Save Money with Commercial Glass Comprehensive Insurance

If you own a commercial building or rent out a commercial space for your business with storefront windows;...you absolutely should have a Commercial Glass Insurance Policy. You should also have a window cleaning/maintenance company that is very familiar with  damage protection technology, and glass inspection science. Here is why.

Glass is very prone to damage.  It can be scratched, stained, etched, broken, and more.  IGUs can come straight from the factory missing low e coatings, gassing, poorly cleaned interior surfaces between the plates, failed seals, and all of the above.  So regular inspections should be established.  The right window cleaning company should be able to help with this.

Also such a company should also be able to tie you in with a restoration company that can repair the damage saving you on your insurance policy.  Or have protection technology available that could lower your monthly payments.

Damage can also come by glass breakage.  When this happens you might lose the use of your store space.  So it will be necessary to replace the windows as quickly as possible.  Being tied in the the right glazier who can move quickly will be a great help.

I will be writing more about this subject very soon.  Using the help of the Insurance Industry.  So keep coming back.

Henry

Inspection Services Available

If you are looking to purchase a new home or building or replacement windows there are a number of inspection services you might want to consider.  Here is a list

Scratches;...can be very fine or very heavy.  It is best to inspect BEFORE the window cleaning so you will know what you are working with.  Because scratches can be caused by the window cleaning technique depending on the condition of the glass service.  Scratches can also be hidden beneath the dirt or stains.  Scratches can be analyzed with a special microscope to help figure out what caused them.

Hard water or organic stains;...these are good to look for because you will want to find and identify so you can remove them and prevent them from returning.  They can be hidden beneath the dirt so are much easier to discover after the windows have been cleaned.  Which is the usual process.

Etched glass surfaces;...these also are usually hidden beneath the dirt.  Or hidden beneath any type of stain.  The only way to test for etched glass, which can show up in many different ways, is to have the window cleaned, and any stains effectively but safely removed with a polishing compound.  

Coated Surfaces;...the can be of any kind and on any surface.  In the case of IGUs that have two plates there are four surface.  If the IGU has three plates there are six different surfaces.  The coatings can be for solar control, hydrophobic, hydrophylic "easy clean", solar panel AR, etc.  Do you have what you are supposed to have, and where it is supposed to be?

Defective Scratch Sensitive Surfaces;... can you safely remove paint overspray, concrete sealant, wood stain, or anything else?  Or is there too high a risk of causing scratches.  Which would demand a very expensive process to clear the window.

Negative Deflection IGUs;...I have seen this defect on brand new windows.  Or windows twenty years old.  When the seal has failed, and much of the argon or other gas has left, the two plates can get pushed in becoming concave.  Which can cause the window to implode without warning.  Especially if such a window gets a Point Impact Fracture.  Or a chip.  Or a bad scratch.

Delaminated Safety Glass;...Lami glass is made from two thin sheets of flat glass that are used as a sandwich with a clear film of PVB.   Usually this fim delaminates at the edge of the window.  It is very unsightly.

Failed IGUs;...When the airtight seals of an IGU fail water vapor seeps in between causing a film of water.  Over time this water etches the inside surface of one or both of the glass plates leaving a white haze.  Which is very difficult to see through.  A failed seal is a failed window that will need to be replaced.  Depending on how many windows like this are in the home or building the bill for replacement can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars.

These are just eight different problems that can be revealed by a routine inspection.  Such an inspection is best done before, during, and after a professional window cleaning by a member of NEGSA.  If you have a storefront you should always have your glass maintained/cleaned by a member of NEGSA.  For the purpose of preservation.  Also from the very start.  When the building is first put up.  Every time the windows are cleaned they will be inspected.

Henry Grover Jr.

henrygrover222@gmail.com

Pre-Cleaning Glass Inspections

Before any window is cleaned it should be inspected! Simply because you will want to reveal any imperfections or damage right at the get go.  This will make it way easier to know where to place the blame.  There might be light of heavy scratching left by someone else that cleaned the windows the last time, or the time before that even.  There might be stains or an etched surface that will need restoration/resurfacing.  You ight discover chips or point impact fractures.  Some of the IGUs might have lost there seal, be missing low e coatings, or have negative deflection.  The tempered glass could be wavy.  Or any other number of defects.  Including but not the least surface inclusions that will make the glass very scratch sensitive.

Once the inspection is performed you will know much more of what you are dealing with.  Simply put the quality of the glass in the building that you own.  Once the windows have been properly cleaned by a NEGSA member they should be inspected once again.  Just to be absolutely sure that nothing has been missed.

