Glass in furniture

The Law

The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 states that all goods offered for supply in the U.K. must be generally safe given all the circumstances.

What types of furniture are covered by these regulations?

All furniture including trolleys which have glass incorporated in them. Antique furniture is excluded from the requirements of the General Product Safety regulations.

What do the regulations require?

The aim of the regulations is to ensure that products which under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use to not present any risk or only minimal risk to the safety and health of persons.

Furniture incorporating glass will be considered safe if it complies with the relevant safety standards. BS EN 12521:2009 covers furniture strength, durability and safety, whilst BS: 7449 covers all other glass included in the construction of furniture.

Both these standards cover the types and thickness of glass which are acceptable for certain applications. It would not be practical to list all the requirements in this fact sheet.

Wherever possible the original instructions supplied with the furniture should be available with the furniture when it is re-sold. If these instructions are not available, then the following information should be given to the purchasers of this kind of second hand furniture:

(a) Do not place hot or very cold items against/on or in close proximity to glass surfaces unless adequately thick insulating material/table mats are used to prevent such items coming into contact with the glass surface.

(b) Do not strike the glass with hard or pointed items. Do not use the glass as a chopping board.

(c) When cleaning glass panels etc., use a damp cloth or leather with a suitable cleaning agent. Do not use washing powder or any other substances likely to cause scratching to the glass surface.

(d) Do not sit or stand on horizontal glass surfaces.

(e) Where applicable it is essential that this unit is fixed to the wall with the fittings provided.

Please note that this information is for guidance only and is not a full interpretation of the law which only a court of law can give.

This page was last updated on 15 December 2011