Do I need to use safety glass?

In short

Whether you need safety glass depends on where the glass is going. Safety glass is glass that does not produce large, sharp shards when it breaks: tempered glass, laminated glass or a combination of the two. Untempered glass does break into large, sharp shards, and the risk of injury is then considerable.

In a home, reachable glass in doors and sliding doors up to 1.40 m from the floor must be safety glass, and so must reachable glass in windows lower than 0.85 m.
Could someone fall through the glass to a lower level, such as at a balustrade, balcony, stairs or void? Then fall-through resistant glass is needed: laminated or tempered laminated glass. The correct thickness and composition follow from a calculation according to NEN 2608.
For furniture, table tops, glass shelves and showers we recommend tempered glass; for shower walls and shower doors at least 8 mm.

In the end, you decide which glass to use in your situation. Not sure? Contact us and we will help you choose.

Types of safety glass

Tempered glass

Tempered glass is specially treated glass. It is about four to five times stronger than ordinary glass and can withstand a much larger temperature difference. If it does break, it shatters into small granules instead of sharp shards. For injury safety, at least class 1(C)3 is required, for example 4 mm tempered glass.

Tempered glass is strong, but not unbreakable. In rare cases it can break spontaneously because of a tiny nickel sulphide particle in the glass. A Heat Soak Test greatly reduces that risk. Once tempered, the glass can no longer be processed: cutting, drilling or grinding is no longer possible.

Laminated glass

Laminated glass consists of two or more glass panes with a tough interlayer in between. If it breaks, the interlayer holds the fragments together and the pane stays in one piece. For injury safety, at least class 2(B)2 is required, for example laminated glass 33.1. Fall-through resistant glass is always laminated glass.

Tempered laminated glass

Tempered laminated glass is laminated glass made of tempered panes. It combines the strength of tempered glass with the interlayer that holds the glass together when it breaks. Even if all panes break, no opening is created: the interlayer is very tough and does not tear. However, the pane can then sag as a whole, because the broken granules give little stiffness. Laminated glass made of untempered glass keeps its shape better after breaking. Which build-up you need in your situation follows from a calculation.

Not safety glass

Ordinary (untempered) float glass, untempered patterned glass and ordinary mirror glass are not safety glass. Wired glass is not safety glass either: it even breaks more easily than ordinary glass of the same thickness, and when it breaks, sharp shards stay hanging on the wires.

Where is safety glass needed?

Doors and sliding doors in a home: all reachable glass up to 1.40 m from the floor. In a door, both sides must be safety glass. Glass within 300 mm of the door opening counts as a side panel of the door.
Windows in a home: reachable glass lower than 0.85 m from the floor. With insulating glass this can apply to one side or to both sides.
Reachable means that you can get within 0.85 m of the glass. If a fixed barrier at least 0.70 m high prevents that, the glass counts as not reachable.
Outdoors, such as glass terrace screens and windbreaks that run down to the floor.
Fall-through situations such as balustrades, balconies, stairs, voids and floor-to-ceiling windows next to a void or other difference in level: fall-through resistant laminated or tempered laminated glass, calculated according to NEN 2608.
Glass above your head and glass you walk on, such as roof glazing, a canopy, a glass floor or stair treads, always requires a calculation. Ask us for advice before you order.

Our advice per application

Furniture, table tops and glass shelves: tempered glass.
Shower walls and shower doors: tempered glass of at least 8 mm. Thinner glass gives a wall or door that flexes too much.
Kitchen splashback: tempered glass if there is a heat source behind it, such as a gas hob, or if a hot pan can touch the glass. Otherwise untempered glass is also possible. We always recommend at least 6 mm.
Transom window: untempered glass of 4, 5 or 6 mm is often possible there.
Patterned glass outdoors: use tempered patterned glass there, not untempered patterned glass.
Mirrors: in places with a risk of breakage and injury we recommend a safety mirror, for example for floor-to-ceiling mirrors, mirror walls in sports and dance studios, hospitality and shops. For a bathroom mirror or a wall mirror in the living room or hallway this is not necessarily needed; you assess that risk yourself.

Which rules apply?

The rules below are Dutch. Outside the Netherlands, other rules may apply; you are always responsible for applying the safety standards and requirements of your own country.

The building regulations and NEN-EN 1990

Since 1 January 2024, the Dutch building regulations are laid down in the Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving (Bbl), which replaced the Bouwbesluit 2012. The building regulations require a building to be structurally safe and refer to NEN-EN 1990 (Eurocode 0) for this. That standard looks not only at the strength of a structure, but also at the consequences if it fails, such as injury. According to Kenniscentrum Glas, meeting the reliability level for injury is therefore a legal requirement for new construction and renovation.

NEN 2608: the standard for glass

There is no separate Eurocode for glass yet. That is why there is NEN 2608, which is based on NEN-EN 1990. This standard is used to calculate how thick glass must be and how it must be composed, and a risk analysis from it shows whether a glass construction is reliable enough, including with regard to injury. If the risk of injury is too high, injury-limiting glass is needed. This is assessed per situation.

NEN 3569: where safety glass is needed

NEN 3569 indicates where vertically installed glass must be safety glass. The standard covers reachable glass up to 0.85 m or 1.40 m above the floor, depending on the situation and the type of building. NEN 3569 itself is not mandatory, but it is a recognised way to show that you meet NEN 2608. Note: there are situations in which NEN 3569 does not require safety glass, while a risk analysis according to NEN 2608 does. Kenniscentrum Glas has made a schematic overview of NEN 3569 (in Dutch); you can download it here.

When do the standards apply?

For new construction and for new glass in an existing building (renovation), NEN 2608 is the assessment method.
In a home, you can use NEN 3569 instead of the risk analysis to show that the glass is safe enough. This is called equivalence, and the municipality must approve it.
Existing glass that you do not change does not need to be replaced. Still, it is wise to check it against NEN 3569: preventing injury is always better than curing it.

Sources: Kenniscentrum Glas (infosheet Letselveiligheid glas en NEN 3569, explanation of NEN 3569, Richtlijn Betrouwbaarheid Glasconstructies) and the consumer brochure Veiligheidsglas by OnderhoudNL and Vakgroep Glas, all in Dutch. The advice per application is our own advice.
No rights can be derived from this explanation. The parties accept no liability for any direct or indirect damage arising from or related to the use of this explanation.