Shower Door

[The Central Scrutinizer]

This morning about 6.15 got suddenly woke up by a loud bang.I thought what the bleep was that,got up and went into the bathroom to find that the glass shower door had exploded sending shards of glass into the bath and on the floor.
On looking up on the internet it's not as uncommon as you would think and experts reckon it's something to do with the tempered glass which is used in the manufacture of the doors.
Anyone else had this happen?

 

[fossyant]

I've had the inner pain on the kitchen window crack for no reason, heard a loud bang, then found it cracked. Also had a garden table shatter - due to frost on it, then thaw setting in with sunshine.

 

[T4tomo]

I had an internal door (leading into a conservatory) which wasn't safety glass, shatter when my then 5 year old slammed it shut whilst being chased by her 3 year old brother. That was interesting hearing a crash and yell and seeing a bare footed child surrounded by broken glass.

luckily he followed the instructions to stand still until I got some shoes on. Not even a scratch anywhere.

 

[raleighnut]

I once saw a glass coffee mug explode, nobody near it just one minute sat on a bench the nest second a pile of little glass cubes and a puddle.

 

[Drago]

This morning about 6.15 got suddenly woke up by a loud bang.I thought what the bleep was that,got up and went into the bathroom to find that the glass shower door had exploded sending shards of glass into the bath and on the floor.
On looking up on the internet it's not as uncommon as you would think and experts reckon it's something to do with the tempered glass which is used in the manufacture of the doors.
Anyone else had this happen?

Had it happen to a conservatory window once. It was adjacent to a fence so no way it could have been an external influence that caused it to spontaneously pop.

 

[postman]

Patio door it was during an FA Cup Final i was watching.A Manchester United player had just been hacked down,i shouted loudly at the telly,and crack the patio door shattered into small shreds.I was quite a sight.

 

[Threevok]

Dining at my sister’s house and the glass table just suddenly broke in two, with everything on the table ending up in a folded tablecloth on the floor.

I've never entertained the idea of owning one since

 

[Drago]

I've never entertained the idea of owning one since

Aye, tablecloths are a pain to wash and iron.

 

[midlife]

There is a video somewhere of a small droplet of glass that has been cooled really quickly in oil / water and then explodes when you snip the thin end with some cutters.

it actually has a name so off to google.

 

[midlife]

Prince Rupert's drop

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Rupert's_drop

 

[Drago]

There is a video somewhere of a small droplet of glass that has been cooled really quickly in oil / water and then explodes when you snip the thin end with some cutters.

it actually has a name so off to google.

That is essentially how most toughened glass works. Rapid cooling causes the outside to contract and keeps the whole lot in tension and makes it very tough indeed...until something damages the outer layer and the tension is disturbed.

When I demolished my conservatory last year all 19 and a half stone kf me winging a 3 foot long sledgehammer couldn't break the glass by smacking the middle of the pane. Yet expose the edge and give it a relatively minor smack with a claw hammer and thr whole lot let's go with an almighty bang as the tension is released.

 

[lazybloke]

I once had to smash a car windscreen with a lump hammer; couldn't do it.

(It was my car, being collected for scrap, in case you're wondering)

Burly bloke collecting it couldn't do it either, so he got a length of heavy chain with a great big hook on the end. A few swings eventually got through the glass.
Toughened and laminated, maybe.

 

[newts]

Prince Rupert's drop

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Rupert's_drop

Nowadays it's known as a nickel sulphide inclusion. The heated/toughening process can leave superheated particles in the glass. Modern production methods normally include heat soaking the glass which vastly reduces spontaneous shatters (most happen post production as the glass cools) . I have worked within the shower door industry for over 20 years & spontaneous glass shatters for the end user are extremely rare. Often closer inspection of a shattered enclosure will reveal poor installation method where framework has been forced into place creating pinch points on the corners/edges of the glass. This can eventually lead to shatter with building movement. Poor handling of the glass during installation can cause issues in the long term if the edges take an impact.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Patio door it was during an FA Cup Final i was watching.A Manchester United player had just been hacked down,i shouted loudly at the telly,and crack the patio door shattered into small shreds.I was quite a sight.

That's what you get for shouting at high pitch! 😆

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Anyway, I remember the fold down glass cover of our cooker suddenly shattering one day, no warning, no reason, anything, it just went 'BANG! and shattered into a thousand pieces.