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So my apartment window exploded last night. **NOW w/ PICS**

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Originally posted by: Evadman
I can't believe no one noticed this, but that glass is nto window glass. It is picture glass, the same kind you would put over a picture in your house. That glass is UNTEMPERED and very weak compared to actuall window/door glass which is tempered.

The reason that window broke and not another was because that window had the glass replaced at some point in the past, and the replacer used the WRONG GLASS.

Nontempered glass does not handle tempeature extreames very well. It was very likely that the middle of the glass was a few degrees above outside tempeature, while the glass right around the aluminum frame was 10-20 degrees below inside temp. BEcause of this, the glass would have actually bowed towards the heat (into the room) and the limit of the glass was reached, which cracked the glass in 2 places along the frame. The crack spread across the glass with the stress, and split in nice "semicircles" that curled back to the frame.

I bet if you look closely at the frame, there is somethign in the frame at the point the cracks started and ended. The frame was prolly nailed in at that point, which kept the window frame from moving with the glass (the frame is supposed to stay stationary, this is why Tempered glass is used) or a local heat cource was there, which could also be caused by a nail (which helps with heat transfer) or an electrical pipe, or missing insulation in the wall cavity)

In addition, the person installing the glass probably did not take into account the fact that glass expands and contracts, so the glass got stuck when it hit the bottom of the glazing channel, which would have produced a local stress point, which could also be why the glass broke in those spots.

Diagnosis? Wrong glass in the window, which could not handle the bending stress caused by tempeature differential, compounded with incorrect installation lead to localized stress which burst the window towards the localized heat source.
Click to expand...

holy crap, your answer looks like i turned the newspaper around and read the 'solution:' part.

 
Originally posted by: Evadman
I can't believe no one noticed this, but that glass is nto window glass. It is picture glass, the same kind you would put over a picture in your house. That glass is UNTEMPERED and very weak compared to actuall window/door glass which is tempered.

The reason that window broke and not another was because that window had the glass replaced at some point in the past, and the replacer used the WRONG GLASS.

Nontempered glass does not handle tempeature extreames very well. It was very likely that the middle of the glass was a few degrees above outside tempeature, while the glass right around the aluminum frame was 10-20 degrees below inside temp. BEcause of this, the glass would have actually bowed towards the heat (into the room) and the limit of the glass was reached, which cracked the glass in 2 places along the frame. The crack spread across the glass with the stress, and split in nice "semicircles" that curled back to the frame.

I bet if you look closely at the frame, there is somethign in the frame at the point the cracks started and ended. The frame was prolly nailed in at that point, which kept the window frame from moving with the glass (the frame is supposed to stay stationary, this is why Tempered glass is used) or a local heat cource was there, which could also be caused by a nail (which helps with heat transfer) or an electrical pipe, or missing insulation in the wall cavity)

In addition, the person installing the glass probably did not take into account the fact that glass expands and contracts, so the glass got stuck when it hit the bottom of the glazing channel, which would have produced a local stress point, which could also be why the glass broke in those spots.

Diagnosis? Wrong glass in the window, which could not handle the bending stress caused by tempeature differential, compounded with incorrect installation lead to localized stress which burst the window towards the localized heat source.
Click to expand...

How can you tell the difference between window glass and picture glass?
 
Originally posted by: damonpip
Originally posted by: Evadman
I can't believe no one noticed this, but that glass is nto window glass. It is picture glass, the same kind you would put over a picture in your house. That glass is UNTEMPERED and very weak compared to actuall window/door glass which is tempered.
Click to expand...
How can you tell the difference between window glass and picture glass?
Click to expand...
I have good eyes. Laser vision actually. I callz 'em "Zappy Eyes".

Actually, it is very easy. Window glass is as I said, untempered. Untempered glass brakes into large pieces. if that were the correct glass (tempered) there would be no way in hell to tell that there were actually 2 holes. The entire window would have broken into about a million pieces, all about a 1/4" by 1/4". The entire window would have went at once, and venk would still be pulling pieces out of his carpet.
 
Originally posted by: damonpip
Originally posted by: Evadman
I can't believe no one noticed this, but that glass is nto window glass. It is picture glass, the same kind you would put over a picture in your house. That glass is UNTEMPERED and very weak compared to actuall window/door glass which is tempered.

