Glass wardrobe doors

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We will be moving into a new house (new to us!) with our two kids (third on the way). In the house are some fitted cupboards which look like they were fitted when the house was built (i.e. 1983 is). They have mirror panel doors.

Obviously we are a little concerned because these wardrobes are in the room that the two boys (4 and 2) will be sleeping.

I know that now it is a legal requirement for such doors to have safety mirrors installed, was this the case in the 80s. Also is there a way of telling if they are safety mirrors? i.e. markings.

Of course if I am in doubt they will get replaced as soon as we move in.
 

Greedo

Guest
magnatom said:
We will be moving into a new house (new to us!) with our two kids (third on the way). In the house are some fitted cupboards which look like they were fitted when the house was built (i.e. 1983 is). They have mirror panel doors.

Obviously we are a little concerned because these wardrobes are in the room that the two boys (4 and 2) will be sleeping.

I know that now it is a legal requirement for such doors to have safety mirrors installed, was this the case in the 80s. Also is there a way of telling if they are safety mirrors? i.e. markings.

Of course if I am in doubt they will get replaced as soon as we move in.

Doubt it very much they will be if they are the original 1983 doors. I'd just get them taken out to be on the safe side if you're worried
 
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magnatom

Guest
Greedo said:
Doubt it very much they will be if they are the original 1983 doors. I'd just get them taken out to be on the safe side if you're worried


Aye, that's my thoughts. How safe is safe mirrored glass? I could certainly replace like for like.
 

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
magnatom said:
Aye, that's my thoughts. How safe is safe mirrored glass? I could certainly replace like for like.


We had the same worries when we moved in here, house built around the same time. I took one fitted double out as the room was converting to bathroom and we didn't have a use elsewhere for it. Took to tip and the doors were thrown into an empty skip, the big ones and from the raised platform. They didn't break so we still have the fitted unit with 4 sliding mirrored panels along one wall of our bedroom. This gives the added benefit, as our room receives the least light, of lightening it considerably. The downsides are some of the hideous images I'm treated to as I get ready to go out on the bike:biggrin:
 

Greedo

Guest
magnatom said:
Aye, that's my thoughts. How safe is safe mirrored glass? I could certainly replace like for like.

Very safe and if something ever did manage to smash it, it will smash like a windscreen does. Hundreds of wee tiny chunks.
 

Greedo

Guest
magnatom said:
Jolly good. A trip to B&Q is in order then! ;)


Don't go to B&Q mate. You'll get them far cheaper than in there. There's loads of places in Hillington. Sliding robes company etc.....
 
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magnatom

Guest
Greedo said:
Don't go to B&Q mate. You'll get them far cheaper than in there. There's loads of places in Hillington. Sliding robes company etc.....


Aye, just said B&Q for effect! I'm a regular down at Hillington these days!

Now I just need to find someone to supply and fit a kitchen and to change the back boiler to a combi all at the same time! (oh and possibly extend and refit the upstairs bathroom if we have any money left!!);):smile:

Any suggestions welcome (thanks to those who have made suggestions already!)
 

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
magnatom said:
Any suggestions welcome (thanks to those who have made suggestions already!)

Yep, but don't think he'd be travelling up to Glasgow. I know it seems obvious but ask around and try to get someone local. New house means you'll be wanting lots of help and having a reliable 'go to' person is invaluable. My guy retired a couple of years ago and it was tough finding a replacement.
 
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magnatom

Guest
MacB said:
Yep, but don't think he'd be travelling up to Glasgow. I know it seems obvious but ask around and try to get someone local. New house means you'll be wanting lots of help and having a reliable 'go to' person is invaluable. My guy retired a couple of years ago and it was tough finding a replacement.


I've got a couple of suggestions (thanks Mr Pig!), but as this is a big job (for us) I want to get more than the usual 3 quotes in. Normally I'm willing to do a lot myself (usually learning as I go along!) but this is way out of my depth (and needs to be done in a timely manner due to multiple children!).
 

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
magnatom said:
I've got a couple of suggestions (thanks Mr Pig!), but as this is a big job (for us) I want to get more than the usual 3 quotes in. Normally I'm willing to do a lot myself (usually learning as I go along!) but this is way out of my depth (and needs to be done in a timely manner due to multiple children!).

One option is to go around the local pubs and chat to the landlords. Also you can visit any builders merchants and have a chat with the guys there. These folks tend to know who's reasonable and, most importantly, who generates complaints. Chatting to the new neighbours is the final one I can think of.
 

dellzeqq

pre-talced and mighty
Location
SW2
mirrored glass is unlikely to comply with BS6206. Glass that does comply with BS6206 (or it's successor EN, the number of which I can never remember) must be stamped with the BS Kitemark.

If it's stuck to board then it's likely to be very thin, in order not to put too great a strain on the hinges, and the flank of the wardrobes. The key thing is how it is stuck. I've seen mirror glass stuck to walls with squidgeguns - a grid of adhesive that is compressed when the mirror is pressed against the board, but doesn't neccessarily spread over the entire board. That's clearly not as secure as putting the mirror glass against a bed of adhesive, but, even then, as the panel flexes the adhesive can de-bond.

Annealed glass is tough stuff, but, when it breaks it's nasty (BS6206 'safety' glass can cause injury when it showers down on a child, but it's not nearly as big a risk). 50% of all plastic surgery time in this country is devoted to glass injuries, most of which are domestic. A fair proportion of these are drink-related, which (one hopes) isn't too much of a concern with your kids, but, if my supposition about the construction of the panels is correct, then there is no way I'd live with them.

If it's not stuck to board, that is to say if it's a piece of glass hung from a track, then measure the thickness. I haven't got a problem with unframed glass (I might find a snap of a building with cantilevered glass balustrades, designed by yrs truly) but it has to be strong enough to do the job. The risk with glass that is strong enough to do the job (say 10mm thick) is that it is fantastically heavy, and if it falls on you it's a serious thing. The risk with glass that isn't strong enough to do the job is that it might break. Either way there are better places to put it than a kid's bedroom.

It is just possible, although pretty darn unlikely, that the glass is laminated. It would probably be either 6.4mm or 8.8mm. That would be safe enough. You would see the edge of the polyvinylbutyral (PVB) interlayer at the edge of the glass - like a thin layer of transparent marmite in a sandwich

As an aside...
Part P of the Building Regulations governs electrical safety, costs £250million a year and probably saves 5 lives a year. Part N of the building regulations governing glass in windows (but not in furniture) could be uprated at a far lower cost and save many times the number of lives, let alone injuries which include scarring. It's not going to happen anytime soon. I've tried and failed, but the annealed glass industy retains a great deal of clout.
 
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