Glass Panels

NYC Admin. Code tit. 27, ch. 1, subch. 10, art. 12

in effect

NYC Admin. Code § 27-643 Scope.

§ 27-643 Scope. The provisions of sections 27-644 through 27-648 of this article shall apply to the use of glass in the exterior wall of a building and shall be limited to exterior application wherein the glass would not be subjected to any loads normal to the face of glass other than those due to wind. For applications involving human impact, the provisions of section 27-651 of this article shall apply. For other cases, the strength and mode of installation of glass shall conform to accepted industry standards.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-644 Support for glass panels.

§ 27-644 Support for glass panels. Glass shall be firmly held in place. The supports shall be of adequate strength to resist the applicable design wind loads as prescribed in subchapter nine of this chapter.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-645 Glass requirements.

§ 27-645 Glass requirements. Glass shall meet the requirements of reference standard RS 10-68 for the applicable type, size, thickness and quality.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-646 Thickness of glass.

§ 27-646 Thickness of glass. Thicknesses of glass panels shall be chosen either on the basis of statistical probability of breakage (subdivision (a) of this section) or on the basis of table 10-7, at the designer's option. (a) Statistical probability. Thickness of glass panels shall be chosen so that the statistical probability of breakage when the glass is initially subjected to the design wind load specified in table RS 9-5-1 does not exceed the values indicated in table 10-6. Probability or load factors used for design shall be derived by test. The sufficiency and validity of such test data shall be subject to approval by the commissioner. (b) Alternate requirements. Alternative to the requirements of paragraph (a) above, the thickness of glass panels may be chosen from table 10-7. For glass with assured minimum thickness greater than required by reference standard RS 10-68, the maximum areas in table 10-7 may be increased in proportion to the assured minimum thickness. TABLE 10-6 Probability of Breakage for Glass Panels (Based on Coefficient of Variation of 25%) Elevation Above Grade of Mid-Point of Glass Area of Panel – Sq. Ft. 0-50-Ft 0-60 60-80 80-100 100-120 120+ 0-50 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 50 or more 1.0% 0.8% 0.6% 0.4% 0.2% TABLE 10-7 Maximum Area of Glass – Sq. Ft. Nominal Thickness of Glass – Inches Elevation Above Grade of Mid-Point of Glass – Ft. 0-50 50-300 300-600 600+ Sheet Glass Single strength 9 9 8 7 Double strength 13 13 11 10 3/16" 25 25 21 19 7/32" 32 32 27 24 Plate and Float Glass 13/64" 25 25 21 19 1/4" 37 37 32 28 5/16" 54 54 46 40 3/8" 78 74 63 58 1/2" 114 100 86 75 5/8" 152 120 103 90 3/4" 210 137 118 103 7/8" 241 158 135 118 1" 312 204 175 153

NYC Admin. Code § 27-647 Special glasses.

§ 27-647 Special glasses. For types of glass other than single annealed sheet and plate glass, allowable maximum areas may be determined by multiplying values in table 10-7 by the appropriate multiplying factor listed in table 10-8. TABLE 10-8 Multiplying Factors for Various Types of Glass Glass Type Multiplying Factor Full tempered 4.0 Heat strengthened 2.0 Factory-fabricated double glazing *1.5* Laminated 0.6 Wired 0.5 Sandblasted or etched 0.4 * For asymmetrical units base strength on thinner lite.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-648 Installation of glass panels.

§ 27-648 Installation of glass panels. Glass panels shall be handled and installed so that their strength is not impaired by chipping or scratching, shall be fully and firmly bedded in their supports, and shall be mounted in a manner that will accommodate differential movements due to thermal and loading conditions.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-649 Protection of glass panels.

§ 27-649 Protection of glass panels. Glass panels installed in areas where they will be subject to unusual conditions of construction damage, such as spatter from welds or locations near materials hoists, shall be protected by a hardboard covering or its equivalent during the period that such work is in progress.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-650 Deflection of support.

§ 27-650 Deflection of support. The deflection of members supporting glass panels under the design wind load (measured perpendicular to the plane of the panel) shall not exceed L/175, where L is the span of the supporting member. In no case shall such deflection exceed three-quarters of an inch.

NYC Admin. Code § 27-651 Panels subject to human impact loads.

§ 27-651 Panels subject to human impact loads. Glass in prime and storm doors, interior doors, fixed glass panels that may be mistaken for means of egress or ingress, shower doors and tub enclosures, or in similar installations wherein one or more of the following criteria apply, shall meet the requirements set forth in table 10-9, or by comparative tests shall be proven to produce equivalent performance: (a) openings are located in regularly occupied spaces. (b) lowest point of panel is less than eighteen inches above finished floor. (c) minimum dimension of panel is larger than eighteen inches. Table 10-9 Requirements for Glass Panels Subject to Impact Loads a, b Glass Type Individual Opening Area Requirements Regular plate, sheet or rolled (annealed) Over 6 sq. ft. Not less than 3/16 in. thick. Must be protected by a push-bar or protective grille firmly attached on each exposed side c, if not divided by a muntin. Regular plate, sheet or rolled (annealed), surface sandblasted, etched, or otherwise depreciated Over 6 sq. ft. Not less than 7/32 in. thick. Must be protected by a push-bar or protective grille firmly attached on each exposed side c. Regular plate, sheet or rolled (annealed), obscure Over 6 sq. ft. Not less than 3/16 in. thick. Must be protected by a push-bar or grille firmly attached on each exposed side c. Laminated Over 6 sq. ft. Not less than 1/4 in. thick. Shall pass impact test requirements of reference standard RS 10-67. Fully-tempered Over 6 sq. ft. Shall pass impact test requirements of reference standard RS 10-67. Wired Over 6 sq. ft. Not less than 7/32 in. thick. Shall pass impact test requirements of reference standard RS 10-67. All unframed glass doors (swinging) Shall be fully-tempered glass and pass impact test requirements of reference standard RS 10-67. NOTES: a Glass less than single strength (SS) in thickness shall not be used. b If short dimension is larger than 24 in., glass must be double strength (DS) or thicker. c Building owners and tenants shall maintain push-bars or protective grilles in safe condition at all times.

Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCadmin/0-0-0-51161Fetched: 10/24/2026