Toughened (or tempered) glass, in our expert opinion, is the only suitable option for glass splashbacks. Toughened glass is heat resistant to 220 degrees Celsius and virtually never breaks due to heat. In over eight years of suppling and installing toughened glass splashbacks we have never had a panel break due to heat behind the hob.

Toughened glass is five times more impact resistant (stronger) than untoughened glass and will never break across socket or corner cut-outs.

IF YOUR GLASS HAS CRACKED IT IS NOT TOUGHENED. Toughened glass does not crack, but shatters into hundreds of tiny pieces.

There is an easy way to tell if the glass is toughened, without breaking the glass. Toughened glass will have an etched mark in one of the corners which is whitish in appearance. If there is no toughened mark on the glass, then it is not toughened. All Opticolour glass panels are toughened.

Untoughened glass is available in two forms:

1) Pre-coated coloured sheets, such as Planilaque and Lacobel. This glass can be cut to size and have holes drilled into it or socket cut-outs made into it, but it cannot be toughened. It is prone to cracking behind the hob and across socket and corner cut-outs. It is only available in a limited range of colours and is a lot cheaper.

2) Coloured film or foil backed glass. The colour film or foil is typically applied locally and the glass is often untoughened. The coating is fequently inferior and prone to discolouring or flaking.

Opticolour are contacted regularly by people who have been sold inferior products which have since cracked, discoloured or simply don't fit properly.

The photographs below are of a job that was done by a cheaper company and Opticolour were asked to come and sort it out as an insurance claim, because the original company washed their hands of it.

Opticolour gives a 10 year guarantee against faulty fitting, discoloration or peeling. Opticolour trained fitters are highly skilled and will give you the very best measure and fit services available in the UK.

Adobe pdf version of this page* for easy printing, saving or emailing (~410 KB)