I need some help determining if the crack in my basement window is a stress crack. My landlord claims we caused it, but we haven't touched the window at all. The crack is on the stationary pane inside, running from the top right edge to the right edge in an L shape around the corner. There's no spiderwebbing or any signs of impact. The other pane slides over this one, but the left pane remains stationary. My landlord suggested we must've slammed the window, but to open it, the right pane slides to the left. They've done some work on the house recently, including redoing the siding (with a hammer!) which involved a lot of banging around. Additionally, a tree that used to shade this window was cut down in the spring, meaning it's now exposed to more sunlight and fluctuating temperatures. I'm worried those factors contributed to the crack, but my landlords don't believe me. I've included photos of the window for reference: [Photo 1](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xgou0j4vo51s4rwn57p2q/Screenshot_20250909_151123_Dropbox.jpg?rlkey=mgjbbcxrta7iyknf2yuhu2cij&st=o4eem87v&dl=0) and [Photo 2](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mjm1fk0qu8qt32ifvs7n1/Screenshot_20250909_151145_Dropbox.jpg?rlkey=md3q28fh46rh28smf135aj3yh&st=lsm2mcke&dl=0).
3 Answers
Honestly, I don't see how you could have caused that crack. It looks mainly cosmetic, so it should be an easy fix. Your landlord should really reconsider their stance on this; it’s likely not your fault at all!
I agree with the others—this doesn’t seem like something you did. The crack looks like it might be due to pressure along the glass edge. It could be from thermal expansion if the glass got too hot or even from the workers during house repairs. I've seen similar cracks when glass is set too tightly in place; it’s pretty common in fixed windows.
You might want to mention this specific possibility to your landlord, especially since it seems like they were causing the vibrations when they worked on the house.
Definitely sounds like a stress crack! You might want to document everything, including the work done on the house and the removal of the tree. If you can, getting a professional to look at it could really help your case against your landlord's claims.
They're quoting you $200 for that? Wow, that's kind of steep for a cosmetic issue!