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Pioneer Glass

Pioneer Glass offers shower enclosures, window glass replacement, mirrors and more in Worcester, Middlesex, Norfolk , & Suffolk County MA

  • Services and Products
    • Commercial Storefront Glass
    • Exterior Door Glass Replacement
    • Mirrors
    • Double Pane & Triple Pane Glass Replacement
    • Kitchen and Cabinet Insert Glass
    • Safety Glass
    • Shower Enclosures
    • Screen Repair
    • Tabletop & Counter Glass
    • Wavy Antique Glass
  • Hours & Locations

(508) 234-7063

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Wavy, Restoration, Antique, Window Glass

It's called many things: restoration glass, antique glass, wavy glass... We are seasoned experts knowledgable in restoration antique wavy window glass with a wealth of options available.

For people in historic homes, wavy restoration antique window glass is ideal to keep with the character of the home. Our wavy restoration antique window glass service is available nationwide! No matter where you are based, Pioneer Glass can help meet your needs to provide period-specific restoration glass.

Emulating the waviness and occasional air bubbles that are part of true antique window glass.

Called wavy, antique, or restoration, this glass is produced to mirror the look of antique glass through traditional mouth-blown methods, plus modern approaches.

Pioneer Glass Storefront Building
See your vision come to life in our showroom with our many wavy samples–which can also be mailed!
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Types

Learn More About Wavy Glass History

Pioneer Glass offers Schott Glass, plus hand-blown wavy glass from Poland, based on historical window glasses from a variety of different eras.

Schott Glass

Schott glass is manufactured using the traditional Fourcalt process. Emile Fourcalt developed this process in the early 20th century and became the global standard of manufacturing flat glass.

Artista B glass and trees

Artista

The crystal-like clarity of Artista glass emulates distorted glass of the 1600s-early 1700s. It showcases the interior, making the space appear larger, bringing life and sparkle to the room. For either interior and exterior use: as a full pane, in stained glass or as a fused glass.

Goetheglass in Insulated Window North Attleborough, MA

Goetheglas

Geotheglas is colorless, drawn glass characteristic of window glass from the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition to antique glass replacement, it helps protect against bad weather. Goetheglas can be used for windows, protective glazing, furniture, and display cases.

RESTOVER® plus from SCHOTT

Restover

Restover Plus mimics 20th century glass. With minimal thickness, it has no constraints on installation and can easily fit historical window frames and profiles. Restover-light glass is slightly less irregular, Restover-plus has a very irregular surface structure, resembling mouthblown glass.

Hand-Blown Wavy Glass

Mouth-blown glass imported from Poland can either be full or reamy. Full is short for full-antique, meaning it was mouth-blown and created as flat glass, while reamy means full-antique glass with a wavy irregular surface.

P1-Footprint Wellesley, MA

P1

Made to be a true replica of 1850s-1920s cylinder glass widely used in America. It has all the classic imperfections with small air bubbles, an occasional flat line, minor pitting, and a dimple. The unevenness is imperceptible.

P2-Footprint Taunton, MA

P2

Crown Glass, used in affluent American homes from the late 1700s-mid 1800s, it is considered clearer than cylinder glass. It has sweeping curved lines, moderate ream and distortion, plus some air bubbles ranging rom seed to quarter coin size.

P3-Footprint Taunton, MA

P3

This gorgeous Crown Glass mimics the handmade, mouth-blown glass found in structures prior to the late 1700s. It is well known for its deep curved lines, high unevenness, and classic distortion that makes it the perfect showpiece glass.

Interested in Antiqued Mirrors?
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FAQs

Can you still buy wavy glass like I see in homes from the 1800s? Expand

There are a few different ways to purchase wavy glass: from old windows and furniture available through glass, antique, and salvage dealers. You may also be able to find some on sites like Craigslist. Generally on these sites you would buy the whole old window and remove the glass.

There are also manufacturers in Europe that make new wavy glass using the exact same methods used to make mouth-blown cylinder glass in the pre-industrial era. These are available with different amounts of waves and distortion.

Pioneer Glass stocks three different versions of mouth blown wavy glass from these manufacturers. Lastly, glass with the same distortion of window glass used in the early mechanized process before modern float glass was invented are also manufactured today. We carry four types of Schott restoration glasses for these time periods.

What is the largest size pane of restoration glass I can buy? Expand

We sell both mouth-blown and Fourcault Process glass.

The mouth-blown glass goes up to 37 inches. The largest type of Fourcault Process glass we sell is 83 inches long.

