FAQs : Glass Entry Doors from Sculptural Glass Doors Inc

Frequently Asked Questions

Comments / Questions?


	<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><!-- InstanceBegin template="/Templates/text_scroll.dwt" codeOutsideHTMLIsLocked="false" --> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="doctitle" --> <title>faq text</title> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --> <style type="text/css"> <!-- body,td,th { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; color: #000033; line-height: 1.5em; padding-left: 10px; text-align: left; } body { background-color: #E3EAEC; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; } a:link { color: #000066; text-decoration: none; } a:visited { color: #000066; text-decoration: none; } a:hover { color: #000066; text-decoration: underline; } a:active { color: #000066; text-decoration: underline; } #divCopyright { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; color: #000033; background-color: #E3EAEC text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal; .style1 {font-size: 9px; text-decoration: none; } .style1 {font-size: 9px} --> </style> <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="head" --> <!-- InstanceEndEditable --> </head> <body> <table width="525" border="0" align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="top"><!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="EditRegion3" --> <p class="mainbody"><strong><a name="returntotop" id="returntotop"></a> <br>Frequently Asked Questions<br /> Please click on any question.<br /> <br /> <a href="#customsizes">Q: I found a design I love but I need it to fit an existing opening. Can you do custom sizes?</a><br /> <a href="#privacy">Q: What privacy options do you offer? How easy is it to see through ClearCast Glass? </a><br /> <a href="#brochure">Q: Can you mail me a brochure or product catalog?</a><br /> <a href="#dealer">Q: I live in Fill-in-the-Blank. Is there any place nearby where I can see your doors?</a><br /> <a href="#sidelite">Q: Can I get matching sidelites with your door designs?</a><br /> <a href="#defaultglass">Q: Why is bronze tint glass used as the "default" choice in your base door configuration?</a><br /> <a href="#newdesigns">Q: How can I find out about new door designs and other ClearCast Glass products?</a><br /> <a href="#safetyglass">Q: What about safety? How does ClearCast Glass measure up?</a><br /> <a href="#manufactured">Q: Where are Sculptural Glass Doors manufactured?</a></strong><br /> <strong><a href="#customdesign">Q: Do you offer custom design services for ClearCast Glass entryways?</a></strong><br /> <br /> _________________________________________________________ <br /> <br /> <br /> <p class="mainbody"><strong><a name="customsizes" id="customsizes"></a>Q: I found a design I love but I need it to fit an existing opening. Can you do custom sizes?</strong><br /> A: Since all of our doors built-to-order, most custom sizes are not a problem. However, the ClearCast Glass insulating units are a fixed size, so any custom sizing must be taken up in the stiles and rails. Generally speaking, wider stiles look great and compliment the robust materiality of ClearCast Glass. For custom size doors, please call or send an inquiry through the Comments / Questions box (in menu bar above). If you have a fairly clear idea of what you want, you can always request an individual quote.<br /> <br /> <div align="right" class="mainbody" id="otherlinks"><a href="#returntotop">back to top</a></div> <span class="mainbody"><br /> <br /> <strong><a name="privacy" id="privacy"></a>Q: What privacy options do you offer? How easy is it to see through ClearCast Glass? </strong><br /> A: Within our selection of glass choices, the light tinted glasses are relatively transparent. While this can be a desirable feature, especially for <b>patio door</b> or <b>french door</b> installations, sometimes a greater degree of privacy is preferred.<br /> <br /> The 3 key factors affecting the degree of privacy of ClearCast™ Glass are: 1) the balance of light between interior and exterior; 2) the distance of viewer to the glass; and 3) the tint or type of glass.<br /> <br /> In daylight, when the strongest light is on the exterior surface, the array of reflective highlights on the ClearCast Glass design provides a moderate degree of privacy even with our light tinted glasses. The greater the distance of viewer to glass, the higher the level of privacy. However, a viewer right at the door can see inside.