Specialty Glass & Plastics in Chattanooga, TN
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You Don't Have to Know What Material You Need.
Most people don’t walk into Independent Glass asking for a specific type of specialty glass.
They bring us a problem.
One customer might need a piece of patterned glass for a cabinet door. Another might want a clear glass top to protect an antique buffet. The next might walk in looking for a machine window that needs the impact resistance of polycarbonate.
Very different projects. Very different materials. All things we can help figure out.
Independent Glass stocks specialty glass, acrylic, and polycarbonate for projects of all kinds. But you don’t need to know which material you need.
Tell us what you’re trying to make, replace, protect, or accomplish. We’ll help you figure out what makes sense from there.
Glass, Acrylic, or Polycarbonate? Start with the Application.
Glass isn’t always the right answer. Neither is plastic.
Start with the application.
Do you need something clear and scratch resistant? Something lightweight with a polished finished edge? Something tough enough to take an impact?
Those questions can point us toward glass, acrylic, or polycarbonate.
Each material has its advantages. Our job is to understand what you’re making and help you choose the one whose advantages matter most for your project.
Acrylic vs. Polycarbonate: What's the Difference?
They can look remarkably similar, but they solve different problems.
Acrylic is often known as Plexiglass. Polycarbonate is commonly associated with the brand name Lexan. The names matter less than the application.
What does the material need to look like? What does it need to withstand? How will it need to be fabricated? Those answers usually point us in the right direction.
Clear Acrylic Sheets & Custom Acrylic
Clear acrylic combines a lightweight, glass-like appearance with greater resistance to breakage.
One of its biggest advantages is how well it can be finished. Acrylic edges can be flame polished to create a clean, nearly transparent appearance, making the material particularly well suited for museum displays, product displays, decorative pieces, and other applications where every visible edge matters.
Independent Glass can provide full acrylic sheets or fabricate acrylic panels for your particular application.
We can also provide specialty acrylic products, including translucent white acrylic commonly used for illuminated signs and acrylic mirror for applications where traditional mirror glass may be too vulnerable to breakage.
Lexan Polycarbonate Sheets
Sometimes appearance isn’t the biggest concern. Durability is.
When the material needs to take a beating, polycarbonate is often where we turn. It’s extremely impact resistant, but that’s only part of its advantage. A Lexan polycarbonate sheet also gives us more flexibility when a project requires holes, notches, custom cuts, or other fabrication.
That’s why you’ll find it in everything from machine viewing windows and heavy equipment windshields to protective panels and certain curved applications.
Need the entire sheet? We sell full sheets of acrylic and polycarbonate as well as material cut and fabricated to your specifications.
Sometimes the Glass Is Supposed to Keep You from Seeing Everything.
Clear isn’t always the goal. Sometimes you want to let the light through without revealing everything behind the glass.
Decorative glass gives you that balance.
Decorative, Patterned, & Obscure Glass
Obscure glass encompasses a wide range of glass designed to distort or limit visibility while still allowing light through. Some options provide only a little visual distortion. Others provide considerably more privacy.
Patterned glass adds texture directly to the glass itself, creating decorative effects that can range from subtle to dramatic.
One of the most common applications we see is glass cabinet inserts. Decorative glass can completely change the character of a cabinet while making its contents less immediately visible. It’s also used in entry doors, commercial spaces, privacy applications, and anywhere else you want light without completely clear glass.
If you’re looking for obscure glass for a shower enclosure, rain glass and frosted glass are usually the two most popular and practical options. Both are readily available in the thicker glass used for many shower applications.
Rain Glass
Want something more interesting than clear glass without completely blocking the light? Rain glass may be worth a look.
Its distinctive vertical texture resembles water running down the surface, helping obscure what’s behind the glass while adding a decorative element of its own.
It’s particularly popular for shower enclosures, cabinet inserts, and doors.
Frosted Glass
Its diffused appearance allows light through without leaving everything on the other side in plain view. How much you want to see, and how much you’d rather keep obscured, depends entirely on the application.
Some frosted glass lightly distorts the view. Some makes it difficult to see through at all. Seeing the options side by side can help you decide exactly where your project should fall between the two.
Some Glass Is There to Protect What's Underneath It.
Not every custom piece needs to become the centerpiece of the room. Sometimes its job is to protect something you already love.
Custom Glass Tabletops & Furniture Glass
Maybe it’s an antique table. A family heirloom. A desk that gets used every day. Or a buffet that looks beautiful until backpacks, keys, dishes, and everything else life puts on top of it start leaving their mark.
Custom furniture glass creates a protective surface without covering up the wood or finish underneath.
We’ll cut the glass tabletop to the dimensions your furniture requires and help determine the appropriate thickness and other details for the application.
We can also provide glass when the glass itself will become the tabletop. Those projects require a different approach. The size, support, thickness, weight, and way the glass interacts with the base all matter.
It’s another reason we don’t begin with the material. We begin with what you’re trying to build.
Clear Glass Can Be Custom, Too.
Clear glass may be the simplest material we offer. That doesn’t mean every application is simple.
The size, thickness, shape, and way the glass will be used can all affect what the project requires. We’ll help determine those details, then cut and fabricate the glass accordingly.
Depending on what you’re making, we can help determine whether the project calls for annealed, laminated, tempered, or another type of glass.
We fabricate many annealed and laminated glass products in-house. When a project requires tempered glass or another product we don’t manufacture ourselves, we can source it to the specifications the project requires.
The important part isn’t knowing those terms before you contact us. It’s getting the right glass for the job.
Bring Us the Pattern. Bring Us the Broken Piece. Bring Us the Idea.
Sometimes customers arrive with exact dimensions. Sometimes they have a drawing. Sometimes they walk through the door holding the broken piece they need us to replace. That’s fine, too.
One of the advantages of working with a local glass company is being able to bring the project to someone and talk through it.
If the shape is unusual, we can work from patterns and templates. If you’re unsure about the material, we can show you options. If you need multiple identical pieces, we can fabricate them accurately and repeatably.
And because we stock and fabricate many products right here in Chattanooga, you don’t necessarily have to package a pattern, ship it across the country, and wait for a distant supplier to figure out what you’re trying to accomplish.
Sometimes it’s easier to put the project on the counter and say: “This is what I need.” We’ll take it from there.
- Exact dimensions
- A drawing or template
- The broken piece to replace
Need a Large Piece? Don't Let Transportation Stop You.
Most specialty glass and plastic orders are picked up directly from Independent Glass. But not everything fits safely in the back of a car.
If you’re ordering a large glass tabletop, oversized panel, or another piece you aren’t equipped to transport, talk to us about delivery.
We’ll look at the size of the material, where it’s going, and what will be required to handle it safely.
Not Sure What You Need? Start with What You Know.
Maybe you know the dimensions. Maybe you have a drawing or template. Maybe you have the broken piece sitting in your hand. Or maybe you just know what you need the finished product to do. That’s enough to start.
Bring us what you know and tell us what you’re trying to accomplish. We’ll help you work through the material, thickness, fabrication, and other details from there.
Contact Independent Glass today and tell us what you’re working on.