Energy prices went through the roof so now everyone is replacing glass bricks with normal windows
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>>2878773
How do you repair glass bricks if one or a few break?I do love them, sad to see less and less of them
>>2878763When I lived in Detroit I did a bunch of my windows with them. Nog security
>>2878776I guess many do not know how to since I've seen quite a few that have the side facing outside shattered with the one inside still intact
Glass bricks remind me of late 60s to early 80s architecture that has that comfy """modern""" style to it that I miss very much.Even office buildings looked inviting and interesting back then, at least to me
>>2878776You can break them, scrape out the glass and cut the edges to leave some space, then put a new brick in
>>2878776Where I live they were only used indoors, but in my recollection they are borderline indestructible. Sure if you go at one with a hammer and a sharp spike it would probably chip off a bit but in normal use these almost never break
>>2878763God those things are beautiful, do they even still make them anymore?
>>2878787I love them indoors
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>>2878764I thought they were a fire safety thing and cheaper than windows
>>2878789Yes you can still buy them and even get pre-assembled panels of them in certain sizes. I replaced some old worn out leaky windows in my parents garage with some glass block panel assemblies a few years back...Kinda want to put some in my big farm shop to replace some leaky vinyl windows... Either that or a giant sheet of lexan or bulletproof glass. I never open the windows and the screens are shot from the sun...
>>2878821>my big farm shopYou douche bags never miss an opportunity to get that flex in do you?
>>2878847>You douche bags never miss an opportunity to get that flex in do you?Well I gotta specify which shop I'm talking about. The small 40'x60' shop at my house with a 30'x60 lean-to isn't my big farm shop!
>>2878776Anglegrinder wit diamond disc.
>>2878914cool
>>2878768Beautiful>>2878769Travesty
I installed Addressable LEDs in a glass block window, it looks pretty neat.
>>2879051That sounds really fucking cool, anon. Got any videos of it working?
>>2878780They were the peak of western civilization.
>>2878780That pic reminds me of the urban explorer videos I saw when they got into 1970s/80s buildings that are still mostly preserved.It's fascinating to see the interior style of those times again after so many years of not having seen anything like them. They really seem like from a future that eventually did not happen.
>>2878763i dont understand whats bad about glass bricks?they appear to be more insulating than regular glass, or is it the mortar between that lets in cold air?
couldn't you make double/ triple glazed glass bricks?
>>2878763>Energy prices went through the roof so now everyone is replacing glass bricks with normal windows>>2879164>they appear to be more insulating than regular glass>>2879177>couldn't you make double/ triple glazed glass bricks?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_brick#Insulation Glass brick has an r value between 1.75 and 1.96, close to that of thermopane windows.[1][2] There are newer glass blocks injected with argon gas and having a layer of low-emissivity glass between the halves, which increases the insulative (U) value to 1.5 W/m2·K, which is between triple glazed windows (1.8 W/m2·K) and specialty double glazed windows with advanced frame and coatings(1.2 W/m2·K).IOW people replace them because they are ugly.
>>2879193Most everyone in my part of the Midwest have them as basement windows. The main issues I've seen is that the grout decays and looks terrible. The blocks themselves look dirty. Part of that is because they're close to the ground but even after cleaning they still look meh compared to when they were installed. Think the surface becomes pitted. But they're quite functional, providing privacy and insulation.
>>2879193>IOW people replace them because they are ugly.In Germany they actually push it really hard as fact that these glass bricks are huge energy wasters hence you see everyone replace them with the most insulating glass possible (tm) everywhere. They don't care about the looks, they care because everyone tells them those bricks are not economical.
>>2879195that tiny functional window on top of them is cute
>>2879197>Germans on the wrong side of history yet again.FTFY
>>2878763They all lasted way longer than windows from the time period installed would have
>>2878768this one hurts the most
>>2878764>>2878766>>2878772>>2878774massive visual improvement >>2878780>>2878790>>2878792>>2878768this looks alright
Glass block is the choice of leet hackers. A decade or so ago I wanted to build on wall out of them in my condo with each block having its own set of addressable RGB LED strips attached to all four edges. My ambition was far in excess of my willingness to actually put in the required effort.