<br /> <br /> At night, the situation depends on whether the strongest light is inside or outside. If there is a brightly lit interior and no exterior light, privacy is minimal, with the glass providing only some visual distortion. If there is a light on the outside, especially if the light projects onto the glass, and the interior is dark or comparatively dim, the door will afford a greater degree of privacy.<br /> <br /> Our standard selection of glasses offers some options depending on the degree of privacy required. <b>Onyx</b> might be a good intermediate choice because it is the most reflective and lowers transmitted light in both directions, day and night. <b>Lacey</b>, a translucent glue chip glass, provides a greatly enhanced, though not total, level of privacy. Our <b>Pebble Beach</b> glass will not allow any vision through but there are some trade offs. You lose the kinetic visual properties of ClearCast Glass and the reflective highlights are lessened. <br /><br /> <b>Privacy Options:</b> Since all of our glass is made into fully tempered insulating units, we can build the insulating unit with a tempered sheet of privacy glass as the flat interior glass in the unit. We offer either a Satin Etch fired ceramic frit glass (+$120 per door) or a Clear "Pebble" textured glass (+$72 per door). With either of these options, visual privacy can be assured. The Satin Etch ceramic frit glass has a soft uniform white/gray translucence. Clear Pebble glass has a minimalist overall texture. Both of these let the graphic design of the ClearCast Glass read on the interior while providing a visual barrier to those on the exterior side of the entry.<br /> <br /> </span> <div align="right" class="mainbody" id="otherlinks"><a href="#returntotop">back to top</a></div> <span class="mainbody"><br /> </span> <strong><a name="brochure" id="brochure"></a>Q: Can you mail me a brochure or product catalog?</strong><br /> A: We may be Old School when it comes to traditional craftsmanship, but when it come to providing our clients with the most up-to-date product information available, we are more New Age. This site serves as our web-based brochure/catalog. As a young growing company, we are active on the product development front. We want to be able to quickly introduce new designs, with readily available up to the minute pricing. Our approach allows us to provide you with information that is current, relevant, and available to you 24 hours a day.<br /> <br />If you would like some hard copy to show a particular door to a client, partner, or friend, from the Door Gallery go to that individual door page and click on the “Download Spec Sheet” button to get a one page PDF file for print out or sharing privately as an e-mail attachment.<br /> <br /> </span> <div align="right" class="mainbody" id="otherlinks"><a href="#returntotop">back to top</a></div> <span class="mainbody"><br /> <br /> <strong><a name="dealer" id="dealer"></a>Q: I live in Fill-in-the-Blank. Is there any place nearby where I can see your doors?</strong><br /> A: At present, this website is the exclusive source for our line of Sculptural Glass Doors. It is a limitation, no doubt, but it fits our small artisan style company for now. We have no immediate plans for retail distribution, but with an eye to the future, we are always happy to learn about service oriented dealers with upscale design showrooms where our line might be a good fit. We welcome dealer inquiries for possible future association.<br /> <br /> </span> <div align="right" class="mainbody" id="otherlinks"><a href="#returntotop">back to top</a></div> <span class="mainbody"><br /> <br /> <strong><a name="dealer" id="sidelite"></a>Q: Can I get matching sidelites with your door designs?</strong><br /> A: Unfortunately, we do not make matching sidelites at present. If you are remodeling, it might be possible to replace a door and 2 sidelites with a double door entry if the rough opening is sufficient – you would need about 74+". Another possible option with an existing sidelite is to keep everything structurally in place, fit the new door, and replace the sidelite glass with a tint-matching flat glass.