If you're a homeowner buying windows in or around Stuart FL, one of the terms you'll hear from glass dealers and window contractors is safety glass. As you're deciding what kind of windows to buy and what kind of glass to put in your new windows, safety glass is an important product to consider. Particularly in the state of Florida, where hurricanes are a relatively common occurrence, safety glass can help protect your property and members of your household.

Safety glass is a type of glass that is designed to be extra strong and flexible. Safety glass comes in two types: laminated and tempered. Laminated safety glass consists of a thin flexible plastic film sandwiched between two pieces of glass. Tempered safety glass is a single sheet of glass that has been specially treated with heat and rapidly cooled to improve its strength.

Laminated safety glass is slightly flexible. In high-impact situations, the plastic core is likely to bend slightly, and the glass surrounding it will bend with the core. This flexibility gives laminated the safety glass the ability to withstand high impacts.

If broken, some small shards and glass dust may fall off the window, but the majority of the glass will remain in place. Laminated safety glass is very difficult to penetrate because of its reinforced core.

Tempered glass behaves differently. It is very strong, but not as shatter-proof as laminated safety glass. In high-impact situations, tempered safety glass will break. When it shatters, it breaks into dull pieces that are not sharp, but dull and pebble-like. These pieces are generally not harmful to people.

Typically, homeowners in search of hurricane-safe glass will buy laminated safety glass. This type of glass can sustain impacts from heavy flying objects. Although laminated safety glass will break, it can often deflect flying objects to protect the people in the home. For this reason, laminated glass is also the preferred product in tornadoes.

Flexibility and shatter-resistance are just a few of the benefits of laminated safety glass. In addition, homeowners with this type of glass in their windows enjoy these perks:

• Blocks UV rays. Laminated safety glass can block UV rays that cause furniture and flooring to fade, ensuring that your home's interior is protected from the damaging rays of the sun.
  
• Reduces high-frequency sounds. Laminated safety glass can stop high-frequency sounds from penetrating your windows, which can be useful if you live in a noisy area.
  

Laminated safety glass costs $10 to $20 per square foot. Tempered safety glass costs between $12 and $14 per square foot.

In general, new windows can help improve your home's value by thousands of dollars. If you're a homeowner in Florida, another way to boost property values is to install hurricane safety features. Therefore, by installing hurricane-safe windows, homeowners may be able to improve their home's value and make their property more attractive to buyers.