Well Covers – Make a Feature of your Well
Oxfordshire Glass Ltd are the UK’s leading supplier and installer of glass well covers, basement light well covers and ‘walk-on’ glass floors, with over 850 completed installations.
We provide friendly, expert advice and a full “supply and fit” service from Cornwall to Scotland and are the only firm to do so. Remember, glass must be transported safely, it cannot be insured against damage when sent by ordinary carrier, and have expert fitting.
We have supplied well-covers in export packaging for customers in the Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Northern Ireland, Holland, France and the USA.
In 2017 we air-freighted a ‘walk-on’ glass well cover for the Altdorf, one of the oldest historic buildings in Fredericksburg, Texas, built in 1846 (see photograph below). In 2018, a glass well cover to The Badger Building in Burnet, Texas built in 1883. In 2019 we shipped well covers to customers in New York State and Connecticut . In early 2021, one of our commercial well covers will be installed in the Admiral Nimitz National Museum of the Pacific War, one of the USA’s leading museums, also in Fredericksburg, Texas.
In March 2019 we installed a well cover at St Edith’s Well in Castle Park, Bristol. In Saxon times, this was the original water supply for Brigstowe which grew into the City of Bristol – see photographs above and below.
One of our most prestigious projects was in 2017, when we installed 16 ‘walk-on’ basement light well covers as part of the multi-million restoration of The Piece Hall, in Halifax, Yorkshire – a Grade 1 listed building built in 1779.
Whether flush with an internal floor, external patio paving or with raised brickwork, the photographs show how attractive glass well covers are and how glass floors can let extra light into a room below.
More technical information you might like to know
All our well covers and structural glazing are now supplied as standard with ‘low-iron’ ‘Optiwhite’ glass which has a much lower iron content than standard float glass. This enhances clarity and reduces reflections when looking down into your well.
Domestic wells average between 3′ to 4 ‘ in diameter, although we can manufacture any size. Each cover is secure within a mild steel frame, shot-blasted, zinc primed and powder coated to light grey RAL 7001. Other colours are available, as are stainless steel or brass but they are much more expensive. Remember, you want to make a feature of your well – not the steel ring ! Once the ring is grouted into the floor, you will forget it is there, so why pay more than you need to?
Our glass covers are made to exceed the distributed and concentrated load requirements of BS/EN standards, whether for domestic properties or public spaces. All are supplied as standard with a 2 ” (50 mm) sand-blasted (light grey) border around the perimeter of the top surface, which can be widened if you wish. The under-surface is coated with Ritec ‘Clearshield’ which minimises the ability of water droplets to adhere to it. The cover can be lifted out whenever access to the well is needed.
Please note that condensation will affect external covers and will vary due to variations in ambient temperature. You can minimise (but not eliminate) this by fitting several 4″ diameter air vents are installed around the well as close to the top as possible to allow moist air to vent into the atmosphere. Any internal well lighting should be ‘LED’-type fixed onto the internal brickwork and connected to the nearest mains supply.
Contact Us
Please contact us to request a copy of our Guidance Notes “How to Make a Feature of your Well’ and note that cost estimates provided by telephone or email are subject to final measurement on site.
If you email us, please include your home address and contact telephone number. It makes it far easier for us to help you. Click on a photograph to enlarge it.
Please note this text and the images are the sole copyright of Oxfordshire Glass Ltd.
Below is a small selection of our installations spanning across ten years of business.
