Is Vitrolite glass still made?
Today, Vitrolite Specialist is the only full-service, full-time Vitrolite company in the industry, and our services are in demand throughout the United States and Canada. We have worked on countless historic restoration projects, including at the Hoover Dam.
What was Vitrolite used for?
Vitrolite, when used for internal and external tiling and façades of buildings is often associated with the streamlining of the Art Deco and Art Moderne movements of the 20’s and 30’s that epitomized the ultramodern look.
What is Vitrolite made from?
The product was made by combining borax, cryolite, kaolinite, manganese, silica, feldspar, and fluorspar. The fluorides made the glass opaque. These materials were fused into glass at a temperature of 3,000 °F (1,650 °C) and then annealed.
What are Vitrolite tiles?
Structural pigmented glass, known as Vitrolite and by other trade names, was an architectural darling of the 1920s and ’30s. Storefronts and home interiors were tiled with it, giving them the sexy, shiny, streamlined look so popular in Art Deco and Art Moderne styles.
How do you cut Vitrolite glass?
“It’s glass, it’s crystal, and you have to be careful in how you handle it,” Dunn said. “You can hit it with a hammer and not break it or set it down on a little rock and it will crack.”
Who made Vitrolite?
the Meyercord Carter Company
Early Vitrolite catalogs show four colors, white, ivory, jade, lavender and black. Vitrolite was produced by the Meyercord Carter Company of Vienna, West Virginia, in 1916.
What is structural glass called?
structural glazing
Simply put, structural glazing is term used to describe glass that is integral to the design of a building: It involves large glass panels, which usually bear some weight in the structure. Structural glazing can be used to create huge glass installations with minimal obstruction.
Can you use a tile cutter to cut glass?
You can use a tile cutter to cut glass if you can switch the blade to a glass-cutting blade that is encrusted with tiny diamonds that cut through the glass without cracking or chipping it. Work slowly to reduce the risk of damage because glass is more fragile than ceramic or porcelain tiles.
Can I use a wet saw to cut glass tile?
Using a wet saw is a time-effective method for achieving clean edges while reducing the risk of damaging the glass tiles. The saw releases a steady stream of water as the blade cuts through the tile, which decreases friction and cools the cut edge, resulting in a smoother cut with minimal breakage.
How strong is structural glass?
The compressive strength of glass is extremely high: 1000 N/mm2 = 1000 MPa. This means that to shatter a 1cm cube of glass, it requires a load of some 10 tonnes. When glass is deflected, it has one face under compression and the other in tension.
Which glass is used for exterior walls?
Laminated Glass
(a) Laminated Glass: Laminated glass is made by sandwiching a layer of polyvinyl butyl between two or more layers of glass. Laminated glass is used in skylight glazing and automobile windshields. It is also used in exterior curtain walls and windows, balustrades, guardrails, etc.
Can you use a dremel to cut glass?
Using a Dremel rotary tool, you can turn a bottle into a drinking glass, vase or candle holder. The best method for cutting the glass varies slightly depending on the thickness of the bottle. Be mindful that Dremel does not recommend cutting glass with its rotary tool, although it is possible.
Is Vitrolite Art Deco?
In the middle years of the Great Depression, shinny colored “Vitrolite” glass appeared on store fronts in the U.S. and U.K. The peak popularity of this pigmented structural glass coincided with the later Art Deco streamlined period, making Vitrolite and Art Deco inseparable.
Where was the vitrolite factory?
A Vitrolite sales office was opened at 133 West Washington. Back in West Virgina, the Vitrolite factory moved from Vienna, West Virginia to nearby Parkersburg sometime prior to 1922.
What happened to Vitrolite?
The Vitrolite Company got a boost when it was acquired by Libbey-Owens-Ford in 1935. L-O-F, a comparatively new enterprise incorporated in 1930, was already the country’s second largest glass producer.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Vitrolite?
Vitrolite was cheaper than marble but soon had to compete with even lower cost alternatives. Some, like porcelain enamel sheets, could even imitate Vitrolite’s streamlined appearance.