Miscellaneous

Q How Do I Work Out a Price for a Given Size of Glass from the m2 Rate?

Use a calculator! How you go about this depends on the original measurements of your glass.

i. For imperial (inches) measurements, it can be a lengthy operation, as you must first convert the inch/fractions-of-an-inch figure into an inch/decimal fraction (see our handy conversion table for this). For example: (by reference to the table)

a piece of glass 16¾ inch X 121/8 inch

converts to 16.75 X 12.125 (in "calculator-language")

These dimensions can now be entered directly into your calculator as shows:

16.75 x 12.125 = 203.09 (this is "sq. inches").

Divide this figure by 144 (the number of square inches in a square foot)

203.09 ÷144 = 1.41 (this is the area in "sq. feet")

You then divide this figure by 10.7638 (the number of square feet in a square metre)

1.41 ÷10.7638 = 0.131 (this is the area in "sq. metres" m² ).

This can now be multiplied by the £ per m² price to give the cost for the glass. Say, for example, the price is £8/m², this gives a cost for this piece of glass of £1.05.

ii. for those of you sensible enough to use metric measurements, life is a good deal easier - particularly if you follow one golden rule and only use millimetres (mm) (don't get involved with centimetres etc). This gives great accuracy - and although some of the numbers seem a little large, the calculations are very easy.

Taking the same dimension panel as above, the metric sizes are 425 x 308mm*.

Entered directly into the calculator, this gives

425 x 308 = 130,000 (this is mm²)

Divide this by 1,000,000 (the number of square mm in a square metre) to give "sq. metres" (m2):

130,900 ÷ 1,000,000 = 0.1309 (this rounds up to 0.131m²)

* those more confident, can further simplify metric calculations by expressing the original dimensions in metres/millimetres whereby the panel size of 425 x 308mm is expressed as

0.425 x 0.308 metres (there being 1000 millimetres per metre).

These figures entered directly give a simple, 'one shot' figure:

Again, this can now be multiplied by the £ per m² price to give the cost for the glass. Say, for example, the price is £8/m², this gives a cost for this piece of glass of £1.05.

Simple isn't it?

Q Can I Use Silicone to Stick Mirror to a Wall or Other Surface?

No. Most silicone based mastics etc will eventually burn through the backing and silver layers of your mirror. There are specially formulated mirror mastics which are inexpensive and very effective. When advising on mirror-fixing, try to avoid having mirrors drilled for direct-to-wall fixing as this can significantly increase breakage risks during fixing and in use. Attention should also be paid to the possible use of safety backing to minimise injury risk in the event of breakage.

Q When you Sharpen Morso Blades, Do You Hollow-Grind Them?

Yes. Accurate hollow-grinding and honing is the only way to achieve precise, clean cutting.

<< Back to FAQ index