All my house's glass has distortion with clear differences. Is this common? Expand

It is common. Your house may have been built using crown glass which was a very popular choice at that time.

Through the years, homeowners had many of the same problems we have today. Glass panes were broken by children, stripping old paint, and storms. This is no different than the trials homeowners go through today.

When replacing broken glass, the local shop may have had only cylinder glass, or later in the time period, machined drawn glass. A large amount of old homes have a variety of glass in the windows.

My glass is distorted but I don’t see actual waves which I have seen in other homes. Expand

Most likely you have machined glass from the early 1900s.

This glass was drawn upward by a machine into sheets which was then cut into panes. This allowed larger panes to be cut and sold. It also allowed for much larger production. There was great demand for glass with an enormous amount of building going in the country.

This glass is still quite common in American cities.

We want modern insulated windows. Can I get this with antique glass in it? Expand

In most cases you can replace the standard units in double-or triple-pane windows. We do make custom double-pane insulated glass units using some types of our restoration glass.

By law, door glass needs to be safety glass. Is there history wavy safety glass? Expand

Door safety glass requirements are usually met by using tempered or laminated glass. Tempered is much more popular. Unfortunately, mouth-blown glass cannot be tempered. We do provide tempered glass in two types of our historic glass.

Sometimes when I walk by my windows I see quite a distortion, but when I look straight out they are mostly clear. Why is this? Expand

To truly appreciate all of the distortions in historic glass, we recommend that you look from a 30 degree to 45 degree angle. The distortions are much more vivid from this angle. As you pass by your windows, you would tend to be at this angle.

How can I tell which version of glass I have in my home? Expand

Crown glass was spun on the end of a rod in a circular motion similar to a spinning top. Because of this the waves tend to be curved. Cylinder glass was swung in a back and forth motion and the waves tend to be straight and more parallel.

All these glasses are too wavy. Do you sell slightly wavy glass to match my other glass? Expand

Photos showing the actual distortion of glass are very difficult to take. Generally, they show an exaggerated distortion or none at all.

A customer, Ben, called us looking for some glass to match his vintage display case. Ben sent along a video which represents the closest approximation of early machined glass I have seen.

Along with our input, Ben elected to go with Restover (Light) which has the most subtle hint of older glass.

Check out the video he made of the finished product for a good look at Restover glass below.

Testimonials

"I ordered three panels of true handmade mouth-blown wavy glass to replace panels in an antique RJ Horner winged lion mahogany bookcase. The bookcase has a mate in my home with all original 1870s glass, so it was critical to replace the missing glass to match the original antique glass of the second bookcase. To my absolute amazement Pioneer Glass sent me three matching handmade mouth blown glass panels that are a perfect match to the original 19thC antique glass I needed. From inquiry to delivery, Pioneer  was prompt to return my phone calls and emails, he fully explained the different types of glass I could order, and after describing the glass I needed Dave understood exactly what type of glass I needed for my bookcase. I have been collecting antique furniture for decades and on many occasions had to order replacement glass. All of the replacement glass companies I had dealt with in the past sent me inferior glass and they took forever to fill my orders. Pioneer Glass, on the other hand, not only filled my order immediately, the merchant sent me PERFECT antique replacement glass! As a collector and as picky as I am to match originality, I have to say Pioneer Glass is the first merchant in a very long time I feel I can always count on for both great service and a perfect product. I give this merchant a perfect rating in every way!"—Valerie P.

"I have a piece of antique furniture missing its glass panel. I reached out to Pioneer Glass and purchased a piece of antique restoration glass. Dave was extremely helpful in guiding my choice. The glass was shipped promptly and was extremely well packed. It now looks beautiful in my piece. I highly recommend Pioneer and its services."—Matthew H.

"Historic glass chosen with informed, experienced, and caring guidance; cut perfectly (including arc-tops), robustly packed, and shipped to Michigan in a few short days."—John R.

Expertise

With our expertise, we'll help you pick the right options to fit your vision and budget.

Care

We're on time, work quickly, and keep things clean. Your happiness is guaranteed.

Reliability

We do what we say and say what we do. Our reviews and BBB rating of A+ prove it.

Pioneer provides samples for you to compare in your home, free estimates of all work, and will take precise measurements of the space.

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    We’re proud of our reputation and work tirelessly every day to make sure our customers are satisfied. It all results in an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, and a 5-star rating on Google.

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    Pioneer Glass
    240 Church St. #1
    Whitinsville, MA 01588

      (508) 234-7063

      [email protected]

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