Hi all,

We purchased an add-on conservatory from one of the large UK
suppliers about four years ago and since then we have really enjoyed all
of the benefits of a warm bright place to sit and relax even when the
weather outside is far from ideal.

However, our enjoyment has not been without its downside since one
morning about 18 months ago when we went into the conservatory we
noticed that the inner glass of one of the many double-glazed panels had
shattered into 'a million' pieces for no obvious reason.

Since our conservatory came with a 10 year warranty, we contacted the
company, explained the problem to them, which they accepted without any
fuss, and they then arranged for one of their fitters to come and
replace the panel, which they did a couple of weeks later.

All was fine for another six months then the inner glass of a
different double-glazed panel shattered overnight in a similar way. The
conmpany responded in exactly the same way and the new faulty panel was
replaced under warranty.

A couple of days ago we were sitting quietly in the conservatory when
there was a loud bang and the inner glass of one of the other
double-glazed roof panels exploded and loads of fragments of glass
showered down around us. Now, for a third time, we have had to contact
the company who, once again and without asking any questions, have
ordered a new panel which will be installed during the next couple of
weeks.

Wen I spoke to the company I asked if this was a very common
occurrence and was just told that 'yes, it happens'.

Should I be reassured with that casual answer? Why has it always been
the INNER of the panels that fails? Nothing can have dropped onto the
conservatory roof from above and we don't play any hard-ball sports in
the conservatory. All very strange.

I've done a very close inspection of the structure of the
conservatory, paying particular attention to the frames around the glass
panels to see if any of them have become distorted but I haven't seen
anything that could explain these three glass breakages.

I'm grateful that the faulty panels have been replaced (to date)
without any hassle from the company and at least I've got another seven
years of warranty remaining so can hope that any manufacturing faults in
the glass of the remaining panels will have come to light (pun
intended!), one way or another, before that warranty expires.

I've done a lot of Googling on the subject and discovered that
spontaneous shattering of toughened glass panels for no obvious reason
is very common, both in the UK and around the world. Sudden temperature
changes don't seem to be the cause - the general view seems to be that
it just happens sometimes. One explanation offered is that small
impurities were in the glass during the tempering process and these can
'grow' over time (months or years) to a point when they cause the glass
to shatter suddenly.

I'd be very interested to hear the comments of anyone else in this NG
who have experienced similar spontaneous shattering of double-glazed
panels and how the suppliers of the faulty panels have reacted.

ATB - Dave.