3 Safety Tips You Should Follow while Working with Glass

If it's time to get a new shower enclosure or another item for the home that involves a large sheet of glass, you might be tempted to handle the project on your own if you are the do-it-yourself type. While there's nothing wrong with doing your own glass cutting, you'll want to make sure you take some precautions to protect yourself, especially if this is your first project. Here are three safety tips you should keep in mind when working with glass.

Cover Your Entire Body

Obviously, wearing safety goggles while cutting glass is a necessity. But, for the best protection, you shouldn't stop there. Glass can be extremely brittle and will break off into very tiny pieces or shards when it goes through a grinder to be cut. You'll want to make sure you are wearing long pants and a long-sleeve shirt, regardless of how warm it is in your shop. Don't forget to wear gloves as well.

Ventilate the Room 

Glass cutting not only creates tiny shards that can fly through the air, but it can also create fumes that will linger in an area without proper ventilation. Opening a window in the shop or leaving the garage door open is a good start, but there's still more you can do. You can buy a portable fume catcher and even a respirator built for construction projects at most home improvement stores to make sure the air stays glass and fume-free.

Invest in Corner Protection

So you've successfully cut your first piece of glass, and now you're ready to move it into the bathroom or elsewhere in the house. While a well-cut piece should be relatively sturdy, the most vulnerable part of any sheet of glass is near the four corners. Accidentally dropping or even bumping the corner of the glass sheet up against a wall could lead to disaster. You can find corner protectors at most home improvement shops to give yourself a little room for error as you maneuver your creation through the house to its final destination.

Glass cutting is something most people would leave to a professional but if you want to give it a go yourself, make sure you are adequately prepared from a safety standpoint. Wear protective clothing, goggles, and gloves, make sure you properly ventilate the room, and invest in some corner protectors to help keep your finished sheets of glass in one piece. For more information or professional assistance, reach out to a professional like those at Glass Service Center Inc.


Share