How Custom Glass Enhances Your Home: An Interview with Mike Crane of Bucks County Glass

Please tell us a little bit about your company and the services you offer.

Bucks County Glass is a full-service, professionally staffed glass company designed to serve a wide range of clientele in the Philadelphia area. We have been in business since 1983 installing residential and commercial glass. Drawing on our knowledge and experience, we combine the best resources available with insight to meet the needs of today's demanding customers. Our emphasis is on service and reliability, and we excel in know-how, project execution, and follow- through.

What is custom glass? What are some of its most popular uses in Philadelphia homes?

Custom glass can be anything from a glass top, cut to pattern to protect a table, to a heavy glass shower enclosure designed for a master bath. Over the last 10 years, we have become sought out for our frameless shower door installations. That seems to be the most popular use for custom glass, creating a spa-like master bath.

Can you briefly explain how custom glass compares with the other options out there?

When using custom glass and a glass professional, we can help clients realize their vision without the limitations of "off the shelf" products. Using our experience along with our sources for glass and hardware, we can help from a design-build aspect. That's something you don't get when shopping at a big box store.

What is one of the biggest challenges with designing and installing custom glass?

As glass becomes more prevalent and widely used within interior design. We are being asked to use less hardware, along with larger pieces of glass. Sometimes that needs to be balanced with the engineering aspect for the safety of the installation along with the design intent. Our goal is to provide not only a beautiful-looking finished product but a product that is engineered correctly for the application, meeting the required building codes.

What are some of the top benefits of having custom glass installed in your home?

Custom glass can provide many different looks, from modern and contemporary to classic and historically correct for the age of the home. I believe that the latest trends of larger bathrooms, with spa-like shower enclosures will continue. This will make remodeling your bathrooms with these features, increase your home's value.

Can you share an example of any project where custom glass made the house really stand out?

We installed a curved glass handrail in a home here in Bucks County. The handrail had multiple pieces installed in a base shoe clad with custom metal, making the glass look like it was unsupported. Not only did we have to have the glass custom bent, we had the base metal custom bent as well. This overlooked their two-story foyer and was very dramatic as you entered the home.

What's the best way for people to contact you and your company?

We would welcome people to visit our website www.BucksCountyGlass.com or they can email me directly at mike@buckscountyglass.com.