The reason for using a NEGSA member and not just any company that calls themselves a professional is that there are products available to NEGSA members that are not available otherwise.  NEGSA window cleaners also know exactly how to deal with specific problems without causing any more damage.

Case in point.  PIFs are easily mistaken for bug crap or some other spec of dirt.  When cleaning the window cleaner might be inclined to turn the scrub wand on edge and try to scrub off the spec.  But if it is a PIF this will cause the window to crack.  Further if the surface is loaded with inclusions and a metal razor is used, this could create millions of very fine scratches.  Which might be completely invisible until the sun comes out.

It is always best if a NEGSA window cleaner works together with a Glass Smart Inspector.  You see NEGSA window cleaners know how to avoid problems.  Some of them being potentially very severe.  Others not so much.  Also if there is a need for a special product the NEGSA window cleaner will have it.  But window cleaners just want to do their job.  They just want to clean windows.  A Glass Smart Inspector will have special inspection tools, and be trained in the work of glass inspection technology.  In other words Inspect-Tech.  Home Inspection professionals have their own line of work.  Which they are very good at.  But you would never hire one to inspect for radon, or mold.  That is a specialty inspection.  Likewise if you had a home or building with tons of glass you would want to hire a Glass Smart Inspection professional.  To protect your investment.  Which could be literally millions of dollars in HIDDEN glass damage.

If you would like to discuss this matter further please contact me.

Henry Grover Jr.

Glass Smart Inspections

henrygrover222@gmail.com

NEGSA Protocol

 NEGSA stands for the New England Glass Smart Association.  It is a group of professional window cleaning companies that I have put together in New England. For the purpose of marketing my inspection services through.  I am in the process of training them by means of on site training.  Also through the use of custom developed precision products for window surface maintenance, restoration, and preservation.  These professionals are your crew for maintaining your buildings throughout New England.  In developing this association my first focus has been to educate them through an association blog on how to avoid doing damage to surfaces by causing scratches and etching glass.  My goal is to keep NEGSA "clean" of lawsuits and other technical problems.  Although I have been writing an international blog for the window cleaning industry for many years I have only recently decided to "bring this technology home"!

Almost all of the consulting jobs that I have been called into over the last 35 years have been through window cleaning companies.  Such as the Manchester Airport in NH, the Unum Building in Worchester Mass, the Chiquita Banana building in Cincinnati Ohio, The Met Art Building in NYC, the Twin Towers in NYC, the Grande Hyatt in NYC, and many more.  I have given seminars for the International Window Cleaning Association at their yearly conventions.  Also I have trained large window cleaning companies here and in Canada.  Having written many technical articles for the window cleaning industries magazine The American Window Cleaner.  And have written over 200 posts in my own Glass Smart blog for the purpose of educating window cleaners around the world.  Here are some pictures you might find interesting.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

henrygrover222@gmail.com

6034989474

The Real Dangers of Scratches, PIFs, and Chips

 

The REAL danger of these three types of surface damage is unpredictable spontaneous breakage.  Every window if it has any age, has some scratches on it.  So here I am discussing deeper scratches that quickly catch your fingernail.  Here is a micrograph of a rather large bad scratch.  You can see the difference between the very large scratch and the rather light much smaller scratches.

PIFs, which are point indent fractures, are chips with very small cracks or fractures.  Chips don't have fractures or "legs".  Each PIF might have one, two, or several cracks.  These can shoot out causing very large cracks that span the window in a matter of a split second.  Any kind of pressure can cause this to happen.  Especially the pressure from an IGU with a case of negative deflection, ND.  If the glass is annealed then the crack will span the window creating large broken pieces.  But you will seldom see any kind of PIF or chip on a tempered plate.  Because at the moment the PIF or chip happens, the tempered plate will completely fracture or dice out into hundreds of small pieces of glass.  This is also why IGUs with ND and tempered glass, should be protected from scratches, chips and PIFs.  The smallest surface damage will cause an instantaneous implosion.  Loud enough to get attention.

IGUs with annealed glass that has ND and has acquired bad scratches, PIFs, and chips, should be monitored on a regular basis.  Especially if the IGU(s) also have a growing problem with ND .  Even more so if they are on the second or third story above a doorway or walkway.  In which case a sheet of protective plastic could be applied, or the windows could be swapped out.  But again since it has been conclusively proven that brand new IGUs can have a bad case of ND, the purchaser has every legal right to demand replacement.  Before this can happen however, that person must know what the condition of the windows is.  So an inspection must be performed!

