c/glaziers

Heard a homeowner in Denver tell his buddy that tempered glass is just a scam to charge more

PSA: A client in Denver asked for 'smart glass' in their bathroom remodel... I had to look it up.

Vent: Tried that new UV-cure sealant on a big storefront job in Denver and it failed hard

Honestly, I followed the spec sheet to the letter on a 20-foot run of insulated units, but after three days in direct sun the sealant turned brittle and started pulling away. Ngl, I'm back to trusting my old polysulfide method for anything over 10 feet, what's your go-to for high UV exposure areas?

Had to pick between a standard 1/4 inch and laminated for a big storefront job in Tacoma

The client wanted the glass for a new coffee shop on 6th Ave, and the budget was tight. I went with the laminated because the spot gets a lot of foot traffic and I was worried about break-ins. It cost about $400 more for the whole job, but the peace of mind was worth it. Anyone have a good supplier for laminated sheets in the Puget Sound area that doesn't kill you on delivery?

Can we talk about how much glass a skyscraper actually uses?

I was reading an article about a new building going up in Chicago and it said the curtain wall will use over 350,000 square feet of glass. That number just blew my mind, I had no idea a single project could use that much material. It made me think about the sheer scale of the panels and the logistics of getting them all up there without a single break. I've only ever done residential and small commercial jobs, so the planning for something that big is hard to picture. Has anyone here ever been part of a skyscraper glazing crew? What's the biggest single pane you've ever had to install?

Back when the shop in Tacoma first started pushing those UV-cure sealants, I thought it was just a gimmick.

I was sure the old two-part polysulfide was the only thing that would hold up long term, especially on big commercial units. Then I had to redo a failed job on a south-facing storefront after just two years, and the UV stuff the supplier gave me as a replacement is still perfect five years later. Anyone else have a change of heart on a new product after seeing it work in the real world?

Showerthought: The aquarium downtown made me think about glass thickness differently

I took my niece to the city aquarium yesterday and stood in front of their big shark tank for a while. It's a huge panel, maybe 30 feet wide, and you can see a tiny curve at the very edges. It hit me that the water pressure must be insane, and the glass has to be way thicker than anything we do in houses. I always just follow the charts for residential stuff, but seeing it in person made the engineering click. Has anyone here ever worked on a big commercial tank like that?

PSA: Heard a guy at the supply house say he never uses a certain sealant for overhead glass anymore

He was telling his buddy about a job in Tempe where it failed after 18 months. I always thought it was fine, but now I'm switching to a different brand for anything vertical or sloped. Anyone have a go-to for exterior overhead panels?

Warning: I was using the same old caulk for years until a guy in Denver said something

I was grabbing a tube of the standard silicone I always use at the supply house, and this older installer next to me pointed at it and said, 'You know, that stuff will yellow on south-facing glass in about 18 months, right?'. He told me to switch to a specific UV-resistant polyurethane sealant for those jobs, and it completely changed how I think about long-term installs. What's your go-to sealant for big, sunny storefronts that has held up the best?

Why does nobody talk about the time a bird flew straight through a brand new storefront window?

I just finished installing a 10-foot tempered glass panel at a bakery downtown yesterday, and before I could even pack up my tools, a pigeon flew right into it at full speed. The glass didn't break, but the bird left a perfect, greasy outline of itself, like a cartoon ghost. Has anyone else had a job 'christened' by local wildlife like that?

Spent $400 on a digital level for big storefront jobs, and I'm split on it.

On one hand, it saved my back and got the mullions dead straight on a 20-foot run last week. On the other, it feels like a fancy crutch for something a good old spirit level and chalk line should do. Anyone still swear by the old ways, or is digital the only way to go now?

Question about a comment on my old-school glazing point technique

A homeowner in Denver watched me hand-set points on a 12-over-12 sash last week and said, 'I didn't know anyone still did that,' which made me wonder if we're losing the basic skills by defaulting to modern sealants for every single job.

Vent: The whole week was a write-off after that custom curved glass job in Brentwood...

Vent: That week we had to replace 48 panes of historic wavy glass...

Got a call last Tuesday for an emergency job at the old theater downtown, a storm blew out a whole section of the original 1920s glass. The owner wanted it all replaced with exact matches, which meant hunting down a supplier who still makes that specific wavy pattern. By Friday, we'd installed 48 panes, each one hand-cut and fitted because none of the openings were truly square. What made it stand out was the pressure to keep the look perfect while working against the clock and a tight $15k budget. Has anyone else had a job where the material sourcing was the real battle?

Can we talk about using a heat gun on tempered glass?

