Investigative Analysis of Glass Surface Damage

This post has been written for General Contractors, Window Installation Companies, Property Maintenance Managers, Glass Companies, Window Cleaners, Janitorial Companies, Real Estate Sales Companies, and more.

There are three different types of damage that can happen to window and mirror  surfaces.  Specifically these are scratches, staining, and chemical etching.  Also there are a variety of different types of surfaces which are usually glass, plastic, and metal alloy thin coatings.  Each of these surfaces can be different too.  Such that there is dark and colored/tinted glass, acrylic, polycarbonate, and mylar plastics.  Also tin oxide, titanium oxide metal alloys.  But the list goes on.  Also the three different types of damage can be varied and apply to all three surfaces.

The first step in analyzing the surface damage requires learning exactly what type of surface we are working with.  Then we have to determine what type of damage has occurred in order to figure out who caused it and how.  

Scratches can be easily observed unless they are very fine.  Then they will be invisible except in the bright sunlight or at night with a bright artificial light source.  It is necessary to learn what caused them by analysing their pattern and then looking at them with a 40 to 60 power microscope.  There are some other little tricks I have learned over the years which help a great deal.

Staining is usually caused by hard water.  But it can also be caused by organic sprays and other chemicals.  They can usually be identified with the use of different chemicals, just looking at them, and asking different questions.

Chemical etching is usually determined by similar means.  I have seen and created chemical etching by a host of different chemical means.  So I have developed different chemical tests to figure out what type of etch it is and how it came about.  So most times my experience alone coupled with what I have already seen in the field is enough to determine what I am looking at.  And to develope a means to restore or repair the surface.

If you have a building that you would like to have looked at just give me a call or send me a text.  I will come back asap and we can start working on it together.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

henrygrover222@gmail.com

6034989474

Free Introductory window Inspections

I offer free preliminary inspections for buildings within a fifty mile radius.  Here are several matters you should be concerned about if you are selling or buying a house or building.  Also if you are a general contractor and are finishing a project.

Insulating Glass Units Those that have lost their seals or are dirty and filmy in between are usually mistaken for simple dirty windows.  They stay this way for years until the window cleaner is called in.  The low e coating inbetween can also be the wrong "color".  Also it can become severely discolored over time.

Negative Deflection from outgasing could be present on EVERY window.  Even if the windows are brand new.  This preconditions windows for implosion.  Especially because of PIFs. 

Stains on glass  Usually mineral deposits are the culprit.  They can come from powerwashing, ground water, and even window cleaning with a water fed pole.  I have seen them so bad that only a diamond compound could remove them.  With the right technique.  Again take a look at these pictures of some hard water stains I took from some of my inspection jobs.

Scratches These can be caused at any time by anyone.  They can be very fine or not.  Some can only be seen when the window is completely clean and in the direct sunlight.  Determining where they came from could help with either lowering the sale price of the home or get the insurance company to pay for a repair.  A preliminary inspection including a microscopic analysis helps to "point the finger".  Here are two pictures of metal scratches.

Etched glass usually results from the use of the wrong chemicals.  This type of etch can either be seen or be invisible.  Invisible etching will cause the surface to develop fog much quicker.  It also will lock on to various stains.  Especially those from hard water.  Etched surfaces are likewise much more prone to scratches.  There some simple answers for this type of etch.  As for etched surfaces that are white, these can be repaired using the correct technology.

If you have a building you would like to have looked at just give me a call, text, or email.

Henry Grover Jr.

Sanbornville, NH 03872

henrygrover222@gmail.com 

6034989474

The Worchester Job

There are three things I have to do when called in to a stain job.  First I need to identify exactly what the stains are and where they came from.  Second it is necessary to figure out the best and most simple and safe way to remove them.  Third I have to figure out the best way to prevent the stain from coming back.  If it does come back then this has to be dramatically minimized to the point where it can be removed again with great ease.  

There was a building in Worchester Mass that I was called into several years ago that had some rather unsightly stains.  It was a multistory building at least ten stories high.  About a third of it had a shiny metal fascade and the remaining two thirds was glass.  If I told you the name of the building you would know it.  The property management company called me in with no clue about the damage.  They didn't have any answers.  But needed these so they could deal with the problem.  I arrived about ten minutes early to the site.  Within five minutes I had all the answers!  It was way too easy.

The building was in the middle of Worchester which is a rather large city.  So the rain there is quite acidic.  The exterior of the building was concrete.  It had not been properly sealed with a quality sealant to prevent the breakup and leaching of the minerals from the inside of the pores.  Which was exacerbated by the acid rain.  Carried out from the pores by the rain and over the glass, the minerals were deposited on the glass when the sun came out to dry the water drops.  As water drops dry the mineral content of the drops is raised to a pH of about 9.  This then causes the water to etch the glass.  So that the minerals that are left behind lock on to the glass, and are impossible to remove with even 0000 steel wool.  Most of the time.  What made this worse was the fact that there were no drip edges installed over each window to divert the rain water.  The man who called me in couldn't figure out why some of the windows had no stain at all.  The answer was simple.  The shiny metal fascade was directly over those windows which were stain free.  The metal protected them.

