Has anyone ever expiereinced a window cracking with in a few minutes AFTER you clean it?
This is what has happened to us. We scrubbed the glass as usual with GG4 and a splash of Liquid Joy, took the crap off with our Razor, Scrubbed again and then Squeegeed and put the screen back on. After cleaning 2 more windows the the window we cleaned (3 windows back) CRACKED! Nobody was near it.
I called the Customer right away, explained to her what had happened but as it turned out, We replaced it for $150. Very hard to have her believe that we didnt break the glass. BUT… DID WE??? I dont know, I have NEVER seen this, having been in the resi window cleaning business for 6 years and hundreds of houses under our belt.
NOW… 2 WEEKS later she says she has noticed 3 MORE CRACKED Windows. HOW???
You can see in the photos that there are little rubber/plastic bumps at the intersection of the grid bars. This is where it looks like the cracks started.
If you have ANY IDEAS on WHY this happened, please… chime in.
That really weird. There must be a defect in those windows. You would have a hard time making those cracks (even if on purpose) right at the grid intersection is 3 places and on 4 windows. What Brand of windows are they? I would do a Google search to see if you could find a defect problem with the brand.
Maybe the cooling of the glass caused a contraction of the plastic or metal in the grids and then when they warmed up again they kinda slapped the glass as the expanded. This would explain it, but I have never seen or heard of this before
This sucks!!! I own a glass shop and been business for 30+ yrs. Center glass has a definate impact at the muntin bar. When did it occur, after you left site? The other two pics seem to have large random stress cracks which can come from heat stress. Was is hot? what temp? How did te others breakwhen you were on site? This is not tempered glass but anealled. Something smells like fish (I don’t mean a competitor!) You and home owner have insurance but need to figure were you must meet in middle most likely as this is highly unlikely to occur in life. Get a local experianced glass shop pro who specializes in insulated glass replacement 9Not a window replacement jerk) to look and help you with the owner. battries ran low on my maic wand or would let you use it. Glass breaks due to pressure. Is house settling in sink hole? Look for impacts on all glass lites similar to the center one. The glass guy can usualy spot them a mile away.
Maybe it’s the photo, but it looks like it cracked outward… is that right?
Just spitballing… but maybe over pressurized in between the two panes due to record heat, cleaning exterior of glass cooled the surface and made a bigger temperature difference so more pressure, then popped outward at a weak spot in the glass?
That is bizarre, no doubt. Hopefully you can get this resolved. Bright side is you probably won’t have this happen again!
Agree with Jep, hire the best glass company/or the window manufacture in your area to take care of this as well as someone with a very good warranty. My in-laws had a window break while they were getting a new roof put on, roofing company send a guy (clown/jack of all trades) to replace the igu, my father in-law hires the guy to fix the broken one as well as a few more igu with bad seals and some carpentry work on the outside of the house. This guy did an BAD job on everything and the replaced glass seals failed within a few months.
Is the glass tinted on the inside with a film that would trap the heat? IGU’s do not recommend interior films and usually void the warranty if installed.
was a guy with a weedwhacker going nuts in any dirt nearby spitting stuff up hitting the glass?
Just tell the homeowner there must be another explanation and you are looking into it before spending more $.
Following this thread closely. I think you should get a sample & get it tested. I’d tell the insurance agent you suspect it’s inferior glass & you’re not paying - get them to jump through hoops.
It was 90 something that day, not sure if it was in direct sun. but I like your theory.
It is obvious that some of the glass had been switched out at one time. the grid in the bottom sash is different on a few windows. The little rubber/plastic bump is there on some and not there on others and just plain different on some windows. Again, just the bottom sash.
Were they home when you finished the job? Who did the job? Do you have a checklist that is filled out by your crew leader and signed by the homeowner at the end of every job?
Looking closer to your pics, it looks like there are small clear buttons where Muntin bars intersect at impact point? I assume to quiet vibration of bars on glass.
. Do I see The window glass broken at all 4 muntin intersections or am I not looking at it correctly?
Film as a rule will void any warranty from igu manufacturer and this may be a Point to verbalize but the filmed inner pane is gathering the heat and is the likely culprit to break from the heat.
I see Steve. Thanks for pointing out that it’s not tempered glass. I read this blog quite a while ago, I just remembered it being about glass breaking spontaneously. I forgot that it was only about tempered glass. Too bad.
I’m glad to be insured! I’ve cleaned windows now for close to 8 years, and I have never heard of anything like this caused by a cleaner.
The one photo seems to look like it may have been a chip in the glass causing it to spider out like that.
How old is the home?
How new are the windows?
Was there anything else going on while you were there? (I’m assuming you were on the job) Maybe mowing, kids playing, crazy dogs?
How hot was it?
Was it extremely cool in the home?
I don’t see this to be a temp issue at all, but these things are a good start to figuring this out.
I have heard of windows breaking and cracking for no reason, but they were crescent shaped windows on a brick house.
I’ll be watching this thread to see what you come up with.
