm apart.
As long as you choose suitable shelf supports for the thickness, length, and width of each shelf, then mount them correctly, you can create a functional glass shelving display in no time.
Design custom glass shelves to suit your space
The easiest way to ensure that glass shelving suits your needs is to design it yourself, with help from specialist manufacturers of glass cut to size like The Glass Warehouse.
They can provide toughened glass cut to your requested size and shape with polished edges, perfect for creating custom glass shelves. Additionally, you can opt for different finishes for a more unique look, including tinted glass or satin glass.
You can also find fittings for glass shelf installation in their online shop when placing your order, so you can get everything you need to complete your project in one place.
With multi-functional, robust, yet low-maintenance glass shelving, you can enhance the organisation and décor of any living area, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, hallway, or office.
From collectibles to cosmetics, ingredients to office supplies, and more, you can rely on glass shelves to store and display your chosen items in an aesthetically appealing way.
