Technical Advice | Glazing Applications
Design Ideas for Glass Porches
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IQ Glass Solutions LTD, Sky House, Raans Road, Amersham, HP6 6FT
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Glass porches began to gain popularity in the 70’s to 80’s in England with the common configuration consisting of PVC or timber framework paired with glazing to create a porch area for shoe storage and extra security. As the glazing industry evolved, frameless glass porches have emerged as statement glazing fixtures when entering a space.
Design Options for Glass Porches
Glass porches are hugely versatile to suit most types of projects.
The main functional feature of a glass porch is the entrance/exit door. The glass door can be designed and manufactured into almost any shape. As seen below, glass doors can feature arched tops, opposed to the standard rectangular door shape often specified.
The shape of the glass porch is also open to interesting design and experimentation. Usually a glass porch is a square, box shape, however for more bespoke glazing options the glass porch can be designed to slot into strange front façade shapes if needed. They can also feature top-curved roofs or slanted roofs.
Your first decision - and likely the first question you would get asked by us – is whether you want the glass porch to be insulated or non insulated.
Insulated Glass Porches
Insulated porches are used when the interior of the glass porch will be heated or open to the building envelope. They are essentially an extension of the house to the front. In these instances the glass needs to be designed with the building regulations requirements for thermal performance in mind and double or triple glazing will be needed.
All frames within these insulated glass porch designs will need to be externally graded, using insulated timber frames or thermally broken metal to suit the design.
The door within the porch will need to have full sets of weather performance testing to create a fully weather tight and insulated internal space.
Non-Insulated Glass Porches
If your glass porch is just being used as a sheltered entrance area before you enter the main building, then you have more design flexibility and single glazing can be used with frameless glass doors.
The overall design of these glass structures can be more minimal, using frameless designs for the integrated doors and more minimal glass connections.
Frameless Glass Porch Design
Using a structural glazing system to create a glass porch allows for a very wide variety of design options. Because of it’s structural integrity, the possibilities of design with structural glass are endless. The modern glass box addition can also be frameless thanks to the Invisio system which features an integrated thermal break for exceptional thermal performance.
A bespoke glass porch offers a variety of benefits to project owners, the key one being extra weather and security protection. A double or triple glazed glass box surrounding a front entrance provides an addition barrier to wind loads, cold temperatures and heavy rain ensuring that the main entrance is secure and weather tight.
Glass Porch Design Inspiration
A Frameless Glass Porch Design
This frameless glass porch design was part of a larger bespoke house project our Midlands team completed. The glass porch is non-insulated and provides a covered entrance area to the main house. The integreated door could then be completely frameless, with PPC hardware to match the glazing elsewhere on the house.
A New Glass Entrance to a Cottage
Chestnut Cottage is one of IQ’s most unique listed building projects. Based in Oxfordshire, the Grade 2 listed building features a spiralled turret staircase that the bespoke glass porch has been designed around. The porch seems as if it has been simply slotted into the opening to fit seamlessly around the staircase structure. In this case, the porch is not frameless. This is mainly due to the casement entrance door and the fact that the owners did not want to over-modernize such a charming home.
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A Glass Porch with a Solid Door
Warwick Road is a residential development that underwent a large renovation to modernise the home. The front façade features an incredibly unique front entrance with a bespoke door system. The door system has been paired with a glass surrounding to create a glass porch. The glazing features a frosted glass addition on either side of the porch to increase the privacy levels. The glass roof also features a small overhang to allow rain to fall just in-front of the door, this will protect the door and its fittings from any chance of rust.
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Glass Porch at Exeter Cathedral
An example of how a glass porch can elevate a commercial project is Exeter Cathedral. This project is an internal glass porch which features a timber framed structure with frameless glazing installed throughout. The porch leads to the entrance of the Chapter House, the addition of the glass porch allows for visitors to take an extra moment to appreciate the surrounding architecture before entering the next area of the church.
Find out more about glass porch designs
If you would like to explore the opportunity of installing a bespoke glass porch, contact the team today!
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