I'm currently away and my house sitter discovered that my sliding glass door had shattered. She checked the area for any obvious causes like stones or dead birds but found nothing substantial. Given that I want to avoid her injury, she didn't do an in-depth search. Here are some details:
- The metal frame is pretty tight, making it hard to open and close.
- The glass is likely tempered safety glass, and it's quite thick.
- My apartment faces west, and afternoons can get very hot, even with all the shades drawn. Last week's highs were around 97-102 degrees from noon to 3 PM, but it cools down to 75 in the evening, and I live right near water, so there's a breeze.
- I live on the second floor, so a stone could technically reach my door, but it'd need to hit mid-pane or higher due to the height of my balcony.
What could have caused this? My house sitter is not likely the cause since she has opened the door many times before. Could it be due to heat and pressure with the tight frame, or an impact like a stone? Maintenance will help me figure out if there was something major involved, but so far, nothing stands out to my sitter.
3 Answers
Uh oh! That's frustrating. I've had something similar happen twice, but it was due to a weed whacker during landscaping. If maintenance was working below your balcony, a small piece of debris could have hit the glass. Tempered glass can crack easily from small impacts!
It sounds like someone might have tried to break into your place by prying the door latch! I had a similar experience where the glass broke, and there were marks on the frame from the pry attempt. Just a thought!
That’s definitely a possibility, but I live pretty high up, so prying wouldn't be easy, plus I’ve got neighbor balconies right nearby. I even got a funny note from one neighbor about keeping my blinds down for my own privacy! ?
How old is your door? Sometimes glass just breaks—strange but true! This has happened to us before with no clear cause.
I'd say it's at least 8-10 years old. Could just be one of those odd occurrences, I guess!
Hmm, good point! I’m on the second floor, so there’s no grass directly below, but there are flower beds along the walkway. Not impossible!