Spontaneous shattering of double glazed panels (2023 Update)

Hi all,

We purchased an add-on conservatory from one of the large UK suppliers about four years ago and since then we have really enjoyed all of the benefits of a warm bright place to sit and relax even when the weather outside is far from ideal.

However, our enjoyment has not been without its downside since one morning about 18 months ago when we went into the conservatory we noticed that the inner glass of one of the many double-glazed panels had shattered into 'a million' pieces for no obvious reason.

Since our conservatory came with a 10 year warranty, we contacted the company, explained the problem to them, which they accepted without any fuss, and they then arranged for one of their fitters to come and replace the panel, which they did a couple of weeks later.

All was fine for another six months then the inner glass of a different double-glazed panel shattered overnight in a similar way. The conmpany responded in exactly the same way and the new faulty panel was replaced under warranty.

A couple of days ago we were sitting quietly in the conservatory when there was a loud bang and the inner glass of one of the other double-glazed roof panels exploded and loads of fragments of glass showered down around us. Now, for a third time, we have had to contact the company who, once again and without asking any questions, have ordered a new panel which will be installed during the next couple of weeks.

Wen I spoke to the company I asked if this was a very common occurrence and was just told that 'yes, it happens'.

Should I be reassured with that casual answer? Why has it always been the INNER of the panels that fails? Nothing can have dropped onto the conservatory roof from above and we don't play any hard-ball sports in the conservatory. All very strange.

I've done a very close inspection of the structure of the conservatory, paying particular attention to the frames around the glass panels to see if any of them have become distorted but I haven't seen anything that could explain these three glass breakages.

I'm grateful that the faulty panels have been replaced (to date) without any hassle from the company and at least I've got another seven years of warranty remaining so can hope that any manufacturing faults in the glass of the remaining panels will have come to light (pun intended!), one way or another, before that warranty expires.

I've done a lot of Googling on the subject and discovered that spontaneous shattering of toughened glass panels for no obvious reason is very common, both in the UK and around the world. Sudden temperature changes don't seem to be the cause - the general view seems to be that it just happens sometimes. One explanation offered is that small impurities were in the glass during the tempering process and these can 'grow' over time (months or years) to a point when they cause the glass to shatter suddenly.

I'd be very interested to hear the comments of anyone else in this NG who have experienced similar spontaneous shattering of double-glazed panels and how the suppliers of the faulty panels have reacted.

ATB - Dave.

Reply to
Dave Chapman
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Are these units fixed into a rigid frame? I once worked in building where the (approx 2m x 3m) DG panels would sometimes do this and it was thought to be due to the building structure moving slightly and stressing the panels.

Robert

Reply to
RobertL

I wonder if the original fitter has used the wrong packing pieces leaving no room for the glass to expand. Given your history of problems I think you'd be justified in asking the company to inspect the fitting of all the glass in the frames.

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

The most common cause of spontaneous shattering is a scratch somewhere that is deep enough to act as a stress concentrator. The flexure of the building with cyclic heating cooling and wind loading gradually makes the crack grow until it becomes self sustaining and detonates.

It is even more alarming when it happens with a toughened glass jug of water and the whole thing disintigrates into 5mm pieces.

If it happens too often then I would be inclined to blame either rough handling by the installers, something you are doing or bad design.

I'm a bit surprised it is always the inside. At a guess the outside cools faster and the frame is slightly too rigid so that the inner surface is in tension. One of mine has a small chip caused by the lawn mower flicking up a stone which so far has survived more than a decade.

Reply to
Martin Brown

snip

A few months ago, I was parking my car, with witnesses, and the rear window, an openable panel in an estate car tailgate, spontaneously shattered. There was nothing anybody could see that could have caused it. Insurance replaced it for me.

Reply to
Davey

I one saw it happen to a molded glass Hors d'oeuvre dish, just after Grace was said. Spooky.

Reply to
Graham.

That can't be right Martin. If the outer was cool and shrank faster, it would put the outer in tension and the inner in compression.

(You may be thinking of a single sheet of toughened glass which is made by cooling the surface rapidly. The surface layer shrinks and deforms the inside plastically. Eventually the inside cools and shrinks, but the outside is solid - so the inside ends up in tension and the outside in compression.)

Reply to
Martin Bonner

Fair point Martin. That makes it even more surprising that the inner surface goes pop and consistently at night. I still think is is either related to differential expansion or mistreatment/abuse of the panels.

Reply to
Martin Brown

This is a well known issue, see

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I've had a car window do this after 10 years, the panel stayed together though and the inclusion that initiated the breakage was still visible (happened on a sudden frosty night).

Also, I've seen it happen to thick architectural glass panels in a high profile building. Seem to be the luck of the draw - possibly a bad batch of glass in this case.

Chris K

Reply to
ChrisK

Interesting. I can't say which, if any, of those was the cause of mine. The car is several years old, but it was in winter, although not in a particular cold spell. Whatever.

A colleague of mine in the US once had a similar event while crossing the high bridge where the Interstate crosses the Rouge River outside Detroit, but the cause was a large piece of metal that came in through the back window, and landed behind his passenger seat. The puzzle was how it got there at all, he was high above ground level, and there were no lorries anywhere near him at the time.

Reply to
Davey

As well as having the company inspect all the remaining panels, I would think about fitting an adhesive safety film to hold the pieces together if/when another panel fails.

Owain

Reply to
spuorgelgoog

Yes it happened to a smoked glass mug about a year ago. it was just sitting there on the table with water in it. There was a dull thud then a dripping sound, so I went in and found a miniflood with tiny bits of dark glass in it. Most odd. I've also had strange things happen in greenouses with plastic sheet going bang, turning black and all scrumpled up and brittle. i assume this is some kind of sun damage, which is not really welcome in a greenhouse!

Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

I was just thinking that myself, but another thought struck me, is there any gass put in these units that might expand, and is the inner glass the same thickness and type as the outer one is?

Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

Had you been using the heater? That's what happened to me - I think it may have overheated locally.

Same here. And Autoglass charged my insurance company 500 quid for a screen I could buy for 200.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Not really sure, it's one of those automatic systems. But it wasn't in deep winter weather.

No idea what the company I was sent to by Aviva charged them. He said it would have been about £200-£300 if I had paid myself, and it w as a hard to find piece of glass. I'm glad I didn't try to fit it myself, it looks really complex, what with fitting into the slots, various power connections, wiper motor and arm, and struts. Well worth the deductible.

Reply to
Davey

You haven't had any nuclear bomb testing recently in your area?

Reply to
Davey

====snip====

trucks

Reply to
Johny B Good

This is a *UK* newsgroup! English spoken here, proudly.

Reply to
Davey

A bit of the bridge?

Jonathan

Reply to
Jonathan

It's not as if we're talking about carts and trolleys. AFAIK lorry only has one meaning.

Andy

Reply to
Vir Campestris

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