SANS 1263 tells you what a pane of glass actually survived. Part 1 covers architectural safety glazing, Part 2 ballistic resistance and Part 3 blast resistance. When a drawing says 'safety glass' without naming the class, the specification is incomplete.
The three parts of SANS 1263
SANS 1263 is the impact performance standard for safety glazing. Part 1 governs architectural safety glazing and is the part that applies to doors, side panels, low-level glazing and wet areas. Part 2 governs bullet and ballistic-resistant glazing, and Part 3 governs blast-resistant glazing. Naming the standard without naming the part leaves a supplier free to interpret the requirement, which is how a ballistic glazing brief ends up specified as ordinary toughened glass.
Architectural safety glazing classes
| Class | Impact performance | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | Drop-bag impact at 400 J | Doors, side panels, low-level glazing and wet areas: the default for a publicly accessible building |
| Class B | Drop-bag impact at 200 J | Lower-risk architectural applications where the standard permits a reduced class |
How each type of safety glass fails, and where that matters
| Type | Behaviour on failure | Correct application |
|---|---|---|
| Toughened | Releases into small blunt dice across the whole pane | Frameless doors, shower enclosures, shopfronts and balustrades |
| Laminated | Cracks but is held together by the interlayer and stays in the opening | Overhead glazing, security glazing, public areas and any pane above a person |
| Toughened laminated | The strength of toughened glass with the retention of laminated | Structural glass, balustrades, tall spans and exposed coastal elevations |
How to verify a pane on site
Architectural safety glass carries a permanent marking identifying the standard and class it satisfies. Check the marking before the pane is installed, not after: a cut or drilled pane that was never ordered as safety glass will not acquire the marking on site, and once it is in the frame the evidence is buried.
Specification writing that survives a site substitution
- 01Name the standard and the part: SANS 1263-1 for architectural safety glazing.
- 02Name the class: Class A for door, side-panel, low-level and wet-area glazing.
- 03Name the type and thickness: 10 mm toughened, or 6.38 mm laminated safety glass.
- 04Require the permanent marking, and require the certificate to name each elevation.
- 05State that any substitution of glass type or thickness must be re-submitted for approval, not decided on site.
Ballistic and blast glazing are a different conversation
Part 2 and Part 3 glazing is specified as a rated assembly against a defined threat and a defined attack scenario. The glazing thickness, the interlayer build-up, the frame strength and the anchoring all contribute to the rating, so a ballistic glazing brief cannot be answered by a glass thickness alone. Our ballistic door range is specified this way, with the threat level agreed before fabrication.