Furniture
How to measure for a glass table top
Measure the table, not the glass that is on it. An old top may have been cut wrong, chipped back or replaced by somebody working from the same broken assumption.
Before you start
What you are measuring
The dimensions that decide the job
- The frame or base the glass sits on, at its widest and its longest.
- The overhang you want past the frame on each side.
- Both diagonals, to prove the base is square.
- The corner radius, if the corners are not to be left sharp.
What to have in your hand
- A steel tape measure
- A pencil
- A piece of card for the corner radius
The printable measuring pack carries the record sheet these steps fill in, plus a tracing grid for shapes a tape cannot describe.
In this order
The steps, in the order the workshop takes them
Decide which job it is
A full glass top carries the load and is the table. A protector sits on an existing solid top and only has to resist heat and scratches. They are different thicknesses and different prices, so say which one you want.
Measure the base, not the old glass
Width and length across the frame or the pedestal at the widest point. If you are replacing broken glass, measure the furniture it sat on; the old piece may never have been right.
Decide the overhang
Glass that finishes flush with the frame shows every wobble in the frame. Most tops overhang by 10mm to 25mm on each side. Decide it now, because it is added to the base size to give the glass size.
Check both diagonals
Corner to corner, both ways. If the two differ, the base is out of square and a rectangular top will sit proud at one corner. Send us both figures rather than the average.
Choose the corners and the edge
A radius on each corner is safer on a walk-past table and less likely to chip. Trace the radius you want on a piece of card if you are matching something. Then choose the edge finish: a polished edge is the standard for a top you can see the edge of.
Say how it is supported
Clear pads, suction cups, a recessed frame or a set of brackets. The support decides whether the glass is carrying its load across a span or sitting on a solid surface, and we specify the thickness to match.
What we work to
The tolerance, and where to start
We cut to plus or minus 2mm, and every order is confirmed with a dimensioned drawing before anything is made. On a free-standing top that tolerance is invisible, which is why a top is the one place it is safe to give us the exact finished size you want.
The usual specification
10mm toughened
10mm toughened is the standard for full glass table tops.
The configurator link below opens with a dining table top at 1200 x 700mm in that specification. It is a starting point the workshop cuts often, not a guess at your opening: change the numbers to the ones you have just measured and the price and the drawing follow.
What costs people a panel
The common mistakes
Copying the broken top
Glass breaks because something was wrong. Measure the furniture and start again.
Forgetting the overhang
A top ordered to the frame size looks like a mistake once it is down, and there is no way to add 20mm to a finished piece of toughened glass.
Sharp corners on a busy table
A square corner at hip height in a kitchen is the corner that gets walked into. A radius costs almost nothing at the cutting stage.
Annealed glass on a dining table
A top that gets hot plates, elbows and dropped cutlery is a toughened top. Annealed breaks into long shards at exactly the wrong height.
When you order
What to send us
- The base size and the overhang you want, or the finished glass size if you have worked it out.
- Both diagonals.
- The corner radius, or a tracing of it.
- Whether it is a full top or a protector, and how it is supported.
Write them on the record sheet as you go: download the three-page measuring pack PDF, or read the same sheets on the measuring pack page.
Next
Settle the rest before you order
Measuring something else? Every product we cut to size has its own guide on the measuring pack page.