Glass Weight Calculator — Toughened & Laminated Panels
Glass weighs 2.5kg per square metre for every millimetre of thickness — so a 12mm toughened panel weighs 30kg/m², and a 1,200 × 1,100mm balustrade panel in that spec weighs just under 40kg. This calculator gives you the exact weight of any toughened or laminated panel, the total weight of a full run, and manual-handling guidance for lifting it safely on site. Used daily by installers, glaziers and the Continox delivery team.
Glass Weight Calculator
Panel size + construction = weight per panel, per run, and how many people you need to lift it.
Glass weighs 2.5kg/m² per millimetre of thickness: 10mm = 25kg/m², 12mm = 30kg/m², 15mm = 37.5kg/m², 19mm = 47.5kg/m². Laminated glass weighs the sum of its plies plus roughly 1.6kg/m² for the interlayer: 13.5mm (6+6) ≈ 31.6kg/m², 17.5mm (8+8) ≈ 41.6kg/m², 21.5mm (10+10) ≈ 51.6kg/m². A typical 1,200 × 1,100mm frameless balustrade panel in 17.5mm laminated weighs about 55kg — a two-to-three person lift with suction lifters, or a glass-lifting robot for upper floors.
Glass Weight Per m² — Reference Table
| Construction | Weight / m² | 1,000×1,000 Panel | 1,500×1,100 Panel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6mm toughened | 15.0 kg | 15.0 kg | 24.8 kg |
| 8mm toughened | 20.0 kg | 20.0 kg | 33.0 kg |
| 10mm toughened | 25.0 kg | 25.0 kg | 41.3 kg |
| 12mm toughened | 30.0 kg | 30.0 kg | 49.5 kg |
| 15mm toughened | 37.5 kg | 37.5 kg | 61.9 kg |
| 19mm toughened | 47.5 kg | 47.5 kg | 78.4 kg |
| 13.5mm laminated (6+6) | 31.6 kg | 31.6 kg | 52.1 kg |
| 17.5mm laminated (8+8) | 41.6 kg | 41.6 kg | 68.6 kg |
| 21.5mm laminated (10+10) | 51.6 kg | 51.6 kg | 85.1 kg |
| 25.5mm laminated (12+12) | 61.6 kg | 61.6 kg | 101.6 kg |
Why Panel Weight Matters on Site
Manual handling: HSE guidance treats 25kg as the practical one-person limit under good conditions — and carrying glass is never good conditions, because the load is rigid, fragile at the edges and must stay vertical. In practice: under 25kg one person with a suction lifter, 25–50kg two people, 50–100kg a three-to-four person team or mechanical aids, and above 100kg — which includes most 21.5mm+ laminated balustrade panels over 1.5m wide — a glass-lifting robot, vacuum hoist or crane. Upper-floor balcony installations frequently need mechanical lifting regardless of weight, purely for access.
Structural preparation: the weight doesn't disappear after installation. A 10-metre frameless run in 21.5mm laminated glass puts over half a tonne of dead load on the floor edge or deck subframe — one of the checks in a proper balustrade load calculation, and a reason spigot fixings into lightweight decking sometimes need subframe reinforcement before the glass arrives.
Delivery access is a pricing factor, not an afterthought. A panel that two people can walk through a hallway costs less to install than one that needs a vacuum lifter over a garden wall. This is one of the "hidden costs" that separates cheap headline quotes from real invoices — covered in full in our glass balustrade cost per metre guide. Continox surveys check access and lifting requirements before the fixed price is issued, so the number never changes on delivery day.
Glass Weight — FAQ
Common questions about panel weights and handling.
We Do the Lifting — You Get the View
Toughened laminated glass as standard, delivery and mechanical lifting included in the fixed price, installed by Continox's in-house team. Free site survey with access assessment, quotation within 24 hours.