Broken pane in 42" slider window

[1der]

We had a newly tempered window in our house do something like that after a couple months. Cause was traced to small nail that was not countersunk in the frame and was touching the thin edge if the top of the glass. Settling of new framing and thermal expansion contraction was enough to get that small pressure to spider web tempered glass. Yo may want check the window track or the gap between the window and the body to see if something wedged in there causing a pressure point.

Probably a long shot but thought I would mention.

[BrianW]

Originally Posted by shenrie

^^^ ive never heard or seen this happen before. is it common where you live?

It's been quite a few years since I've installed tinting film (did it on home windows, not vehicles), but it is not unheard of with home windows. Generally the problem is installing reflective tinting on the inside of double-pane windows. The film reflects and concentrates heat into the sealed middle part of the window (between the inside and outside panes), causing an excessive heat-up of the gas inside the window unit.

Also, the tinting film I used to use (this was back in the late 80s) required the film to be trimmed 1/4" or so back from all the edges of the window, supposedly to allow for expansion.

[daveb]

I'm thinking that window tapping was a stunt. Maybe something in his glove?

But to the OP, I could see somebody just throwing something at the window to spider it out.

[danmcdonald99]

I learned a bit more about this over the weekend. I went out to the van in the early afternoon on Saturday and I was amazed to see just how intense the sun was on it where I had it parked. Thinking back to last week, there was one sunny day between when I last used the van and when I discovered the damage. I like 1der's idea that some small flaw in the frame of the window allowed some intense sun to do the damage.

Here's where I stand on my original questions:

Is this common? No.

Is this type and size of window more prone to this kind of incident than say awnings or smaller sliders? Probably not. It's probably rare in any window.

Was it preventable? I think that this would not have happened if I had had it parked in a shady spot. That's where I've moved it to now.

Who would be better, an auto glass specialist or an RV specialist? I talked to SMB North this morning. The fix is going to be to completely reinstall the window rather than just the pane. They suggested having a local body shop do the work. I have one that I like so I am going to start there. SMB North will send the window and the local shop will do the install.

Is this an opportunity to do any sort of upgrade in glass quality from what was originally installed? No. The SMB-installed windows are standard with no different glass options. Since the quality of the windows is such that this sort of incident is rare, I'm OK with that.

[shenrie]

^^^ member jwa is (or was) in the auto glass biz, might send him a pm if he doesnt see and respond in this thread. and np on the vids. stuff like that is entertaining to me.

Originally Posted by 1der

We had a newly tempered window in our house do something like that after a couple months.

Probably a long shot but thought I would mention.

definitly worth a mention. we had all the windows in our house replaced a few years back. about a year and a half later one of the smallest windows just imploded out of nowhere. i happened to be sitting right in front of it and assumed a kid threw a rock at it from outside (it was halloween weekend), so i ran outside looking for a hoodlem to beat down and then noticed that the outter pane was still intact. called the manf and asked how the hell something like this would happen. he said it happens quite a bit. in my particular situation he said that the house likely shifted a bit and caused just enough pressure on the one pane, but i didnt buy that excuse. all the glass fell inside the enclosure, like it got sucked in. a house shifting seems like it would just break it in all directions...but im no expert by any means. i didnt care either way, they replaced it for free.

Originally Posted by BrianW

[It's been quite a few years since I've installed tinting film (did it on home windows, not vehicles), but it is not unheard of with home windows. Generally the problem is installing reflective tinting on the inside of double-pane windows. The film reflects and concentrates heat into the sealed middle part of the window (between the inside and outside panes), causing an excessive heat-up of the gas inside the window unit.

Also, the tinting film I used to use (this was back in the late 80s) required the film to be trimmed 1/4" or so back from all the edges of the window, supposedly to allow for expansion.

that makes sence, thanks for the breakdown.

Originally Posted by daveb

I'm thinking that window tapping was a stunt. Maybe something in his glove?

i was told that those gents are firemen and that method is one they use to get people out of vehicles without hitting the window with something that would spray glass all over damaged people, open wounds, etc. i can not confirm the validity of that though.

[daveb]

Well I've been out of the fire service for several years but
I've never heard or seen that. We had ways to pop windows
that didn't let glass go everywhere but finger tapping was never
one shown to me. But they say sound can shatter a wine glass, just
ain't never seen it done

[shenrie]

^^^ theres all kinds of videos of the wineglass breaking too, but ya, i hear ya. never done it myself either.

i went out to one of our pick and pulls yesterday and tried this little tapping method out a couple of times on a few cars. i couldnt get any windows to break. not saying you couldnt do it, but seems like tapping a window to gain entry would take longer than it needed to in the face of an emergency.

[danmcdonald99]

Huge Success!!

On Tuesday this week I called SMB North and arranged for them to send a replacement window unit to a shop here. They built a crate for it and had it on a UPS truck within an hour! Absolutely outstanding customer service.

The repair is now done and was all done under SMB warranty. It looks just like new. Wow! I'm completely happy with how this went.

Lynx Pass, CO here I come as soon as I get out of this damn office.

A very big THANKS to SMB North.

[daveb]

Glad you got it fixed. FWIW my van has sat in full sun every year since new and I've seen temps into the 120+ zone. No broken windows except during a break-in.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by daveb

... No broken windows except during a break-in.

Well sure, but that was at a Ford dealer, right?