Freak Window Pop or Ghost?

[RedNeckGeek]

Yesterday afternoon a loud bang interrupted the peace and quiet, and almost had me diving for cover. It came from the guest room, which has a large glass sliding door on the south wall. When I opened the hall door to look in I could see the fixed pane was crazed from top to bottom, but thankfully there was no bullet hole. What a relief, as I'm a long way from anywhere and don't need that kind of trouble. It's a double pane window, and it was the pane on the inside that broke. It seems to have started half way up on the side of the frame away from the wall, that is in the middle of the door. I'm trying to figure out why it just spontaneously shattered. We had over four inches of rain in the last couple of days; could the slab foundation have settled enough to cause the frame to warp and stress the glass? If so, why just the inside pane? Any idea how much trouble this is gonna be to fix? I've had the slider side replaced before (darn weed whacker), but it's not clear how the fixed pane comes out of the frame?

TIA...

 

[Bird]

The glass may come out of the frame to be replaced OR you might have to replace the frame and all. I had a much smaller double pane window that was broken when I bought this place so I took it out and to a glass company and they told me those were not made to be repairable; had to buy the whole thing.

As for why yours broke, I couldn't even guess beyond what you've already said.

 

[s219]

I could think of many reasons why it happened that relate to the building structure or thermal effects. That should be tempered glass, and that stuff is especially sensitive to point loads/impacts.

Is it very abnormal to have that much rain where you are (which I understand is the case for parts of CA right now) ? If so, I think you're on to something with that line of thought. A lot of rain in a normally dry environment could do everything from causing wood framing or trim to swell, to causing soil settling, to even causing soil movement if the soil has any shrink/swell potential. Not sure about the soil out there, but here we have shrink/swell soil in some areas, and excessive moisture will cause it to swell. That can jack foundations and wreak all sorts of havoc.

Maybe take a look at the foundation near the slider that cracked, or look for obvious shifts/changes in the wood framing and trim nearby.

Be curious to know what you discover!

 

[Pixguy]

There was a story on morning TV yeaterday that said that there are many glass items breaking due to inclusions in the glass during manufacturing.

Good luck figuring it out.

 

[Mendonsy]

I'm gonna go with your ghost theory. That's probably what your homeowner's insurance will tell you when you try to get them to fix it.

 

[300UGUY]

I'm gonna go with your ghost theory. That's probably what your homeowner's insurance will tell you when you try to get them to fix it.

You're avatar is way cool! I am sitting here with a cat right now. Doesn't look as happy as that guy!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I'd go with ghost also, it just sounds better.

 

[dave1949]

A very tiny meteorite, sonic boom just before it hit the glass.

It seems like the glass itself shattering but still in the frame wouldn't make that loud of a noise. I would guess the noise was something structural in the house around that doorway giving way or shifting after being under stress.

We had some 8x8 eastern hemlock posts in our old house that would make a sound like a gunshot as they dried out and checked. From that I know things can make some unbelievable noises you wouldn't think possible.

 

[Oaktree]

I've had that happen a couple times. Every time there was a dead bird on the ground under the window.

 

[deerseeker001]

I had a garage Window broke and took out the rear door window of my Silverado pickup,all there was left was partridge feathers.The Bird must have went back out of broken Window.

 

[bcp]

That story reminded me of the Chicken Gun.

Chicken gun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bruce

 

[MacLawn]

That was one of those double paned window ghosts - they're known for getting trapped inside sometimes. He just wanted out.

 

[MossRoad]

You have any earthquakes lately? Gotta ask as there have been numerous in that county over the last month.

Anyhow, I grew up in a house with 17 floor to ceiling double pane windows. When one cracks, its rarely repairable because it loses the vacuum/gas inside the window and the entire thing usually has to be replaced.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

You have any earthquakes lately? Gotta ask as there have been numerous in that county over the last month.

No earthquakes that I've felt, but this map does show some activity:
403 Forbidden

The house is built on a slab foundation, most of which rests on bedrock (makes for "interesting" landscaping work). No worries about soil https://www.google.com/search?q=liquefaction&spell=1&sa=X&ei=i-eWVJa3NIr2yQT7toKYAw&ved=0CBwQvwUoAAliquefaction, and no obvious signs of cracking in the slab. I also checked the window frame when the repair person had the old window out, and didn't see any warpage or out of square issues. The good news is that they had a replacement pane in stock, so the repair was completed Monday. The bad news is that they were $500+ proud of their work, and with rain coming down and more on the way, they had me over a barrel. It turns out that the only things holding the pane in place were four strips of plastic molding and some double faced tape. I paid close attention during the repair, and if there's a next time I'll do the work myself and save a few bucks. I also contacted the manufacturer, and while the window was still within the 10 year warranty period, glass breakage isn't covered. Not really surprised there, but good to know that the frame and such are covered if any problems develope.

At the end of the day, though, I still don't know why the inner pane of that window broke. I just hope it was a one time fluke, and not the start of a string of failures.

 

[meos1]

No earthquakes that I've felt, but this map does show some activity:
403 Forbidden

most of which rests on bedrock

If the slab is on bedrock on one end you could have a moment of stress occuring due to a lack of support by the soil end when the geography moves. If its a sudden movement the soil end of the slab would act like a card going by a wheel spoke. I would guess that now stress loads have returned to near previous values. Just a guess.

Oh, I did not sleep in a holiday Inn last night, nor am I a structural engineer.