<br /> <br /> </span> <div align="right" class="mainbody" id="otherlinks"><a href="#returntotop">back to top</a></div> <span class="mainbody"><br /> <br /> <strong><a name="defaultglass" id="defaultglass"></a>Q: Why is bronze tint glass used as the "default" choice in your base door configuration? I would think the more common choice would be clear glass. </strong><br /> A: To our eye, clear glass has a little less visual “pop” as compared to tinted glass. Less light is reflected to the viewer. The reflective highlights that distinguish the sculptural forms are closer to the color of the base glass and so offer a bit less contrast and drama. Also, for technical reasons, clear glass yields a slightly lower relief pattern as compared with the tints <br /> <br /> Tinted glasses are more naturally reflective, so the sculptural relief has greater visual impact. In addition, tinted glasses have performance advantages over clear glass, doing a better job of filtering harmful ultraviolet rays, and offering enhanced thermal performance. </p> We especially like the warmth of bronze glass and how it pairs with natural wood. The bronze glass we use has good light transmittance and we feel it offers a great combination of aesthetic qualities and functional performance. <br /> <span class="mainbody"> With the best of intentions, our selection of bronze tint glass as the default choice puts you in the position of having to consider the full range of tints available rather than just automatically selecting clear glass. We want you to have what best fits your space and sense of style. and are happy to do what we can toward that end. It's your choice.<br /> <br /> </span> <div align="right" class="mainbody" id="otherlinks"><a href="#returntotop">back to top</a></div> <span class="mainbody"><br /> <strong><a name="safetyglass" id="safetyglass"></a>Q: What about safety? How does ClearCast Glass measure up?</strong><br /> A: All of the glass in our doors meets ANSI Z97.1 and 16 CFR 1201 architectural safety standards for tempered glass products. ClearCast Glass is itself classified as a safety glass. Our ClearCast Glass is fully tempered and meets established performance criteria to reduce the risk of injury in case of glass breakage. Tempered glass has a breakage pattern that results in many very small fragments of more or less cube-shaped pieces of glass as opposed to the sharp shards of untempered glass. Tempered glass is generally considered to be about 4 times stronger than plain annealed glass. <br /> <br /> </span> <div align="right" class="mainbody" id="otherlinks"><a href="#returntotop">back to top</a></div> <span class="mainbody"><br /> </span> <strong><a name="newdesigns" id="newdesigns"></a>Q: How can I find out about new door designs and other ClearCast Glass products?</strong><br /> A: That's a good question (Thanks, Mom). We invite you to sign up for our new product update program. We'll notify you via email of product introductions and new developments. </span> <a href ="/?main_page=page&id=10" target ="_parent"> Please click here to sign up for email updates.</a></div> <span class="mainbody"><br /> </span> <div align="right" class="mainbody" id="otherlinks"><a href="#returntotop">back to top</a></div> <span class="mainbody"><br /> <br /> <strong><a name="manufactured" id="manufactured"></a>Q: Where are Sculptural Glass Doors manufactured?</strong><br /> A: All our Sculptural Glass Doors are handcrafted in the Northwest corner of the Pacific Northwest. We are proud to be manufacturing high quality architectural design elements here in the U.S. at a time when so many doors in the market are imported from Mexico, Indonesia, and China. <br /> <br /> </span> <div align="right" class="mainbody" id="otherlinks"><a href="#returntotop">back to top</a></div> <span class="mainbody"><br /> <br /> <strong><a name="customdesign" id="customdesign"></a>Q: Do you offer custom design services for ClearCast Glass entryways?</strong><br /> A: For individual doors, not so much. We like the "design once, sell many times" business model. Our investments of design time and our hand crafted mold costs require us to sell a number of doors before we reach break even on any given design. We bear that risk in order to sell at reasonable prices and also to have the freedom to follow our own muse. That said, we are open to considering projects with adequate budget on an individual basis. High impact projects with a public/social dimension generally warrant greater consideration. <br /> <br /> </span> <div align="right" class="mainbody" id="otherlinks"><a href="#returntotop">back to top</a></div> <span class="mainbody"><br /> <br /></p> </span><!-- InstanceEndEditable --></td> </tr> </table> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> try{ var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-852128-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {} </script> </body> <!-- InstanceEnd --></html>

ClearCast™ Glass is manufactured and sold under license of US patent # 5,118,543. ClearCast™ Glass is a trademark of McColl Studio Inc.
Individual product designs are copyrighted as sculptural works of art and/or works of artistic craftsmanship. All rights reserved.