Acrylic Vs. Glass as a Building Material

Acrylic

• One of the strong advantages of building with acrylic is its lighter weight. Acrylic glass bricks, for example, weigh a sixth as much as their glass counterparts. This alone may make it possible to build larger structures than you can with heavier glass block. Lightness of weight also makes acrylic attractive for construction of small structures like greenhouses and aquariums. With a thermal conductivity of 0.2, acrylic Plexiglas exceeds mineral glass in insulative capacity; mineral glass has a conductivity score of 0.96. Acrylic is also highly transparent, equaling or excelling glass in visibility and admission of ultraviolet (UV) rays. Further, acrylic can be molded, making it suited to a variety of skylight shapes, including domes.

Glass

• What glass lacks in flexibility it gains in consistency. Even in frequently opened storm doors, glass panels are not easily scratched or pitted by blowing leaves and twigs or the debris thrown up by a leaf blower. Glass has superior tensile strength and stiffness; wind resistance is equaled only by 1.5 to 2.5 greater thickness of Plexiglas window panels.

Glass: Disadvantages

• Although glass may exceed Plexiglas in tensile strength, breakage is still a concern, even for tempered glass. Except for impact-treated glass, which breaks into a shower of small pieces, glass can break in large, sharp pieces. This concern is reflected in the popularity of Plexiglas for panes in doors used frequently by children.

Acrylic: Disadvantages

• In terms of general wear, acrylic doesn't age as well as glass does. With less surface strength, acrylic is prone to scratching and abrasion. Cleaning requires soap and water; acrylic is more sensitive than glass to chemicals, some of which produce surface etching in acrylic. Although some forms of acrylic are UV transparent, nearly all show their age in yellowing. Blogger Plastic Genius, whose experience includes providing acrylic for building, notes an element ignored by many other promoters of Plexiglas: flammability. This may be the reason why building codes restrict its use.