The reason that window broke and not another was because that window had the glass replaced at some point in the past, and the replacer used the WRONG GLASS.

Nontempered glass does not handle tempeature extreames very well. It was very likely that the middle of the glass was a few degrees above outside tempeature, while the glass right around the aluminum frame was 10-20 degrees below inside temp. BEcause of this, the glass would have actually bowed towards the heat (into the room) and the limit of the glass was reached, which cracked the glass in 2 places along the frame. The crack spread across the glass with the stress, and split in nice "semicircles" that curled back to the frame.

I bet if you look closely at the frame, there is somethign in the frame at the point the cracks started and ended. The frame was prolly nailed in at that point, which kept the window frame from moving with the glass (the frame is supposed to stay stationary, this is why Tempered glass is used) or a local heat cource was there, which could also be caused by a nail (which helps with heat transfer) or an electrical pipe, or missing insulation in the wall cavity)

In addition, the person installing the glass probably did not take into account the fact that glass expands and contracts, so the glass got stuck when it hit the bottom of the glazing channel, which would have produced a local stress point, which could also be why the glass broke in those spots.

Diagnosis? Wrong glass in the window, which could not handle the bending stress caused by tempeature differential, compounded with incorrect installation lead to localized stress which burst the window towards the localized heat source.
Click to expand...

How can you tell the difference between window glass and picture glass?
Click to expand...


I don't know if this might have made the window look different in the pic, but there is a transparet sheet of some material (celephane maybe?) covering the whole window (the sheet is inside of the window itself) when I took those pics.


Here are a couple of pics of the origin of the fracture points.
Lower Left Corner
Middle Right Side
Overall Pic from Outside --> Can see the breaks much better
 
Someone suggested that the window was broken under load...

There is no way that glass was acting as a structural support to the building.

Another vote for temperature differential.
 
So have you called the landlord and are they pissed and trying to blame it on you?

I ask 'cause that's what's probably gonna happen, 'cause that's what slumlords do. Be ready to battle for your deposit.
 
I took pics of everything, as you can see, so if they try to pull that sh1t on me, I will be ready for them.
 
Originally posted by: venk
I took pics of everything, as you can see, so if they try to pull that sh1t on me, I will be ready for them.
Click to expand...

Hopefully that'll do, but I'm skeptical. Update us when they try to pull some sh!t.
 
It is crappy glass to have in windows that are exposed to those temps. Eventually every piece of glass will either break or end up in a pool on the windowsill, so why ask why? Your best bet is to take one for the team and take a big chunk of glass and embed it in what you would consider one of your more valuable body parts. Leave it in or just cut yourself badly enough to make some blood splatter and a descent size pool on the floor. Go visit the owner. Next thing you know you and all your apartment cohorts have new windows. Or you'll get paid off. I guess I just could have done the "1, 2, 3 profit new windows" dealio but I'll leave that little gem for someone else.
 

Hmm the one poster{Evadman}
talks about tempered vs. Non tempered glass.


I have a house thats over 100 years old,and all the "old" windows in it,
are Non tempered glass.They break really easy.

One broke as I was moving the window up,it moved hard,so I just pulled harder,and the glass broke;
in Large dangerous sized pointy pieces. :|

I have replaced some of the windows with "Vinyl Replacement" windows,the rooms they are in,are warmer,and quieter.
{Double pane glass too,and its prob tempered glass,as it meets a bunch of govt. standards}
National Fenestration Rating Council
http://www.nfrc.org/

Requirements for fenestration products (windows and other glazed products) have been in the building codes for many years. Typically these requirements had more to do with structural performance and safety glazing than with energy. However, since the 1970?s, energy code requirements have been established for windows
Click to expand...
 
Have you thought about the possibility that the glass was already damaged or cracked before it fell apart? It's possible you didn't notice it was damaged recently and with the temperature/pressure changes decided to fall apart while you were there.

On a side note I don't think you can tell this was untempered glass by the size of the pieces of glass shards.
 
The crack patterns looks too random to have been caused by an object going through the window. That would normally cause spider web type cracks instead of big huge cracks that go across everywhere.
 
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