Exploding shower screen - anybody else had one?

sheffsimon
sheffsimon Posts: 1,282
edited January 2011 in The bottom bracket
I had a curved glass shower screen over me bath.

Went out playing football with kids last Saturday morning, came back, screen completely shattered, just a few shards in frame. Bath full of glass, floor covered in glass.

Just glad nobody was in the bath or shower at the time.

No idea of cause, has it happened to anyone else.

Also not covered on insurance cos we were honest and said we didnt know the cause. If I had accidentally tw@tted it on the sink, then no problem. Insurance company will cover damge to bath surface though :?

Comments

  • brin
    brin Posts: 1,122
    How long had screen been up? did you install it yourself? sounds like there has been some pressure on part of the frame and the weakest part i.e. the glass has gave way.
    Have a word with place you bought it from or manufacturer.
  • Karl2010
    Karl2010 Posts: 511
    If your screen had a Handle or Knob, on it then it may have been over tightend, this could cause it to shatter.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    They should be saftety glass and when break shouldn't leave shards like they have.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • sheffsimon
    sheffsimon Posts: 1,282
    redvee wrote:
    They should be saftety glass and when break shouldn't leave shards like they have.

    Been installed five years.

    My missus had a conversation with manufacturer - Niagara - about shards of glass and was told the same. Plenty of small shards of glass, bigger bits of glass maybe 10mm or so.
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    You went out playing football with the kids. Where was the wife?

    Just asking.........
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • brin
    brin Posts: 1,122
    daviesee wrote:
    You went out playing football with the kids. Where was the wife?

    Just asking.........

    Tut,tut.......you do realise people can lose their jobs for making sexist accusations :wink:
  • beverick
    beverick Posts: 3,461
    brin wrote:
    daviesee wrote:
    You went out playing football with the kids. Where was the wife?

    Just asking.........

    Tut,tut.......you do realise people can lose their jobs for making sexist accusations :wink:

    It's libellous, not sexist.
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    brin wrote:
    daviesee wrote:
    You went out playing football with the kids. Where was the significant other in your life (potential suspect)?

    Just asking.........

    Tut,tut.......you do realise people can lose their jobs for making sexist accusations :wink:

    No reference to sex there now. Better? :wink:
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • beverick
    beverick Posts: 3,461
    Yup, I was re-installing a shower screen in house -2 having replaced the tray. I was fastening the frame to the wall and bang, the next thing i know is that I'm covered in broken, toughened glass.

    A £50 saturday afternoon job suddenly cost me £200!

    Bob
  • brin
    brin Posts: 1,122
    brin wrote:
    daviesee wrote:
    You went out playing football with the kids. Where was the wife?

    Just asking.........

    Tut,tut.......you do realise people can lose their jobs for making sexist accusations :wink:

    Sorry for wrongly pointing the accusing finger at your remarks, i now understand the op's wife was actually running the line at the aforementioned football match.....and a bloody good account she gave of herself too. :)

    back to original topic, toughened glass will still break under stress, it just does not splinter, still makes a mess and could cause some injuries, as mentioned - luckily the bath was not being used at the time.
    Since it has been installed for 5 years i would just write it off as a one-off, but would be wary of replacing it with the same brand.
  • jellybellywmb
    jellybellywmb Posts: 1,379
    I use a lot of toughened glass in my job and it can often explode for no reason, once saw cctv footage of a pair of glass gates that had been installed and in operation for 5 years just explode without being knocked or under any pressure, whish i had the footage still as it worth it just to see the security gaurd leg it our of the building at 3am.

    One of my engineers just last week picked up a section of 12mm heat soaked toughened glass and it shattered without any impact.

    One of my glass manufacturers did say that if a piece of glass is knocked it can stire the energy for a long time and then suddenly explode.

    Wierd thing physics
    "BEER" Proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy
  • Garry H
    Garry H Posts: 6,639
    You're lucky! My shower screen fell off its hinges, punctured the bath, then shattered.
  • dabber
    dabber Posts: 1,926
    I had one of those curved shower screens that fits around a partially curved bath come away from where it attached to the hinge arrangement. It never broke (luckily) as SWMBO was using it at the time but there was no obvious way of putting it back up. I contacted Ideal Standard who arranged for a replacement of the whole setup (about £450 worth) for no charge. It was around 5 years old.

    Excellent service I thought although it shouldn't have happened in the first place.. I guess they were just happy that no one had been injured and that they weren't facing a claim.
    “You may think that; I couldn’t possibly comment!”

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