Can You Leave Tempered Glass Outside in the Winter?

Your tempered glass outdoor furniture looks amazing while you’re lounging in the spring, summer, and fall seasons. It’s a great conversation piece as well as eyecatching when guests come over. However, you may be asking yourself if you can leave it out with the rest of your patio furniture during winter.

Tempered glass is stronger than regular glass. So, any furniture you have made out of tempered glass should withstand the cold of winter. Just be sure that the furniture isn’t under large icicles that may fall and shatter it. You may want to cover or store it if you live in a place that experiences hail or heavy snowstorms that could crack or shatter the glass.

While tempered glass is stronger than regular glass, it is not indestructible. It can break like any other glass furniture when exposed to blunt force or extreme fluctuations in temperature. It may be wise to store it if you know a big winter storm is coming, or at least cover it. Tempered glass should be able to withstand snowfall and cold temperatures, so long as they aren’t extreme. 

Can You Leave Tempered Glass Outside In Winter? 

Tempered Glass is Stronger than Regular Glass

Tempered glass can withstand more impact than regular glass, so it is the recommended glass to have on outdoor furniture. It is glass that is thicker and created in an 1100 degree furnace for added durability. This makes tempered glass an ideal glass to have your furniture made from or encased in.

Tempered Glass is Made for the Outdoors

Tempered glass furniture has the ability to withstand the elements for years without incident. Given how thick the glass is, it can hold up snow or even deal with small bouts of hail. As well as cold temperatures, so long as they don’t fluctuate too much. Weather can only be a problem if there are extreme changes from cold to warm.

Be Mindful of Furniture Placement

Be sure to keep your tempered glass furniture away from potential falling damage. Such as trees or roofs that may have icicles growing from them. These icicles could fall and crack or even shatter your furniture if large enough. High winds may also push your table over, effectively shattering it when it falls onto your deck or patio. 

You can Always Store the Furniture

If you don’t want to risk your table breaking over the winter months, then store it away during the winter. You can put in in a garage, basement, or shed for safekeeping. That way, the glass isn’t subjected to the extreme weather or impact damage. Then you can take it back out in the spring and enjoy it again until winter comes again. 

How can Tempered Glass Shatter in the Winter?

Tempered glass is tougher than regular glass, so you may be wondering how tempered glass can shatter in the first place. It sounds like a durable material made to withstand the elements and temperature shifts. So, how could it possibly get damaged or shatter? Well, there are some possibilities: 

1. Faulty Glass is a Thing

Not all companies use the most upscale tempered glass when constructing furniture. If you have the misfortune of buying defective glass, then you may find that it shatters much quicker. This means that you have to buy a replacement or get the glass mended. If you do the latter, then the company mending the glass may find out the glass is faulty or recommend that you get a new sheet of tempered glass instead. 

2. The Material Around Tempered Glass can Warp

The tempered glass may not always the culprit. Wood and metal can warp and change over time when exposed to the weather. It may warp so much that the glass pops out or even falls through and shatters. You may find a few cracks if the material condenses and puts added pressure on the sides of the glass. 

3. Weather can Affect any Kind of Furniture

Weather can impact any kind of furniture over time, and tempered glass is not an exception. Added exposure from extreme weather can wear and tear down your table, eventually causing it to shatter after being subjected to it for so long. If you live in an area that experiences extreme or long-spanning winters, you may want to store your furniture for added protection.

What to do if Your Tempered Glass Shatters

Here are some things you can do if your tempered glass shatters: 

1. Clean Up The Mess

One of the many benefits of tempered glass furniture is that if it shatters, the pieces become pebble-like around the edges, unlike regular glass, which can have jagged or sharp edges that you can cut on. This makes clean-up easier should your tempered glass shatter. You’ll want to throw away the pieces and, depending on what other materials your furniture is made from, throw it away or recycle it.

2. Get the Glass Mended

Glass Companies like the Glass Doctors can mend cracked furniture. Maybe your tempered glass cracked but hasn’t completely shattered at this point. In this case, you can get a mend job done to repair the crack in your furniture. Depending on how the crack occurred, the company may recommend getting a replacement overpaying for mending costs.

3. Buy a Replacement

Many Home Improvements or HomeGoods stores sell tempered glass furniture that you can buy to replace your shattered one. As mentioned above, tempered glass is more durable than regular glass. Most outdoor furniture already have tempered glass-encased around the glass for this reason. But you may like a regular glass piece or not want to spend the extra money on a tempered glass one.

4. Hire a Glass Company to Encase Your Furniture in Tempered Glass

If you have furniture that you’ve bought or were given that doesn’t have tempered glass can be put on after the fact. Simply calling a Glass Company like the Glass Doctors can take your furniture and encase it in tempered glass for added protection. You can also be sure that they use quality glass over defective ones for added longevity.

Should You Leave Your Tempered Glass Out in the Winter?

So, we’ve answered the question of whether you can leave the tempered glass out in the winter. Now, you are probably wondering if you should risk it or not. In the end, it is your decision. Many tempered glass owners have risked their furniture in the winter months and had no issues. While others have had to run to the store to buy another table after theirs shattered. 

Some things that can help you decide are: 

• Weather
• Location
• Storage Available
• Covers

If you experience powerful snowstorms frequently during the winter months, you will probably be better off storing it for safekeeping. The location also matters, in that if you live somewhere where the winter isn’t long, or you don’t get anything more than the occasional hailstorm, then you should be fine leaving the tempered glass outside. 

Lastly, if you don’t have a place to store your furniture, then you may not be able to store it. You could also buy covers to protect your furniture if you don’t have storage space. Covers can also be a good alternative for those who have the space to store tempered glass furniture but don’t want to be lugging it back and forth. 

In the end, tempered glass is something you can have out in the winter, but taking extra precautions wouldn’t be a bad idea.