About a year ago we purchased a new wooden kitchen table. Upon its arrival, I noticed that it didn’t have a thick clear coat like tables I’ve owned previously. My children are SUPER messy when they eat, especially with their cereal for some reason, so that means we have a constant mess on our kitchen table. Naturally, I started looking for a way to protect our new wood table from the mess. I searched around the internet a bit to see if you should use glass to protect a wood table, but didn’t come up with much information. I decided it would be the best solution anyway, ordered a custom piece of glass, and regretted it since day one. After reading this, you may still decide a glass table protector is right for your situation. I’m just here to tell you some of the reasons you might not want to go that route.
I’ll answer that question with some other questions: Would you want a mirror as your tabletop? What would cleaning and maintaining that be like? Well, I don’t know if it’s just because the wood on my table is dark, but that’s what it felt and looked like to me. The highly reflective surface with the dark background means it shows every fingerprint, every crumb, and every streak even after cleaning it. I’ve got four kids that are constantly touching the table and putting dishes on it, which means my pretty table looked like garbage 24/7.
The only way to get it really clean was to use window cleaner, and even then it was still streaky and ugly. Some of this is on the surface, but a lot of it is also trapped underneath the glass that I couldn’t even get to for cleaning.
When the glass company first brought the glass over, they brought some clear spacers to go underneath. The spacers are supposed to allow airflow under the glass so it doesn’t ruin the tabletop. Well, that just made the top look even uglier, and the kids kept spilling stuff that would slide under the glass. I thought taking the spacers out would help, but it didn’t at all. No matter what I did, the food, especially anything liquid, still got under the glass. That spot on the left where the spill goes all the way to the edge goes under the glass, and the spot below it is actually under the glass. This happened daily with my kids.
Those wet spots mean I had to slide the heavy glass, carefully lift it, and clean and dry under it any time there was a spill. It was seriously the biggest pain, and sounds way easier said than done!!! And even after all that, the edges still had a constant supply of crumbs that somehow managed to make their way UNDER the glass! How does this even happen?! There were no spacers being used when I took these photos!
So I finally decided about a month ago that I’d had enough of fighting with this thing, and I’d rather have a ruined table. I took the glass off and gave it away on marketplace. I put a clear coat of something on it that I actually don’t recommend, so I won’t tell you what it was. Even though the clear coat I put on it doesn’t make it look great, it still looks a million times better than that stupid piece of glass that I had on it for a year. It’s so much easier to clean! Now we are using place mats and the the spills actually wipe up much easier. It’s not a perfect solution, but better than the glass.
Bought a different table! Seriously though, I wish I had done a little more research and gotten something that had a better clear coat on the top to begin with. If you’re already stuck with a table that doesn’t have that, try looking up finishes you can apply yourself. I think I probably should have gone with a coat of polyurethane or varnish instead, but I was too irritated to research any more options. Glass for the table should NOT have been something I considered with my messy kids, so maybe it would work if you don’t have kids?? …but then you probably wouldn’t need to protect your table anyway, so maybe it should just never be an option.
Have you tried glass on a wood table? Did you love it? Hate it? Think I’m crazy and my kids are slobs? One or both of those might be right. Anyway, leave a comment with your suggestions and maybe we can collectively come up with a solution to have a nice looking kitchen table with kids. I’d love some other options!
You have a table in your home that you’re particularly fond of and would like to protect. Okay, make that several tables. Whether it’s a brand-new dining table you want to remain pristine, a hand-me-down you care deeply about, or any other special table, a glass tabletop could be what you’re looking for.
At CBD Glass in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, we specialize in glass accent items for the home and commercial use, including glass tabletops. Before you invest in a protective glass layer, you have one question. Should that glass be tempered?
While tempered glass is a good idea for some glass surfaces, if you get a glass tabletop that’s half an inch thick, tempering is generally unnecessary.
Keep reading for when and when not to get your glass tabletop tempered. You’re not going to want to miss it!
What Is Tempered Glass?
When glass is tempered, it’s another way of saying that glass is reinforced or strengthened. The glass undergoes a treatment that’s chemical or thermal in nature to make it less likely to break. If comparing it to standard annealed glass, tempered glass is shatterproof at a rate of five to seven times greater.
That doesn’t mean tempered glass is completely impenetrable to damage, as that’s not the case. It’s just much more difficult to break. If you’ve ever tried to smash out a passenger side window in a car or truck (like for an emergency), then you know how hard it is to break tempered glass.
When Should a Glass Tabletop be Tempered?
Whether your glass tabletop will be tempered before installation on your table depends on how thick it is. Any glass surfaces that are 3/8 inches thick or ¼ inches thick are not impact-proof enough on their own. By tempering these glass tabletops, you can rely on them to withstand any damage that your table does not have to bore the brunt of.
When Should a Glass Tabletop Not be Tempered?
Once you get into thicker glass, such as that which is half an inch thick, then tempering becomes unnecessary. This glass is already so hardy that it would be tough to break it.
That said, you do not need glass with a thickness of half an inch for every table in your home. For larger coffee tables or dining tables, this makes sense. For a small end table, the glass doesn’t need to be nearly that thick.
Ready to Order Your Glass Tabletop? Call CBD Glass Today
Now that you know more about the importance of tempering glass as well as when it’s not needed, you think you’re ready to choose the right glass tabletop for your home. At CBD Glass, you can customize every last part of your tabletop design, including the thickness of the glass.
We don’t just stop there. If you want texture so your glass looks unique or you wish to change the shape and size of the glass tabletop, just ask, as we can do it.
Sources:
https://www.dullesglassandmirror.com/do-the-glass-table-tops-need-to-be-tempered.htm
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