>>2879385This. They look alright sometimes but it's really dated and not at all timeless like other mid century design. Especially on the outside of buildings it makes them feel dilapidated. Whenever I see it I always imagine a display of bakelite jewelery and chrome plated plastic on the other side of the window.
Reject bulky block. Embrace polycarbonate sheets.
>>2879726>but it's really datedThere are modern takes on them
>>2879733>Reject bulky block. Embrace polycarbonate sheets.no fuck you I want em THICC
>>2879812That's beautiful. I have these glass bricks in my master bathroom, I don't mind them. Similar to the >>2878763 pic
What the shit
>>2879831energy is fuck expensive now and making glass anything takes tons of energy
>>2878763Sup bros, I am actually in the middle of renovating my bathroom, and looking to install these as a wall, like pic related.Are there any downsides to having these glass block walls? Glad to see most of the posts here are positive
>>2879726>it's really dated and not at all timeless like other mid century designGlass block isn't mid century design, it's from the late 19th century and along with prism glass inserts and panels became popular for day lighting of interior spaces in the days before practical electric light existed. Frank Lloyd Wright did design work for one of the original manufacturers before he did any building designs.https://glassian.org/Falconnier/One aspect that works against them is that unlike common brick and other masonry/stone block you can't just cut them to fit spaces that aren't perfectly laid out to fit multiples of full units...that means that like decorative tile you need a full array of specialty shapes to handle various installations and trim/finish.
>>2879857>One aspect that works against them is that unlike common brick and other masonry/stone block you can't just cut them to fit spaces that aren't perfectly laid out to fit multiples of full units...that means that like decorative tile you need a full array of specialty shapes to handle various installations and trim/finish.It's not hard to trim a window opening in some to make it fit the dimensions of the block though...
>>2879777This looks great. The surface looks so much better I think the imperfections on the normal bricks is what bothers me. >>2879857Interesting, I've always associated it with mid century buildings where I live.
>>2879831This kind cost here around 3,4 euro, the insulated ones start around 20 euro
>>2879837Sadly I have no idea but I just think they're neat
Glass bricks being hip is so long ago that many pics you find online are from the early internet days when they were scanned from magazines and then uploaded at by today's standards microscopic sizes
>>2879923They go in and out of style. If you were a drug dealer in the 80s, you were expected to have a lot of glass brick in your home to go with the track lighting.
>>2880290The 80s drug dealer thing is no doubt tied to South Florida and the fact that so many iconic art deco buildings that represent the glitz and glamour of that earlier era used them.
>>2879837Depends on the water you have. My tap water leaves a lot of scaling, so I'd have to clean that shit like once a week otherwise it would just look dirty.
>>2879777for me, it's the 'Optical Glass House' by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAPexterior glazing of 6,000 glass bricks for privacy and diffuse light into a courtyard.
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>>2880700.
>>2878763i went to the dump a few days ago and a guy was throwing out about 100 of these into the glass skip. if felt an overwhelming urge to rescue them but i have nowhere to put them or project to use them and a house already full of useless shit.but i thought of your thread and i lamented the loss.
>>2878780>>2878790I remember this look being everywhere when I was a kid in late-'80s/early-'90s LA, often in combination with pink and blue neon. >>2878787Yeah they're shockingly tough. I watched a video a while back where they were doing demo on glass block walls in a parking garage, using pic related on a skid steer. They just rammed it into the wall and then pulled back and the whole wall would collapse. The blocks mostly just fell down intact, mostly only the ones directly hit by the spike actually broke.
>>2880702neat
I want them back
>>2879831the decorative corners are way more expensive
Shower scenes with curvy ladies posing behind these are my fetish.
>>2879812do want
