how thick does glass need to be to walk on?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
yea i think im gunna scrap the glass
 
yeah atleast 3/4''

i think they glass they use on the sears building is only 1.5''

i would make a a metal support, and use the like 2'x2', in each slot that i would make.
 
contact the C.N tower and ask thyem what they use :) they can support 24 hippos on their glass floor.
 
You could do that 'expanded metal" type flooring, not sure what its called.. I think of it as used in catwalks, or sometimes as the back "tailgate" of small trailers that you can drive a mower or 4wheeler up on.

Sorry I can't think of the right name for the stuff, but you can mostly see through it. Its sort of like really heavy duty chicken wire.
 
I work for a General Contractor and we put a back lit glass floor in a recent job we completed. Profile of the glass was 2 layers of 1/2 inch, 1 layer of 3/8 inch, and a 1/4 layer with a anti-slip surface. All layers laminated with a PVB interlayer for strength. Basic module was 5 ft by 5 ft nominally. There was also colored inter layers for aesthetic purposes. Total glass thickness was 1 3/4" nominal when all said and done. The pieces were approximately $200/sf when shipped from LA to DC. Note that this was in a public assembly building and it is engineered for heavy traffic. Not sure if you could get away with a single thick piece or not. Either way, I would think it would be cost prohibitive. PM me if you want to know who we bought it from.
 
It comes down to how far apart the supports are. In several museums they have glass walkways over exhibits. As long as you are willing to put a wood/steel grate under the glass, you shouldn't need such thick glass. I have stood on the bottom of my 90 when it was upside down and it is fine. It is 1/2 inch glass, 4x2x2, or something pretty close to that. I realize this is an ancient thread, but it can be done. Maybe in the future someone will do it and there will be pics. I think a koi pond with something like this over part of it would be awesome.
 
As far as telling if fish are sick from viewing from the top, I'd think they'd have to be really really sick to tell anything from above. Looking down into a pond is nothing like looking through a pane of glass/acrylic from the side. You've got reflection and refraction from the water surface to deal with, and that's if the surface is glassy smooth, any turbulence and it's even less viewable. Add to that the fact that most fish are dark colored on the top, you'd basically be looking at dark lines moving through the water more than anything else.
 
It comes down to how far apart the supports are. In several museums they have glass walkways over exhibits. As long as you are willing to put a wood/steel grate under the glass, you shouldn't need such thick glass. I have stood on the bottom of my 90 when it was upside down and it is fine. It is 1/2 inch glass, 4x2x2, or something pretty close to that. I realize this is an ancient thread, but it can be done. Maybe in the future someone will do it and there will be pics. I think a koi pond with something like this over part of it would be awesome.
 
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