Weebles Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Soon after our windows were fitted last September we noticed two defects in one of the large panes. We were told this was part of the manufacturing process and one of the risks of getting a large pane of glass. The pane in question is about 3 m x 2 m. We have 12 such panes of glass in our house and none of the others have any defects. Other than this window, we are absolutely delighted. At the time we raised it with the UK distributor of the windows. They agreed it was unacceptable. They raised it with the European supplier who noted it was part of the acceptable defects that may appear in a pane of glass this size. Now that the walls of the room are plastered and painted, the sun reflects through the defect and puts a rather hideous shadow onto the wall. Does anyone else have any defects on large panes of glass? Are such defects normal? Windows are aluminium clad, triple glazed. Supplier and distributor shall remain nameless, currently, as I dearly want to get this resolved. The only resolution for me is a replacement pane of glass, fully paid for by the supplier, including transport and fitting. That would be honouring our original contract in my opinion. We have been offered a compensation sum of about a 10th of the cost of the entire window. The windows were very expensive. I don’t want to wake up to that shadow every morning. Photos show the shadow on the wall and also the view out of the window when the scaffolding was in place showing the distortion in the view. Any thoughts welcome please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadnaught Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Were such "risks of getting a large pane of glass" explained to you before you signed on the dotted line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 3 minutes ago, Weebles said: Does anyone else have any defects on large panes of glass? Are such defects normal? We have a 3/4 glazed gable that is 4.1m high made up of three vertical triple glazed panes. We had marks on all three of the panes and we had the two largest of the panes replaced. We still have a small mark on the smallest pane but accepted it as it is virtually impossible to notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Unfortunately I can't offer any experience or advice on the defects, but I can agree that I think you're right to be unhappy with them. I'd certainly not be willing to accept that as normal, especially given the price of windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weebles Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 24 minutes ago, PeterStarck said: We have a 3/4 glazed gable that is 4.1m high made up of three vertical triple glazed panes. We had marks on all three of the panes and we had the two largest of the panes replaced. We still have a small mark on the smallest pane but accepted it as it is virtually impossible to notice. Replaced at your cost or theirs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gone West Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 1 minute ago, Weebles said: Replaced at your cost or theirs? It was replaced at no cost to us. We had several smaller panes replaced, also at their cost, where the marks were obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassanclan Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 You need to look up the glass and glazing federation regulations. There are tolerances, something like if you stand 6ft away from the glass with a normal background is the fault visible? I had this issue, I expected perfect glass. I got one pane changed and one turned so it wasn't in the line of sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeGrahamT21 Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 We have had glass replaced before. The general rule so I've been told, is if the mark obscures your view, and is clearly visible from a distance of 2m, if it is then they have to replace the unit free of charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weebles Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 The defect itself is visible from well over 2m if there is something behind the window. Trees for example are distorted. The shadow in the wall, caused by the defect, is visible from the whole room. And nothing we can do to hide that. It will be on the wall opposite our bed so we’ll wake up to it! The quality guidelines are all in German so going to need to work on that. I really can’t believe this is acceptable to the manufacturer. Nobody would buy large windows from them if they thought they might get 2 inch high shadow marks on their walls due to defects. The marks in the glass itself are tear drop shaped on the middle pane. We’ll have to challenge on technical grounds. The manufacturer’s representative hasn’t even been out on site to see the issue. The distributor has and appears to be on our side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weebles Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 I should add that way back in October the supplier agreed to replace the glass as some sort of goodwill gesture but wouldn’t cover the transport or install as the defect was “within quality guidelines”. Transport from Europe and install requiring a crane and glass lifter still amounts to a couple of thousand, on top of an already eye wateringly expensive glazing order. If it is outside quality guidelines it should be replaced free of charge. If this is “quality” then it’s one disappointing window. ☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassanclan Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 If it's from abroad then the ggf guidelines may not apply. If "within quality guidelines" then you need a copy of those guidelines. Might the fault be less visible if you changed the glass with another one of the 11 other 3x2m panes. Not ideal, but a low coat solution. Did you pay by credit card? Less than £20000? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdinand Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) 45 minutes ago, bassanclan said: If it's from abroad then the ggf guidelines may not apply. If "within quality guidelines" then you need a copy of those guidelines. Might the fault be less visible if you changed the glass with another one of the 11 other 3x2m panes. Not ideal, but a low coat solution. Did you pay by credit card? Less than £20000? I would expect the standards to be around the CE Marking scheme and therefore probably harmonised across Europe, though perhaps with a couple of wrinkles. F Edited March 26, 2019 by Ferdinand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 @Weebles, do you want me to translate the guidelines for you? MfG Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weebles Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 23 hours ago, recoveringacademic said: @Weebles, do you want me to translate the guidelines for you? MfG Ian Ian, that is such a kind offer. Thank you. Today, the uk distributor sent me a full copy in English so now all I need to do is learn the language of glazing ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan F Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 @Weebles Did the manufacturer resolve this in the end? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weebles Posted June 9, 2019 Author Share Posted June 9, 2019 Not yet. But I remain optimistic. I will update when I have firm details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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