Next I needed to explain and demonstrate the most simple but safe way to remove the stains.  What I mean by safe is no bad acids that would etch and no bad abrasives that would scratch.  I was able to determine that the windows had a solar control factory applied metal coating on the first surface.  It was an easy coating to see through.  So difficult to notice.  But it was still there.  On the weather side of the IGUs.  Metal coatings are the easiest surface to clear of water stains.  Clear glass is more difficult.  Then dark glass is the most difficult.  Also anytime glass has been in contact with hydrofluoric acid or has been polished with a superabrasive such as cerium oxide, it becomes much more difficult to clear of second or third generation hard water stains.  After giving it a go with paper towels and a cerium oxide superabrasive the stain came right off.  So the owners of the building were looking at a one step "fairly quick" cerium polish.  I make my own compounds based on different superabrasive blends.  

The final answer to this problem was how to keep the stains from coming back again.  First it is necessary to seal the concrete properly with one of the best hydrophobic sealants possible.  It is easy to test a building to see how resistant it is to leaching.  Just throw water on it.  The water should bead up and roll off.  Studies have been done on multiple products based on a wide range of chemistries.  The next step should be to seal the windows with a hydrophobe.  If you are sealing glass the choice is simple.  But if you are on a titanium or a tin coating not so much.  Although it still must be done!  The next part of the solution would be to somehow build into the building drip edges directly over each window not below any shiny metal.  When the architects design these buildings they make sure that the exterior of the building is flush with the glass.  This is to maximize the number of square feet that will be rented.  They also will put the bleed holes for the rain right over the windows.  You see nobody understands that glass can be etched and stained by water.  This is actually a type of water damage that no one even talks about.

So there you have it.  All three parts.  What is lacking in this post are many details.  Such as and especially names of certain products that are used to remove the stains and protect the concrete and windows from damage.  For that you have to call me.  Then we can look at your building together and set up some time experiments to come up with the answers that will work best for your building and your problem.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

henrygrover222@gmail.com

603 498 9474

New Window Inspections for Contractors

Over the decades I have seen so many brand new windows that were anything but perfect.  They have been "gased" in between the plates.  Dirty/filmy in between.  Thumbprints in between.  Even scratched;...from the factory.  Also one of the most significant defects is raised inclusions from the float bath where the glass plates were made. So even before the glass made it to the window manufacturing plant it was "scratch sensitive"!  Window glass is notoriously scratched from a multitude of different contractors.  Including window cleaners.  It comes many times direct from the window manufacturing plant missing low e coatings.  Or and ready to implode from negative deflection.  This happens when the IGUs are made.  Windows can also be etched from chemicals or suffer water damage by poor storage conditions.  Contaminated with silicone caulk or cured concrete after installation.  Covered with hard water spots from the garden hose.  These things must be identified and dealt with.  The bottom line is very simply that just about anything is possible.

As the General Contractor your first concern is to never end up having to cover for any of these problems!  Either by identifying them when the windows are delived.  Or by preventing them by working with reputable subcontractors who have been made aware of what can happen.  For example all windows can be inspected the day they arrive for storage where they will wait for the day of installation.  Order them enough in advance so that if there is a problem they can be sent back to the factory for exchange.  Then every subcontractor that will be working around the windows after they have been installed must be educated as to what they cannot do.  As an example painters sometimes will powerwash to prepare the exterior of the building for paint.  The wrong chemicals can do a great deal of damage to the glass.  It can stain and etch.  Powerwash companies will clean stucco with pure water.  But even this can cause hard water spots on the windows in only thirty minutes. Cleaning companies also might use a metal razor on windows to remove paint, but do not know the surface is glass sensitive.  Because it is covered with raised inclusions from the float bath.  So they end up scratching every square inch of every window.

Another intense concern is to be able to trace the problem back to who is responsible.  This is critical if the Genral Contractor needs to go to court to absolve the matter.  It might be necessary to do this first to see if the problem was caused by a subcontractor whose insurance company would in fact pay for the damage.  Did you know that powerwash companies usually pay the highest for insurance?  For just this reason.  Most times a subcontractors insurance will pay for damages if they damage one thing while working on another.  I remember a painter whose insurance paid for etched glass when they powerwashed/prepared the house with a solution of sodium carbonate and sodium metasilicate.  So if you are a contractor facing a similar problem you first will need to identify where it came from.  Then see if you can return the windows to the factory.  Or if you can get compansation from which subcontractor was responsible for the damage.  If their insurance company will pay, and the damage can be restored, it might be an easy fix.

So if you are a General Contractor reading this post I suggest you please give me a quick call.  Even if you don't have any immediate concerns.  I would appreciate the opportunity to work with you in some way so we can minimize any chance of damaged window glass together.  No matter whether you live in Australia or a town one hour away.

Written by Henry Grover Jr.

6034989474

henrygrover222@gmail.com

https://glassinspectionservices.blogspot.com/

 

International Window Inspections Through IGSA

I am ready to introduce IGSA to the world.  In earlier years I have done consulting work in other countries and around the United States.  At that time it was usually necessary that I actually travel to the job site by car or plane.  This was very enjoyable but times have changed.  Now I can do almost the same thing by working directly with window cleaning companies all over the world by using the technology of the day.  Cell phones, cameras, drones, computers, and various apps allow for the expansion of my consulting work such as I never could have imagined.

The key in doing this lies in locating window cleaning companies advanced enough to see the opportunities in working with me.  The opportunity to take on more contracts and make more money.  Opportunities in exploring different products that haven't been brought to market yet.  Which can be used to solve certain problems.

If this is something you would like to explore just send me an email, text, or call.  Then we can put together a plan that will work for you.

Henry Grover Jr.

henrygrover222@gmail.com

6034989474