Glass bricks, more often called glass blocks, are hollow blocks of pressed glass that let light through a wall while blurring the view. They suit shower walls, bathroom windows, stairwells, passages and feature panels beside a front door. A glass block wall is not load-bearing: it sits in an opening framed by a structural wall and is laid with mortar and reinforcing or with a plastic spacer system. Send one free, no-obligation request with the panel size and pattern, and suppliers near you quote you directly.
Glass bricks and glass blocks: the patterns
The most common glass block face is about 190 x 190 mm, about 80 mm thick, with half blocks, end blocks and corner blocks for finishing. Patterns change how much you see through:
- Clear lets in the most light with a slight blur.
- Wave or cloudy patterns hide more, good for showers and bathrooms.
- Frosted faces give the most privacy.
- Coloured blocks are used in small numbers for feature walls.
Choosing glass blocks for a wall or window
Measure the opening and work in whole blocks plus joints, since glass cannot be cut on site. Then decide:
- Privacy: clear for a stairwell, wave or frosted for a bathroom.
- Inside or outside: an outside panel needs good mortar, sealing and a sill that sheds water.
- Mortar or spacer system: spacers are easier for DIY on small panels; mortar suits larger or outside panels.
- Matching: buy all the blocks for one panel at once.
Building a glass block wall, and common mistakes
Glass blocks are laid in a stiff mortar with reinforcing rods or ladder wire in the joints every few courses, and an expansion strip where the panel meets the frame. Mistakes we hear about:
- Building a glass panel to carry a lintel or roof load. It is not structural.
- No expansion gap, so the panel cracks as the house moves.
- Laying too many courses at once, so the joints sag.
- Leaving mortar to dry on the glass instead of wiping it off.
A bricklayer who has laid glass before is worth the wait.
What affects the price, and what to ask
The price depends on the pattern, the size, the number of special end and corner blocks, the mortar or spacer system and the labour. Ask:
- Is the block 190 mm and how thick?
- Do you stock half, end and corner blocks?
- Which mortar or spacer kit goes with them?
- Can you supply and fit the panel?
What to include in your request
- The panel width and height
- Inside or outside
- Clear, wave, frosted or coloured
- Mortar or a spacer system
- Supply only, or supply and fit
Glass Blocks and Bricks for different clients
- Homeowners: a glass block shower wall or a panel beside the front door for light
- Builders and bricklaying contractors: glass block panels built into bathrooms and stairwells on new houses
- Housing developers and complexes: matching glass block panels in stairwells across a block of units
- Brickyards and block yards: a yard or merchant stocking glass blocks beside face bricks and blocks
- New brick-making businesses: a small building firm adding glass block panels to its bathroom work
- Farms and smallholdings: glass blocks to light a farm store, dairy or passage without a window
- Municipalities, schools and public works: glass block panels in school ablutions and clinic passages for daylight
- Landscapers and paving teams: a glass block feature panel in a garden wall or an outdoor shower
Frequently asked questions
How much do glass bricks cost?
How many glass blocks do I need per m²?
Can a glass block wall be load-bearing?
Who will quote me for a glass block wall?
Glass Blocks and Bricks by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg