Curtain Wall & Facade Glass: A Specification Guide

Curtain Wall & Facade Glass: A Specification Guide

A glass curtain wall is a non-structural building envelope hung off the floor slabs, so the glass carries wind load, keeps out weather, controls heat and noise, and must perform safely if it ever breaks. No single glass product does all of that — curtain walls combine tempered, laminated and insulated glass depending on the role each pane plays. This guide pulls those types together for specifiers choosing facade glass.

What is facade glass?

“Facade glass” is the glass that forms a building’s external envelope — the vision panes, spandrel panels and cladding that make up the face of the building. Curtain wall glass is the most common type of facade glass, but the term also covers window-wall, structural glazing and rainscreen cladding. Whatever the system, facade glass is specified from the same three building blocks below, chosen for the wind load, safety, thermal and acoustic duty each pane has to carry.

The three building blocks

Tempered (toughened) glass provides the strength and safe-break behaviour the envelope needs. Laminated glass adds post-breakage retention, holding fragments on the interlayer so a broken pane does not fall from height. Insulated glass units (IGUs) add the thermal and acoustic layer, sealing a cavity between panes. A single curtain wall pane is often all three at once — for example a laminated IGU built from toughened plies.

Glass thickness and sizes for curtain walls

Curtain wall glass thickness is driven by wind load, pane size, support conditions and the required safety performance, so it is set per project rather than fixed. The ranges available:

Type	Thickness	Max size
Tempered (toughened)	3–25 mm	2850 × 6000 mm
Laminated	3–25 mm per ply	2850 × 6000 mm
Insulated (IGU)	3–25 mm per ply	3500 × 8000 mm

Larger or more exposed panes need thicker glass or a laminated/insulated build; your facade engineer sizes the glass to the wind and load case, and we can advise against the spec.

Standards that apply

• Tempered: GB 15763.2, EN 12150, ASTM C1048, AS/NZS 2208, BS 6206, GB/T 17841.
• Laminated: AS/NZS 2208, ASTM C1172-14, EN 14449:2005, GB 15763.3.
• Insulated: AS/NZS 4666:2012, EN 1279-1:2004 / -5:2005, GB/T 11944-2012.

How to specify curtain wall and facade glass

1. Start from loads and safety. Wind load and fall-from-height risk set whether you need toughened, laminated or both.
2. Add the thermal/acoustic layer. Where energy or noise targets apply, specify an IGU and choose the spacer cavity.
3. Combine in one build. A laminated IGU of toughened plies covers strength, retention and thermal performance together.
4. Consider coatings and spandrel. Low-E or solar-control coatings and printed spandrel panels complete the facade.
5. Confirm sizes and standards against the ranges above for your market.
6. Plan logistics — lead time 7–15 working days, MOQ 50 m², 10-year warranty, quoted EXW/FOB.

Explore the component products — flat tempered glass, laminated glass and insulated glass — then send us your enquiry with your facade build, dimensions and quantity and we will quote EXW or FOB.

Sources

• Client product catalogue / knowledge base (flat-tempered, laminated and insulated glass specs and standards)
• Client knowledge base (lead time, MOQ, warranty, Incoterms)

Related reading

• What is spandrel glass? Types and uses