The days of dull, gray cubicles are over. Instead, business owners are modernizing their offices with sleek glass walls that define space while maintaining a more open feel and brightening the workplace.
Glass partitions are a great investment for any office looking to switch up the vibes. With decades of experience designing and installing custom commercial glass, we’re comfortable sharing some of the benefits, common concerns, and costs of glass walls so you can decide if glass is the right choice for your workplace.
Glass Walls Save Space
Every square foot makes a difference in an office building. When you install traditional drywall, each wall is four to six inches thick. That may not seem like a lot, but when you consider a few dozen walls in a workplace, those inches add up quickly. Glass walls, on the other hand, are only 10 to 12 millimeters thick. Now, each workspace gets to enjoy more room.
Glass walls also impact the perception of space. An office with 10 cubicles gathered in the middle can feel cramped. Glass partitions open up visibility and disperse light more evenly throughout the space. This makes your building feel larger than it actually is.
While you may enjoy this open feeling, there may be spaces where you want more privacy. For these rooms, you can choose frosted glass options. You can apply the frosted effect to an entire pane, or only part of it. You can tap into your creativity to create the perfect balance of privacy and connection in your office.
Glass Offers Design Flexibility
If you decide to add walls to your building, you’re starting what can be a long process. You may need to get a permit or have an inspection. Then you’ll need to draw up blueprints, hire a contractor, and wait for the project to be completed before you can work in your space again. And if you decide you want to reconfigure any walls, you’ll have to go through the whole process again.
With glass walls, you have far more flexibility. Glass partitions are able to be moved as a whole pane. This means that an entire office with glass walls can be redesigned in a fraction of the time it would take to move a single wall.
Glass walls are also non-load-bearing, giving you greater freedom to configure your glass walls in the exact layout you’re envisioning. If you hire more employees, or want to open up two small spaces into one office, you’re not held back by what the building can support.
Commercial Glass is Surprisingly Durable
When you think of glass, you might instinctively think of its fragile nature. But that isn’t the case for glass walls. Panels of glass used in offices are often made from tempered or laminated glass. Tempered glass has been treated with chemicals and is five times stronger than ordinary glass of the same thickness. Laminated glass, on the other hand, consists of several layers of glass fused together with a clear plastic resin called polyvinyl butyral (PVB).
These treatments make glass partitions resilient and difficult to damage. Compare this to traditional walls, which can be dented from a chair rolling back too quickly or need patching up after an employee hangs up a whiteboard.
If your glass wall is ever looking lackluster, all you need to do is spray a little glass cleaner, and it’ll look as good as new.
Cost Considerations
The cost of a glass wall will depend on the kind of glass you install, the size of the panel, and the type of wall. A 6 foot by 8 foot interior partition costs roughly $3,000 on average. A 10×8 room divider will be closer to $6,500.
A fixed panel is much less expensive than a sliding or accordion style partition. A fixed panel costs on average $11–$60 per square foot, while sliding and folding panels will cost between $90–$200.
Redefine Your Denver Office Space with Angelo and Sons
Angelo & Sons are Denver’s commercial (and residential) glass experts. Our team has extensive experience designing and installing glass walls with an unmatched attention to detail and a wide network to source and fabricate custom designs. Want to see what glass partitions could look like in your building? Contact us today for a free consultation!