If you have any concerns just give me a call, text, or send me an email.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

henrygrover222@gmail.com

6034989474

Negative Deflection the Blight of Insulating Units

 An insulating Glass Unit (IGU) is a double or triple sealed system of two or three panes of glass separated by a spacer bar.  There is a partial vacuum with some nitrogen or argon gas in between.  It is that space that creates a thermal barrier and helps keep the cold or heat outside.  The spacer bars around the four edges of the IGU contain a certail amount of dessicant powder to absorb any moisture/water vapor.  If the "seal" fails vapor will come inside and will condense on the inside of the glass.  It first shows up as clear water.  But over time it chemically reacts with the glass as the window heats up in the sun, and literally etches the glass.  Thus giving the glass a patchy white effect.  This is permanent damage.  It cannot be repaired.  The only fix involves changing out the individual IGU or swapping out the entire window.  Either or is never an inexpensive process.

I have a friend who was cleaning windows on a home one day.  It was a cool day with a high barometric pressure.  He cam around the corner only to hear what he thought was an explosion.  It was quite loud.  As it turned out it was an implosion.  Which happens when the IGU loses too much gas causing the two plates to become concave.  Or literally get "sucked in".  If argon is used it can leak out slowly over time but without allowing even air to come back inside.  So the IGU loses more gas then it takes back.  This causes what is called a negative deflection.  When a window has it bad enough you never know when it will blow.  Should the atmospheric conditions be just right.  Or the window also acquires a point indent fracture or a PIF.  Maybe a bad scratch.  Or some other defect that wasn't caught or noticed when the window was installed.  Such as a nickel sulphide inclusion.  This is a VERY widespread problem.  

These are the reasons why a good glass inspection should be performed on a regular basis.  When the windows are cleaned.  NEGSA Window Cleaners have access to specialty products, services, and inspection tools that other companies do not have.  Here is a simple test for Negative Deflection that anyone can do.  But a window cleaner can use it on every window they clean as they move along.  Remember that even brand new windows just put in can have serious problems with negative deflection.  It is reason to have ever window replaced.  Best to have the windows inspected/tested BEFORE they are installed!

There are many other reasons to have windows properly inspected by a qualified NEGSA Window Cleaner.  Point Indent Fractures, and scratches also are routine problems occurring in brand new glass, windows, and mirrors.  Inclusions sound like sandpaper when anything is ran over a defective glass surface.  There are at least 80 DIFFERENT types that have been identified by Glass Technology Services in the UK.  A very longstanding company that has worked with the float glass manufacturers for many decades.  The scratches they can cause are very different from one window to the next.  It is a ver diverse and widespread global problem.  A NEGSA window cleaner will be able to identify the problem and safely maintain a window with it using Glass Smart products.    

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

henrygrover222@gmail.com

Shared Liability for Scrached Glass

 The Glass Association of North America (GANA) has already made the statement that no one should ever use a metal razor on window glass.  Therefore the moment you touch glass with a blade you void the warranty.  In other words the moment you touch a window with a blade they are absolved of all legal liability.  Since they made it so.  But what if something else was used?  Such as a soft plastic blade?  Or a soft terry towel?  And scratches resulted.  Also what if a metal blade was used but did not scratch the window in question?  In fact it is true that other things such as plastic "blades" can cause scratches if the surface is very scratch sensitive.  It is also true that some glass is so smooth that metal razor blades just will not create scratches.  The burning question that comes up again based on this information is exactly who is responsible for the damage done when cleaning windows that are scratch sensitive?

The window cleaner is usually blamed because that person was the last person who was in contact with the window.  But what about the float glass manufacturer?  What about the tempering company?  What of the glass company who installed the defective glass?  What of the window manufacturer who built the window using defective glass?  Or what of the subcontractors who got paint, silicone, concrete, or something else all over the windows?  What of the general contractor who had the windows installed in the building?  There are SO many people who either directly handle or are involved with the glass from beginning to end.

Simply put this is a very complicated question to answer.  It is in fact a question that cannot be answered without a detailed forensic analysis and inspection of not just the damage done, but also the details surrounding the case.

I have been called out to several different situations with problems very similar to what I am describing here.  In one of these cases the insurance company had agreed to pay the price of glass replacement.  The question that was asked was what person was responsible for the damage done.  This had to be answered in order to determine whose insurance was going to pay.  It was answered before I arrived at the scene of the crime.  So I knew who was going to pay me.  I was able to discover a much more reasonable answer other than replacing the windows on the house.  Which made the insurance company very happy.  Me too since I got paid well.  It was a good day!

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

henrygrover222@gmail.com