Cracked Float Glass at Lara Pharmacy, and Why It Could Not Go Back In
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Lara Pharmacy had a significant crack develop across its shopfront panel. The straightforward job would have been to replace it with the same glass.
We could not do that, and would not have wanted to.
The original glass was float
The existing panel was standard float glass, which is no longer compliant with Australian Standards for public areas.
The reason is how it fails. Float glass breaks into large, sharp shards rather than holding together or crumbling. In a pharmacy entrance, with customers and staff passing within a metre of it all day, that is a genuine injury risk and a liability exposure for the business.
Plenty of older shopfronts still have it. It was compliant when it was installed, and it stays in place until something forces the question. A crack forces the question.
What went in instead
We assessed the damage on site and replaced the panel with laminated safety glass, the current standard for shopfronts, schools and other high-foot-traffic areas.
Laminated holds together when broken because of its interlayer, which both reduces injury risk and makes forced entry considerably harder.
The work was completed with minimal disruption to trade, and the shopfront now meets AS1288 rather than sitting on an old standard.
Before
During
After
If your shopfront is older glass
Upgrading to laminated holds the glass together when cracked, meets AS1288 for shopfront glazing, makes break-ins harder, and removes a known liability for staff and customers.
We handle commercial replacements for retail, hospitality and healthcare businesses across Lara, Corio, North Geelong, Belmont and the Surf Coast.
The job in short
- Site: Lara Pharmacy
- Damage: Significant crack in the shopfront panel
- Original glass: Standard float, non-compliant for public areas
- Replacement: Laminated safety glass to AS1288
