One Vistaza window in a pale stone surround, its glass divided into twelve lights by black bars

Grilles and divided lites

One pane,
or a pattern of panes.

A grille divides a window's glass into smaller lights with bars. We build it two ways: a bar sealed inside the glass, or bars fixed to both faces of it. The difference is what you see from the street.

Between the glass · GBG ›On the glass · SDL ›

The two ways, side by side

Same pattern. Different bar.

A single grille bar sealed inside an insulating glass unit, with both glass faces flat

Between the glass · GBG.

One aluminum bar, sealed inside the insulating glass when the unit is made. You see the pattern from the room and from the street, and both faces of the glass stay flat.

Where the bar isInside the sealed unit

Bar width20 mm (13/16″) or 30 mm (1-3/16″)

Off the glassNothing — both faces flat

CleaningNothing to clean around, inside or out

From an angleReads as a pattern in the glass

WindowsEvery series, every type, and the doors

A window with grille bars bonded to the outside face of the glass

On the glass · SDL.

A bar on the outside face, a bar on the inside face, and one sealed between them, all lined up. Outside, the bar stands off the glass and throws a shadow, like a true divided window.

Where the bar isOn both faces, with one inside

Bar width, outside26 mm (1″) · 46 mm (1-13/16″) · 66 mm (2-5/8″)

Off the glass11 mm (7/16″) on each face — a real shadow line

CleaningAround the bars, like any divided window

From an angleReads as a solid bar through the glass

WindowsEvery series, every type, and the doors

The two renders above are the same corner of the same window, cut open at the glass. Only the bar changes.

The bar itself

Two types. In detail.

The between-the-glass bar: a single hollow aluminum bar, drawn in isometric — GBG · between the glass.
One hollow aluminum bar, sealed in the cavity when the glass unit is made.

The on-the-glass bar: a uPVC bar with its tape and gasket, and the aluminum bar that sits inside the unit behind it, drawn in isometric — SDL · on the glass.
A uPVC bar bonded to the glass with tape, a gasket along its edge, and the aluminum bar inside the unit behind it.

Three windows edge to edge in a dark metal band, each divided into six lights by black bars on the glass

Bars on the glass on a Brooklyn building. The pattern was drawn on the elevations before the glass was made.

In section

Where the bar sits.

Cut through the glass, the difference is plain. Between the glass, the bar lives in the cavity and nothing touches either face. On the glass, a bar sits on each face as well, standing 11 mm (7/16″) proud, and the shadow it throws is the whole reason to choose it.

Pick between the glass when you want the pattern with nothing to clean and no change to the flat face of the window. Pick on the glass when the elevation has to read as true divided lights, close up and at an angle.

The dimensioned detail ›

The two builds in section. Left: one bar sealed inside the unit. Right: a bar on each face, lined up with the one inside, standing 11 mm (7/16″) off the glass.

SDL, from the maker's own drawing: the outside bar, the bar inside the unit, and the pair on the glass — 26, 46 and 66 mm, each standing 11 mm off the glass.

GBG: the 20 and 30 mm bars sealed in the cavity, 8 mm thick.

On the drawings

Laid out opening by opening.

The standard layout is colonial. Every layout, colonial or not, is drawn on the elevations of the shop drawings — how many bars, which way they run, how the lights divide — and confirmed there before the order is placed, so the pattern is approved before any glass is made. Bars are finished to match the frame color they sit against.

There are two bars between the glass, 20 mm (13/16″) and 30 mm (1-3/16″), and three on the glass, 26 mm (1″), 46 mm (1-13/16″) and 66 mm (2-5/8″) wide on the outside face.

Shop drawings ›Colors ›All options ›

For the drawings

The dimensioned detail.

Every bar in section, drawn to the same standard as our other cross-section sheets: GBG on one page, SDL on the next. Tap a page to enlarge, or open the whole set.

Grilles cross-sections (PDF) ›

Bar, outside face	Bar inside the unit	Off the glass, each face
26 mm (1″)	20 mm (13/16″)	11 mm (7/16″)
46 mm (1-13/16″)	30 mm (1-3/16″)	11 mm (7/16″)
66 mm (2-5/8″)	30 mm (1-3/16″)	11 mm (7/16″)

SDL · bar sections — the outside bar, the inside bar, and the two on the glass

Grilles on the elevations?

Send the elevations with your plans. We draw the layout opening by opening.

Send plans

One pane,or a pattern of panes.