cracked inner window pane

[carolyng]

late at night heard a loud thud on bedroom window and the inside pane of glass cracked. Got up to investigate found a semi stunned owl outside! The windows are old (its a rented property) and there is condensation between the outer and inner panes. Have been told this is a common occurence when temperatures are differing from inside and outside, particularly when condensation is between the panes, and the inner pane can crack; with the added stress of an owl hitting the pane that it would be more than enough to trigger such a thing. My landlady has accused me of lying which I'm not! Can anyone advise please?

[Huge]

Sure, your landlady is a moron. Your DG is f*ck*d (it's not "common" - it means the seal between the inner and outer panes has failed), and this has nothing to do with the inner pane breaking.

[Jim K]

maybe a cretin or mug also? ;>)

that is very common though I've never heard that the reason for an inner pane to crack, can the OP get more info from whoever said that?

so having poo-pood the initial suggestion, you propose the cause of that is.........?

Jim K

[John Rumm]

The inner pane breaking due to an impact on the outer one is quite common. Very cold conditions can make it more likely due to higher differential pressures inside and outside the sealed unit.

More detail here:

moisture between the panes is a separate issue suggesting the airtight seal between the panes had failed.

They are not that difficult or expensive to replace usually.

[Jim K]

"room" to "outside" or within DG unit to outwith DG unit?

never seen this phenomenon so far. The OP mentions condensation in the DG unit which to me would signify that "the seal's gone" so "large" differences in pressure from within the DG unit to outwith the DG unit would be unlikely?

Jim K

[John Rumm]

the latter... if they are sealed at normal inside temperatures, then when cold they tend to become convex on both sides.

Yup - a poor seal will make failure less likely to happen from temperature alone. Although its not likely to make much difference when hit by something hard enough (unless the seal has a substantial hole through it)

[Nightjar]

Point out that, were you lying, you would have made up a far more plausible story.

Colin Bignell

[Lobster]

The damage (a stress crack) will also not look like anything which might have caused by an impact on the inner pane, either (ie, something which the OP might have done). When a fitter comes round to quote for the repair he will be able to confirm this too.

The fact that the window had condensation inside means it was already knackered and needed replacing, regardless of the crack.

I've had a double glazing unit crack on me like that before - happened in front of my eyes - and that was not even with amy impact at all, the pane just succumbed to stress caused by poor fitting.

[Brian Gaff]

About what, stopping owls hitting your window? Since they are probably looking down not forward I can only suggest you put a pile of old cardboard boxes under the window to afford the next one a less stunning fall to earth. Brian

[RJH]

FYI:

[Andrew Gabriel]

Owls (and pigeons and some other birds) leave a very recognisable and spectacular dust impact pattern on windows when they hit them.

used to this in my parents' house where birds often try to fly though a pair of large corner windows.

You should be able to see this on your window. It doesn't wash off in the rain (we kept some of the more spectacular ones for months).

[Martin Brown]

I remember being in the front seat of a bus that splatted into a flock of pigeons leaving one ghostly perfect pigeon imprint at eye level. It is sort of like a waxy talkum powder for want of a better description.

You need strong sidelighting to show it to best effect. Once had a green woodpecker do it to one of our windows went with heck of a bang. The woodpecker was briefly stunned for long enough to photograph it. Fortunately they have very thick skulls and it flew off again.

[ARW]

So you use the same window cleaner as me then?

[Phil L]

Get a new landlady and take the owl to the vet

HTH