Strange Damage to Conservatory

[Ycryan]

Hi

We just go back from holiday early yesterday morning to find one of the glass roof panels in our conservatory had shattered, there was pieces of glass everywhere. The strange thing is only the internal section of the panel shattered, the external panel is still in tact ( I guess that's a relief as its still secure and watertight, at the moment).

My 10 year guarantee expired earlier this year (typical! ).

I haven't contacted my home insurance company yet, wanted to check with the double glazing company how much it would be to repair in case it was cheaper than my excess - no chance, went to see them today and they think at least £500 to repair.

Has anyone had any experience of this and do you think I will have any issues making a claim? I have never made a claim on my home insurance before.

I have left all the glass as is in case someone needs to come out and inspect the damage. Do they always do this? Not sure if any of my furniture has been damaged by the glass either and as there's still glass shards hanging from the ceiling I haven't taken too close a look.

Fortunately we were on holiday as my dog sleeps on the sofa in the Conservatory and it would have come crashing down on her. I'm totally puzzled about how it could have happened in the first place.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Never seen that happen before, loads of issues with the seals going and filling with condensation but not just the one pane shattering.
No parties whilst you were away?

Personally I would take photos and clear it up. The Insurers won't expect you to keep it in a dangerous condition.

[RickT]

The key question here is the cause of the damage for insurance.

You cant insure something for breaking due to wear and tear on a default type policy, there "normally" has to be an event which causes damage / the loss.

If you had accidental damage for buildings insurance and for example hit the glass with a broom chasing a fly, that may be an insurable event subject to the insurance policy coverage of course. But just finding it broke on the inside suggests no 3rd party involved in an empty house, therefore it would suggest product failure.

As the 10yr warranty has expired, it would suggest the product was fit for purpose for that time period and what the manufacture classed as a maximum risk period for their product.

Take a read of this.
forums.moneysavingexpert/... php?t=1381625


Best of luck with it.

[Cocobean121]

Had something similar this summer, one of our inside panes has a massive crack in it! It's up high near the conservatory roof and it's not somewhere where you could knock it. The outside pane of the double glazed unit is fine.

We pondered on it for quite some time and never really came up with an explanation. We thought that it may have been a fault in the glass and with the extreme heat we get in there in a hot day it just went pop!

Sorry I can't help, unless it was the heat if it gets really hot?

[bearandbuzz]

About 7 years ago we had a problem with our flat roof, which leaked through and our internal ceilings in two bedrooms came down. We had two insurance claims - one for buildings damage and the other for contents.
We were uncertain about the buildings one as it was a flat roof (always dodgy ground as many insurance companies have issues with these), also we didn't know when the roof was last maintained as we had moved in a couple of years previously. Fortunately our insurance company were very understanding and they went onthe advice of a local independent builder, who said it wasn't a maintanece issue, he said it was due to a hot summer then heavy rain, which affected the roof covering.
Obviously we faced increased premiums for the next 5(?) years, but we would never have been able to afford to fix all the mess otherwise.
I suggest you speak to your insurance company first and get the ball rolling and factor in the fact that if you claim you will then have an increased premium for a few years.
Hope it works out for the best for you.

[Pjamas]

Our solid glass coffee table just exploded one day, it weighed about 50kg! It was just one large curve of thick glass.

We were in the room with it and a sound like a gun shot went off, we leapt around in confusion then saw the table had shattered and broken into 3 pieces. It has sprayed glass all over the room.

Sometimes glass just explodes, there a lot of unexplained incidents like this. It's more common than you think.

[mouli1]

could it have been hit from outside , maybe a football or the like ?
if the glass was under stress inside then a thump could maybe make it shatter

[disney332]

No expert, but could an outside blow cause air pressure in the seal, causing a weak pane of internal glass to shatter ?

Disney 332

[FlorayG]

Originally Posted by Pjamas

Our solid glass coffee table just exploded one day, it weighed about 50kg! It was just one large curve of thick glass.

We were in the room with it and a sound like a gun shot went off, we leapt around in confusion then saw the table had shattered and broken into 3 pieces. It has sprayed glass all over the room.

Sometimes glass just explodes, there a lot of unexplained incidents like this. It's more common than you think.

See more...

Yep I had a glass saucepan lid explode once, it was just on the draining board and I was in the living room, it was so loud I thought the gas boiler had exploded!

[stitcher3000]

It has been very hot recently perhaps that has contributed to it.