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Discussion Forum

See through panels in concrete deck?

mmches | Posted in General Discussion on October 8, 2009 05:46am

Can anyone help me find a lead on some clear (as in “see through”) walk-on material that I could incorporate into an elevated concrete deck. I have a 12′ x 32′ second floor deck on the north side of the house in NW Oregon that I want to build. I want to use concrete for both its maintenance and “dry-below” benefits. The trouble is two bedrooms and a hallway have their only windows on this side of the house that will become even darker in our winters without some kind of “skylights” incorporated into the concrete. I have seen this done before with glass block but didn’t like the breakup of light and slickness of the material when wet. Any ideas would be appreciated, especially if there is engineering info included.

Thanks,

Reply

Replies

  1. DanH | Oct 08, 2009 05:55am | #1

    Would have to be polycarbonate, I suspect. It's done in some commercial/industrial settings, for essentially the reason you suggest. I recall seeing pictures of a library with polycarbonate floors. (I'm guessing all the ladies wear slacks.)

    You'd have to work with a polycarbonate supplier to figure out what thickness to use. I'm guessing it would be 1" thick at least, and thicker for larger panels.

    As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
  2. User avater
    Ted W. | Oct 08, 2009 06:04am | #2

    I don't know if this will be much help, but it is pretty interesting...

    http://www.upi.com/enl-win/36111af9e71aac2ab28bb9b265c72b51/

    ~ Ted W ~

    Cheap Tools! - MyToolbox.net
    See my work at TedsCarpentry.com

  3. caseyr | Oct 08, 2009 06:09am | #3

    There is a "see through" concrete that is now being produced. It isn't all that clear, but it would certainly be a conversation piece... I have no idea of the cost of the material:

    http://www.materialicious.com/2009/04/litracon-see-through-concrete.html

    Our library has glass panels for the floor in the stacks to let light into the darker reaches. IIRC, they are about two feet by three feet and set on a steel framework. They are fairly thick and are translucent rather than clear but they could be just as easily clear (which would give the freshman boys a thrill to be able to look up skirts on the floor above...)

    The Grand Canyon Skywalk that recently opened has thick clear glass that forms the skyway. I don't recall how thick the glass is, but the support structure had to be very carefully designed to guard against any possibility of breakage as people walked on it.

    1. junkhound | Feb 26, 2011 07:41pm | #22

      library has glass panels for the floor in the stacks to let light into the darker reaches. IIRC, they are about two feet by three feet and set on a steel framework.

      ah, the old standard Carnegie library design, not too many of them left, last one aI was in was Newton , MA......

  4. calvin | Oct 08, 2009 01:53pm | #4

    There is a bldg along the river I believe in Hood River that has a sort of glass block in the surrounding deck.  We were there after closing but I imagine it was to light the area below (basement).

    This is the bldg.

    View Image

     

    A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.

    Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

    http://www.quittintime.com/

     

    1. mmches | Oct 08, 2009 06:59pm | #8

      Thanks for the ideas. That house in the gorge is the Vista House and on a really clear day I can see it from my own. I don't remember the glass block around the outside, have to check the next time I'm there. The light transmitting concrete seems a dead end and wouldn't transmit enough light anyhow. The sears tower and grand canyon glass walkways are really cool with really cool budgets behind them. I have the DIY budget and I'm just thinking someone might have made pre-engineered panels perhaps 2' x 4', that fit on conventional joist spacing and deck thickness. I can't be the only one that wants natural light below a deck.I'll try my local glass shop.Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

      1. drozer | Oct 08, 2009 07:08pm | #10

        do a google image search for glass floor residential and you'll get a ton of hits.like:http://www.grayglass.net/.../catid/1/conid/98

        1. mmches | Oct 08, 2009 08:12pm | #13

          Thanks drozer, I immediately found http://www.ibpglassblock.com Looks like they have a pre engineered system like I was looking for but as it turns out, at $220/ sq ft. is not in the cards. I was turned on to http://goldrayindustries.com/index.php/core/catalog/ that makes the same glass but also sold only through dealers but may come in quite a bit cheaper if I build my own frames for the glass.I'll keep you posted.