I was on a job in Tampa last week, trying to remove a stuck vinyl decal from a storefront door. The glass was clearly tempered, but my partner insisted on using the heat gun anyway. He set it to 450 degrees and held it about six inches away. We heard a loud pop and the whole panel just shattered into a million pieces. I had to call the shop for a rush replacement, which cost the client an extra $200. Has anyone else had a boss or crew member push for a method you knew was wrong?

Had to replace a 12-foot curved glass panel in a Miami hotel lobby last month

The old one got cracked by a delivery cart, and the new piece took three of us to carry in. The heat and humidity made the sealant set up way too fast, so we had to work in short bursts. Anyone else had a big install go sideways because of the weather?

Had to cut a custom piece for a pet lizard's tank last month and the owner wanted it shaped like a leaf

I was working on a job in Springfield and the client brought in a sketch of a giant leaf for their iguana's new enclosure. Spent half a day grinding the glass to match the weird curves, and the lizard just ignored it and slept on a rock. Has anyone else had to make something this odd for an animal?

That curved shower door in the old Craftsman house took me two full days to get the silicone bead perfect.

I had to re-cut the glass twice and ended up using a new brand of sealant, ProGlaze, because the old stuff kept pulling away from the tile, so what's your go-to method for a clean, lasting seal on a tricky radius?

Rant: A big custom shower panel cracked on me during install yesterday

It was a 72 by 48 inch piece of 3/4 inch thick clear tempered glass for a high end bathroom job. I had it perfectly set in the channel, everything looked good, and then I heard that awful pop sound when I was just starting to tighten the final clamp. Now I'm stuck between two ways of thinking. One side says it was a flaw in the glass itself, maybe from the tempering process, and nothing I did would have stopped it. The other side says maybe my pad on the clamp was worn down and I put pressure on a bad spot. What's your take on sudden cracks during a routine install? Ever had one you're sure wasn't your fault?

Pro tip: I thought I knew how to handle a big storefront job until a project in Phoenix last month

I was doing a full glass replacement for a shop front, about 20 feet wide. My old way was to set the whole pane with my crew and then do the sealant after. It was always a fight to keep it clean and straight while we held it. The foreman on this job, a guy named Ray, saw me setting up and just said, 'Why are you fighting gravity? Set the bottom edge on a bead of wet sealant first, then tip it into place.' I tried it his way, laying a thick line of silicone on the frame's bottom channel before we even lifted the glass. When we tipped the pane in, it settled right into the sealant, held itself steady, and gave us a perfect bond line on the first side. It cut our setting time in half and the seal looked way better. I've done three jobs like that since and it's been a game changer. Has anyone else picked up a trick like that from another crew on a shared site?

Just realized my $80 glass suction cup handle snapped because I left it in the truck bed all winter

The cold made the plastic brittle and it broke clean off on a big storefront job. Anyone know a good brand that can handle being stored outside?

Got schooled on a job in Phoenix about using a heat gun for old putty

I was working on a big old window restoration in a Phoenix bungalow, maybe 5 months back. The lead guy, a real old timer, insisted we use a heat gun to soften the glazing putty before removal. Everyone on the crew swore by it. I thought it was a waste of time, that a good sharp chisel and some muscle was faster. Well, I went at a pane my way and the whole wooden sash split right along the grain. It was a clean, loud crack. That mistake cost the client an extra $200 for a new custom sash and me a full day of shame. Now I see the heat isn't just for the putty, it's to keep the wood from shocking and breaking. It's a slower process, but it saves the original frame. Anyone else have a stubborn habit they had to break the hard way on a restoration job?

Finally got the hang of cutting those big, curved auto glass pieces

I was at a trade show in Kansas City last fall, just watching a demo on a new waterjet system. The guy running it was cutting a huge, curved windshield for a classic car, and he kept talking about the 'lead angle' on the cut. I'd always just gone straight in and out, you know? He showed how tilting the head just a couple of degrees on the long curves stopped the glass from chipping out on the underside. Tried it the next week on a replacement for a '67 Mustang fastback. Took me three practice cuts on scrap to get the feel right, but that final piece came out clean as a whistle. No more hidden fractures or wasted material. It's one of those little things you don't think about until you see it done right. Anyone else pick up a small trick like that from a show or a demo that just clicked?

Question about a $300 glass handling vacuum cup

I bought a big vacuum cup for moving heavy shower doors by myself last week. It cost about $300, but it slipped on a textured glass panel and nearly dropped a 100-pound piece. I think the texture messed with the seal. Has anyone found a good cup that works on textured glass without slipping?

My caulk line looked fine until the sun hit it at 3 PM.

I was finishing a shower door install in a Denver condo, and I thought my silicone bead was perfect. Then the afternoon light came through the window and showed every single wobble and skip in the line. The homeowner said, 'It looks like a little kid did it.' How do you get that perfectly smooth, even bead every single time?