How to Assess and Diagnose Issues With Glass Damage?

Glass damage is one of the significant and frequent issues people face. Imagine you are just about to leave your house, and a ball in the air hits your window glass. The window glass will be cracked or even shattered into pieces. Glass damage could happen due to several reasons, and you need to assess and diagnose the issues yourself before taking your glass to an expert. In other words, you have to provide first-aid to your broken glass before handing it over.

Sudden accidents, heavy hails, and storms or pollutants in the air can cause gaps and cracks in the glass. You will hardly get to know that the glass is suffering or problematic until you notice some clear signs of damage. Moreover, stress and fluctuations in weather conditions can also affect the glass.

Whether it’s the glass of your residential or commercial building or even an auto glass – they are highly delicate and prone to breakage and damage with a minor hit or attack. In some cases, the glasses are secretly decaying due to unattended problems.

Therefore, it is high time you learn to assess and diagnose the problematic glass and its damage so you can stop further loss and treat it then and there.

Identification

The first and primary step to solving a problem is identifying the problem. It would be best if you observe the glass’s structure. Is there any obvious crack or chip in the glass? If you don’t find any, you can place your finger and smoothly run it on the glass and notice if you feel any crack or gap. If you find one – you should mark up the area by drawing dots or with the help of tape. Locating the damage origin is the prerequisite for identifying the glass damage. And if you don’t find it then preffer to hire a glass window repair expert.

Analysis of Types of Glass Damage:

There is a variety of glass damage. Therefore, you should identify the type of glass damage so you can get a remedy accordingly. Here are some common types of glass damage:

1. Stress Cracks

Did you know? Even minor stress on the glass can produce a gap or crack. The window glass is liable and subject to exposure to wind and heat. Therefore, you have to put extra consideration into its care. The stress from the outside or inside can crack the glass. Or, it can expand the already present cracks or chips. These cracks will be problematic when they are permeable to air or water leaks.

Therefore, repairing the stress cracks should be at the top of your list.

2. Impact Breakage

The information even a child has about glass is they break! Impact breakage is the most frequent type of glass damage. The example I mentioned at the start – the ball hitting the window- is impact breakage. Such incidents cause impact breakage where the results will be horizontal, vertical, or circular cracks depending on the speed, weight, and velocity of the hitting object.

Do you know an interesting fact:

The damage shape or effects are different in different cases. For instance, a small rock hitting high speed will make a localized pattern on the broken glass. On the other hand, a big rock hitting with a lower velocity will result in all-around breakage.

3. Chips

The chips are also a standard type of glass damage that is common to find but hard to locate. In other words, your window glass may have chips without even your knowledge. It is due to the minimum size they have. However, chips can be in larger sizes that are obvious to detect and treat. If you find chips in your glass, you shouldn’t wait for them to extend. If you leave these glass chips as it is, then they could expand and block the visibility.

Therefore, you shouldn’t worsen the condition and get it repaired instantaneously.

4. Bulls-Eyes Crack

A stone hitting your auto window can make a bull’s eyes crack in the glass. It’s the shape of the crack, which is just like a dartboard bull’s eye, that makes it name this. The impact of the hit causes a circular pattern on the glass damage. You can identify this type of glass damage by the shape it makes. This type of crack has so many lines of breakage that it is almost impossible to repair Bulls-eyes crack, and people have to go for the whole glass replacement.

5. Edge Damage

If the glass crack starts from 2 inches from the window edge, you can instantly identify its edge damage. It could be due to the massive pressure on the window from the exterior or interior. If you don’t repair it urgently, the crack can expand from 10 to 12 inches.

So these were the types of damages that are too easy to identify yourself. Now let’s have a look at:

The Obvious Indications of Glass Damage

Here are some clear indications by which you can identify and diagnose the issues with the glass:

1. Water Leakage

If you are unsure whether your window glass is intact or damaged, pass it through the washing service or rinse water. Water will start leaking if there are cracks, chips, gaps, or any breakage. This way, you can instantly identify the glass damage.

2. Removal of Old Adhesive

If you have newly installed the window glass or are about to install then one thing you should ensure is removing the previous adhesives. Your technician should take it seriously and remove the already present adhesives – if there are any! Otherwise, it could worsen the damage.

3. Wavy Glass

Noticing any waves or bumps in your newly installed window glass can skip your heartbeat for a moment. Don’t fret! Instead, you should immediately consult your technician and bring it to his notice. Otherwise, the damage can expand and cost you more.

4. Strange Noise

Have you noticed that your glass vibrates or makes rattling sounds in case of winds or passing by cars? It’s alarming, and you should get it checked without delay.

Wrap-up

Wrapping up the discussion, I suggest that you should not ignore any damage; otherwise, it will not only cost you more money but can also put your home’s security and privacy at stake. Therefore, if you identify the glass damage by the indications and types I mentioned above, get immediate professional help.

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