      2. User avater
        Dinosaur | Oct 08, 2009 08:25pm | #15

        Do you insist on having a clear span of 2'x4'? If all you want to do is let light get through, I don't see why you have to go to all the trouble of headering off the joists and so forth. Just leave out some deck boards and replace them with glass.

        I'll betcha if you set 1.25"-thick glass on the joists, it'll hold as well or better than the wood decking. Plate glass is very strong. Glue it in place with some silicone caulk, and you oughta be good to go.

        However, it'll be easily as slippery as glass block, unless you go for pebble-finished glass in a fairly coarse grade.

        Dinosaur

        How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....

        1. dovetail97128 | Oct 09, 2009 03:03am | #16

          Plate glass may well be strong enough but probably wouldn't pass the code here at all.
          Pretty strict enforcement on overhead glazing requirements, and he has an open area below . Edit:Wire glass however may pass if you could prove that the glass cannot separate from the frame work.

          Life is Good

          Edited 10/8/2009 8:06 pm by dovetail97128

  5. User avater
    PeteDraganic | Oct 08, 2009 03:05pm | #5

    I would assume glass is one answer. bulletproof type glass, an inch or two thick which naturally is built up of layers of glass and adhesive alternated. Even if fractured it should still hold together. You would want to contact a local glass supplier, not a retailer but more on the supply end of things. I know who to call here in Cleveland.

     

    I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish.        Pete Draganic

     

    You can lead a moderator to a computer, but you can't make him think.          cussin2

    1. FastEddie | Oct 08, 2009 04:15pm | #6

      Most of the bullet resistant (not bullet proof) glass is acrylic.  Some times there is a thin layer of real glass on each face to resist scratches."Put your creed in your deed."   Emerson

      "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

      1. DanH | Oct 08, 2009 07:24pm | #11

        I think it's mostly polycarbonate, not acrylic.
        As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz

        1. FastEddie | Oct 13, 2009 07:38pm | #17

          We get our br material from Piedmont Plastic in Charlotte, they offer both acrylic and polycarbonate."Put your creed in your deed."   Emerson

          "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

  6. User avater
    McDesign | Oct 08, 2009 06:51pm | #7

    I have got a new sheet (still  in the sticky brown cover paper) of 1" or 2" acrylic, 2' X 8'.  Where are you located?

    Forrest

    1. mmches | Oct 08, 2009 07:00pm | #9

      Portland, Oregon

      1. User avater
        McDesign | Oct 08, 2009 08:01pm | #12

        Ah - too far from Atlanta

        1. mmches | Oct 08, 2009 08:13pm | #14

          That's ok, thanks for trying.

    2. abrenner | Feb 26, 2011 11:56am | #20

      Acrylic sheets

      I live in Knoxville and am looking for some acrylic for a deck installation.  How expense is a sheet?  I would probably need 4 maybe 8 of them.

      Thank you.

      Allyn Brenner

  7. migraine | Oct 14, 2009 01:18am | #18

    I worked on a beach front home in SoCal where this was done.  I don't remember the thickness, but 1/2" seems to be about right.  I'm not sure if they were tempered because they were sand blasted etched around the edges.  The decks were around 24" thick

  8. User avater
    Dam_inspector | Oct 14, 2009 03:01am | #19

    I'd use metal grilles.

  9. DanH | Feb 26, 2011 02:31pm | #21

    Well, according to Trek IV, that guy in San Francisco should have "invented" transparent aluminum by now.

  10. junkhound | Feb 26, 2011 07:45pm | #23

    re: bullet proof plastic

    many decades ago I came by a few  nearly new windows from 707 aircraft.  Took'em home and setup for target practice with 22LR.  No pressure differential. Window acrylic prestressed for strengh.  22LR makes a 3 in dia hole. 

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