Glass is broken and needs a replacement...no problem right?! You call around and get a few quotes and go with the cheapest price. They should all be relatively the same right?
Not Exactly, here's why,
*WARNING THE FOLLOWING STORY IS GRAPHIC AND NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH!
READ ON AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION...
Many years ago I was walking home to my apartment in Burnaby. As I came to the building entrance, I stumbled upon a little girl about the age of 6 or 7 lying on the pavement amongst many large shards of broken glass and her leg was almost entirely severed below the knee! She was in shock, I was in shock! As a glazier how did this happen and could it have been prevented. Well the answer to that question is YES! It seems the young girl and her brother has been playing in the vestibule and the brother had pushed the young girl and she went right through the 4 or 5mm pane of glass beside the door that was roughly 5 feet wide by 7 ft tall. I informed the mother of the child to contact my instructor at B.C.I.T who had taught the glazing courses for many many years and seek legal recourse for her child's injuries, This was a horrific accident that should have never happened and occurred due to improperly trained individuals, negligence or both. The truth is this could have been prevented with a safety glass installation. s This went against building code and in this day and age there is no excuse. Had this glass been tempered or laminated safety glass this would girl would never had to have experienced such a traumatic and potentially life altering event.
There is many different types of glass available today, there is tempered, annealed, heat strengthened, laminated, tempered laminated, low e hard coats and low e soft coats, units filled with argon gas, these are just some of the many variables to take into consideration when calling a glass company. Truth is, many glass companies will compromise the product or worse, the safety of individuals in order to get the job. Safety glass costs more hence they may have been awarded the work on account of offering a better price to replace the glass. Unbeknownst to the customer they are getting an inferior product or inadequately trained individual because they work for less money. The same goes for basic house furniture glass, is your coffee table safe for the youngsters running around the house? If you got it cut at a local shop it could be a traumatic event waiting to happen. If one trips and falls, will they suffer a few minor cuts from broken cubes of tempered glass? or will they perhaps suffer a significant laceration so bad they may be heading to the hospital for dozens of stitches? If a major artery is severed and the hemorrhaging isn't stopped it is said it may take only 5 minutes before death could occur.
These are many important questions you need to ask when you're looking to save a few bucks. The type of glass and competence of the installer? Can you tell the difference between a properly installed door lite and one that was done improperly? Not even a trained professional can tell until first removing components to see the underlying hidden factors. If glass is installed incorrectly it may appear good as new, though it may be days, weeks or months before it becomes broken again due to an improperly trained or careless individual. Perhaps, the window that was replaced was not safety glass, or maybe it was installed improperly.
At Thompson Valley Glass, safety is of the utmost importance as is correct installations. We will not compromise the safety of others under any circumstances. We stand by doing things right the first time with the correct products and where the safety of others our top priority. We will not supply or install anything that we feel is an unsafe application. Glass breaks and can be a danger regardless but there's many out there with little conscience to others well being if the mighty dollar is involved. This is a gut-wrenching situation I have encountered too often. We would rather lose business than being responsible for what happened to that little girl.
While we are on the topic of installing the wrong choice of glass, did you know that most sealed units come with thermal coatings nowadays? This is another area where a customer might think they are getting the better price but instead lose out on their heating and air conditioning bills because someone put an inferior glass in as a replacement for your home or business. I'm merely scratching the surface on these topics, but the point is, calling a professional makes all the difference and is why we stand by Trade certification. Don't pay high shop rates for improperly trained individuals and when receiving multiple quotes be sure your not comparing apples to oranges. There are many variables to be considered and sometimes many different adequate options. When in doubt... Call TVG! We will give you an honest and thorough look at the best solutions and available options for whatever the application.
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