Has anyone on here had a chance to work with Bio-Glass yet? We had a customer request a quote and we've never worked with it.

They asked for White Diamond...in the only picture that I can find on their website it looks fairly translucent and it's 2cm.

That is the material that is glass particulate with the non concrete binder isn't it? Are they also the ones that you can make custom colors?

That's what it looks like to me. I don't really have any information on it yet. The one email I saw said that they don't have the White Diamond in stock and that it's 10 weeks from payment to even get the material.

I had pretty expensive prices...but i was only gonna template and install...the place down here that offer it is Coverings in Miami..they suggest water jet for teh best cut and edge work reduction..but I just didnt like the repair aspect of it...i know your are not suposta need to repair but on new materials...gulp

 

my customers didnt want it for its recycled content anyway..they wanted the color...so when they saw Antique glass avonite..it matched the oriental jade color....i took off a few thousand off da price that way...its pretty cool to have rebound materials...cause Avonite doesnt seem so expensive when you bang them with Bio-Glass...if they woulda came in for avonite they woulda thought i was exoensive...go figure

I got the quote back last night... ...and I thought that Vetrazzo was expensive.

I also got the fab manual but it's too large to upload (4mb) If anyone really wants it I can email it. It has a decent picture of what the material looks like.

Can material be cut with a regular bridge saw
thanks
Bill

Yes, the material can be cut with the same tools that you fabricate granite or engineered stone with.

I'm a small builder focusing on green projects, but not a fabricator. I've specified the Bioglass White Diamond for a 69x31.5 inch peninsula with an 11-inch overhang and a 1.5-inch stacked edge. It's the first time my fabricator has worked with the material.

I'm hoping to get some suggestions from a fabricator who's worked with Bioglass and has had success with a specific substrate system.

Coverings states that it's not supposed to have an overhang of more than 3 inches without support. I'd prefer not to use corbels or brackets.

I was considering 3/4-inch plywood. Or perhaps 1/2-inch plywood + 1/4-inch cement backerboard. Other options I'm considering are routed out plywood with steel plate or flat steel bars laid into the wood.

Any help on the substrate would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

Go with steel

Chris, just be careful about the darkness of the canteliever substrate you decide to use...overhanging away from the cabs as it is lights up the section that is not.if you end up painting the bottom that also might change the color of the sample if customer likes the white sample...then finshed product might lean on the gray side...it has the same dilema of working with the translucent SS materials

Thanks Gene. We plan to use 0.75-inch plywood to build up the countertop height to 1.5-inch total. There will be a 1.5-inch stacked edge, so we can go edge to edge with the plywood, and it won't be visible from the side. Edge to edge plywood will hopefully address potential shadows. We also plan to backpaint the Bioglass, as the White Diamond is slightly translucent and the paint should provide a slightly more opaque look to the glass, which will be fine, as I'm doing this for a spec project and I'm the customer. :) I'm pretty convinced of building steel into the substrate, but I'm not sure if we should use flat steel bars (0.25 inch thick or more), rectangular/square steel tubes, or steel plate. And what's the best way to build the steel into the substrate?

another tip might also be to make sure the steel has no points or stress risers on it..If the substrate flexes..then the top is risky...remember its glass and i know how much the slabs cost..

What do you mean 1.5 buildup?

Gene, you're so right. Bioglass is pricey! My hope is if I use quality, heavy gauge steel bars/tubes/plate in the right spots, I should be able to eliminate potential stress points/risers. Still unsure which steel format to go with - bars, tubes or plate.

Kelsey, I may be using the wrong term, as I'm not a fabricator. The Bioglass is 0.75-inch thick. I would use a 0.75 inch thick plywood substrate to create a 1.5 inch total build-up. The finished edge would also have a 1.5 inch total buildup - but all Bioglass. At the countertop's edge, a Bioglass strip would be stacked and laminated under the countertop to create a stacked/laminated edge - total height 1.5 inches.