A pantry is a small room usually positioned just off the kitchen area to store food stuff that does not require refrigeration.
Usually this small room does not have windows and relies on a ceiling mounted electric light or light penetrating through glazed pantry doors for illumination.
There are manufacturers out there that will produce glazed doors as standard off-the-shelf for you to choose from or made specific to your requirements. The glass panel can be etched with a family emblem or coat of arms for example.
The door usually consists of a frame with a large glass panel for the full height of the door. All glass within the home below 2 foot 6 inches from floor level must be safety type glass in accordance with building code. With safety glass you have a couple of options available to choose from.
The first is toughened glass. Toughened glass is standard glass that has been subjected to a process that tempers or toughens the glass. This process makes the glass about four times stronger than standard glass. It can still break though, but instead of breaking into large chunks of glass it will shatter into small pieces that are relatively harmless reducing the risk of injury.
The second type of safety glass is laminated. This type of glass consists of two panes sandwiched together with a layer of thin plastic between. This glass is very tough but if it breaks large sections of broken glass are held in position by the glue on the plastic layer therefore the integrity of the glass panel is maintained, again reducing injury.
Laminated glass is much heavier than toughened glass so the weight of the glass should be considered when deciding on the type of door. You should seek guidance from your store assistant when choosing both door and glass.
For further information on everything about doors go to Doors Dictionary.
