Safety Glazing is the name given to glazing products which meet a certain building code. They are designed in different ways for different functions. Tempered safety glass is the most popular and cost effective type of safety glazing. It is a heat strengthed glass. It is up to 5 times stronger than annealed glass. When it does break, it shatters, like the side window of a car, into thousands of small pieces. The pieces prevent serious injuries from occurring.

Laminated glass is two lites of glass with a plastic layer in between. When one of the outer lites is broken, the plastic layer prevents large jagged pieces of glass from falling and causing a major injury. It also slows down someone who might be trying to enter a building. The plastic layer prevents an intruder from easily getting through the glass.

Acrylic and plastics are the third type of safety glazing. The less expensive acrylics will yellow and scratch over time. But they are much harder to break and when they do, they will not cause serious injury. Lexan, a product manufactured by GE. Lexan has the same visual clarity of glass, but the structural integrity of heavy-duty plastics. It is scratch resistant and nearly unbreakable.
Please look below to see if your window requires safety glazing. ( All doors require some type of safety glazing.)
The following building code requirements are for the City of Tulsa, and may or may not comply with other metropolitan areas.

SAFETY GLAZING REQUIREMENTS
ALL GLASS IN DOORS AND SIDELIGHTS WITHIN 24″ ARC OF A DOOR JAMB MUST BE SAFETY GLASS IF RESTING POINT IS BELOW DOOR HEADER HEIGHT. GLASS OUTSIDE OF THIS 24″ DIMENSION MUST BE SAFETY GLASS IF ALL THREE OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS EXIST:

(1) LOWER EDGE OF GLASS IS LESS THAN 18″ ABOVE WALKING SURFACE.
(2) GLASS IS LARGER THAN 9 SQUARE FEET
(3) THERE IS A WALKING SURFACE WITHIN 36″ INSIDE OR OUTSIDE GLASS WALL

EXEMPT PANELS: SMALL ENOUGH THAT A 3″ SPHERE WOULD NOT PASS THROUGH IT —JALOUSIE SLATS—LEADED GLASS.
NOTE: ALL GLASS IN THE PERIMETER WALLS OF A GLASS SHOWER OR TUB ENCLOSURE THAT HAS A RESTING POINT WITHIN 5 FT VERTICALLY OF THE FLOOR OF THE SHOWER ENCLOSURE MUST BE SAFETY GLASS. THIS INCLUDES ALL GLASS IN EXTERIOR WINDOWS WITHIN THE ENCLOSURE PERIMETER. THIS SAME REQUIREMENT APPLIES TO GLASS WALLS ENCLOSING HOT TUBS, SAUNAS, AND SWIMMING POOLS.