Overlay Stained Glass
We manufacture and supply Overlay Stained Glass to homes in the UK and around the world. Ordering from us is easy, simply find a design you like in our Leaded Galleries or provide your own. Find out the approximate glass sizes of the glass you require. Then contact us to request a quote.
Stained Glass For Today’s World
Originally stained glass was manufactured using small pieces of glass fixed together with a ‘H’ lead strip. The lead was then soldered so the glass would stay together. Think of it like a jigsaw being held up vertically, it is never going to be very durable. Although this procedure is sometimes still used today, modern Overlay Stained Glass is a more popular and versatile product.
Our Overlay Stained Glass (or Leaded Glass as we call it) is created by applying lead strips to both sides of a sheet of toughened safety glass. Overlay Stained Glass Colours are located on one side of the glass under the leaded strips. This glass can be supplied as single-glazed toughened glass or a double-glazed unit. The traditional ‘jigsaw’ method cannot be supplied as a double-glazed unit because it is made using small fragile pieces with gaps in between.
Roundels
Stained Glass Roundels like the one in the image at the top of the page are created in our decorative glass studio. We can create these beautiful glass features using flat clear glass or Stippolyte Textured Glass. Roundels do add cost to any design but we can also replace the roundels of a design with Minster coloured circles when using Minster Glass. This helps to keep costs down if you have a budget for your project and you can read more about our options for roundels here.
Minster Leaded Glass
The Frank Lloyd Wright style door set below was created using toughened Minster Glass and our Overlay Stained Glass technique. We used our Aged Lead (Option 2) and various transparent colours for the design. The door was one solid sheet of toughened safety glass and each of the two side panels were one sheet of toughened safety glass. Minster glass is one of the most popular glass types for use with Leaded-Glass designs.
Image above created using Minster Glass
New But Old
As mentioned above, one big advantage that our Stained Glass Windows have over the traditional method is that toughened glass can be used. Plain colours, marbled colours and textures can be used along with soldered lead. These durable and attractive materials produce a beautiful effect that lasts and when done correctly, it can be unrecognisable from the older technique.
When using natural lead strips, our decorative glass artists can solder the joints and age the lead to give the glass that old stained glass look. Soldered leadwork costs extra so please request a quote for this. Using Minster glass as the decorative leaf of the double-glazed sealed unit gives the panel that old appearance.
Image above created using Minster Glass
As you can see by the picture of this 1930s glass design, the coloured areas of the glass aren’t flat. All of the colours are textured the same as the colourless areas of the design. This glass is called Minster glass and it is very popular with our customers.
Other textured glass patterns can also be used to create leaded glass panels. Stippolyte glass and Flemish glass can be used to create these leaded panels. All other textures can be used as the ‘backing glass’ to the double-glazed unit. Toughened glass has security benefits but it is also a great glass to use when creating expensive designs.
The Many Advantages Of Overlay Stained Glass
The modern procedure has many advantages over the older stained glass technique. Energy saving is a big concern in today’s world and with the stained glass design being manufactured as a stained glass overlay onto a solid sheet of toughened glass, this reduces the possibility of the cold weather coming into the home through the joints of the design. Our designs can also be applied directly to energy saving Pilkington K Glass. This special glass is now a building regulations requirement for every new window and door installation. We supply Pilkington K glass on the rear face of every sealed unit we supply.
View our Mackintosh Galleries
Durability and security are other advantages of this Leaded Glass technique. Applying the design directly onto toughened glass provides long-lasting and secure decorative glass. People have paid a lot for the old stained glass product but it didn’t always stand the test of time. Small coloured sections of a traditional ‘jigsaw’ style panel can break quite easily but this cannot happen with our product.
The materials
There are literally hundreds of overlay colours to choose from for use in the modern day stained glass and most colours can be combined with a frosted overlay to create an even larger range of colours and textures.
Lead strip also comes in many colours and effects. The old favourite through the 80’s and 90’s being Option 1 Natural lead. Today almost every job we create is manufactured using Option 2 Antique Lead which is a darker lead. Leadbitter Glass now offers antique lead as standard so this is included in any quote you receive. Soldered joints on the lead strips help achieve that ‘traditional’ feel to the glass. this finish can be requested at an extra price. You can see the different Lead strips available on our Leaded Glass Options page.
Image above created using Stippolyte Glass
View our basic range of Overlay Stained Glass colours to view the most popular colour choices. There are hundreds of other colours and effects available so you can request any colour you find on any design throughout this website.
View Our Stained Glass Past Works
We’ve created thousands of Overlay Stained Glass jobs since 1994 and you can view some in our Past Works Gallery. New projects are added quite regularly and this section is a great way to see what other people are ordering. We tend to add jobs that are a little bit different so there are many bespoke designs featured here.
Browse Our Leaded Glass Galleries
Our website contains hundreds of Stained Glass patterns and our main gallery is the first place to head. We have categorised our patterns into themed galleries and glass suitable for different styles of doors. The Main Gallery will help you find the perfect stained glass pattern for you or at least inspire you to dream up your own pattern.