(a) Glass block panels, when permitted as window protectives, shall not exceed 125 square feet in area nor twelve feet in width or height, and shall have reinforcement in every horizontal mortar joint.
(b) Each story above the first story or ground floor shall have readily indentified glass block access panels for Fire Division use in every frontage and such panels shall be spaced not more than fifty feet apart, horizontally. Each panel shall consist of a metal sash, with flat glass, at least thirty-two inches wide and forty-eight inches high, fixed or openable. Panels provided for Fire Division use or panels installed for observation or other purposes shall be installed in the glass block construction in an approved manner.
(c) Glass block panels shall be adequately supported to resist wind pressure and be protected from forces caused by expansion and contraction by properly designed expansion joints which shall be entirely free of mortar. The back of all chases shall be filled with an approved resilient material, and the sides and top of each panel shall be lined with tightly packed oakum or other similar material and pointed with nonhardening caulking material of at least one-half inch deep. The sill shall be coated with an approved asphalt emulsion previous to laying the first course of mortar. Except for frame dwellings, the supporting beams for glass block in exterior walls shall be as required for masonry.
(d) Where glass blocks are to be used as a veneer in masonry construction, the glass block panels shall be self-supporting, with suitable ties into the masonry wall, and shall be clear from and not adhering to the masonry.
(Ord. 42-1981. Passed 2-23-81.)