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Window Perf caused window to crack

Gino

Premium Subscriber
No, I hear ya oldgoat.... and the others. I believe you, it's just never happened to me and doesn't sound like a normal phenomenon.

For this to happen with perf is what puzzles me. That's part of the idea behind it from what I understand.

I was told years ago, that people on the inside, not being able to see through was one reason and the other was from temperature changes, but when covered in full sheets of media. With perf... it solved both problems and supposedly ceased this sort of thing out of existence. Evidently not.

This to me, sounds like the same excuses and reasoning behind outgassing and all of it's magical powers.


If these windows being blown out from perf combined with temperature complications had a small stress fracture or some other defect, I'd believe your story much more, but to find these minute imperfections beforehand........ huh ??
 

oldgoatroper

Roper of Goats. Old ones.
No, I hear ya oldgoat.... and the others. I believe you, it's just never happened to me and doesn't sound like a normal phenomenon.

For this to happen with perf is what puzzles me. That's part of the idea behind it from what I understand.

I was told years ago, that people on the inside, not being able to see through was one reason and the other was from temperature changes, but when covered in full sheets of media. With perf... it solved both problems and supposedly ceased this sort of thing out of existence. Evidently not.

This to me, sounds like the same excuses and reasoning behind outgassing and all of it's magical powers.


If these windows being blown out from perf combined with temperature complications had a small stress fracture or some other defect, I'd believe your story much more, but to find these minute imperfections beforehand........ huh ??

I think that its not so much that the perf covers the window, but rather what kind of graphic is printed on it.

To give an extreme example, if the window is covered in perf but only a black square is printed in the middle of an otherwise white background, that will cause a great deal more of a temperature differential within different areas of the glass behind it, than, say a photograph, when struck by the sun.

I would like to see the graphic that the OP printed on the perf and I would also like to know when and how the sun is able to strike the window.
 

slipperyfrog

New Member
What type of window film was installed on the inside? I would say more than likely it is improperly matched window film to the type of window. First thing a tinter looks for when installing on flat glass.

Yes you can install window tint on double pane windows, you just need to match up the right type of film.
 

Techman

New Member
The window tint inside broke it.
It used to be well known that window tint will crack windows. Especially full coverage dark tints.

PErf will not break a window. In fact they use black perf on the sides of auto glass to help them dissipate heat.
 

xanderortiz

New Member
Contribute your knowledge, please?

Will the OP please post pictures so he can contribute knowledge to the rest of us? I know you got your questions answered, but this is a phenomenon to me. I would like to prevent this ever happening. If you could post an image of the graphic you installed at the very least, it would be nice. If you're feeling generous, maybe you could post a picture of the cracked window as well? Thanks.
 

mahuebel

New Member
Probably already settled

This has probably already been dealt with, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents...
I own a signs and tint shop, so we have a lot of experience in both window perfs and window tinting.
Cracks in the glass can be worsened by tint or by perfs, but they very very rarely originate from either. If the tint was selected based on the window type (single pane/double paned, Tempered/annealed, colored/clear, LowE/Non-LowE/High performance LowE, any applicable shading on the window), then either there is uneven shading on the glass during the day, like a column in front of the window that shades just a portion of the glass while getting direct sunlight everywhere else, causing a thermal stress fracture, or (and this is the case 99% of the time) the edge of the glass that is hidden in the frame had imperfections that lead to cracking after the increase in thermal load.
The customer may say that's still your fault, but even if you use all the correct materials to ensure you're within the accepted thermal tolerance, the likelihood of breakage is high.
 

Moze

Precision Sign Services
Seems like a good clause to include on any quotes - a small blurb about the possible causes of cracked glass and a disclaimer clearing yourself from any breakage after installation.
 

OldPaint

New Member
120" wide X 86" tall? 10 foot long, single piece of glass X 7 foot tall?
now that is one big chunk of glass!!!!
in my own experience of painting windows, some that big, the thing that alway amazed me was: HOW MUCH FLEX THERE WAS IN GLASS.
NOW..... with that in mind, YOU APPLIED PRESSURE to the perf to make it stick to the glass!!! hummmmmmm somewhere between them having the TINT APPLIED and your PERF, the person who applied the TINT, PEOPLE WHO CLEANED THE WINDOW, THE WIND....... may have created a SMALL CRACK ON THE EDGE of the glass. NOW YOU COME ALONG.....APPLY THE PERF WITH PRESSURE........ping!!!!! BUT THE PERF AND TINT HOLD IT TOGETHER.
 

visual800

Active Member
how old is the glass, usually on older buildings Im talkign back from the 60s and what not they will crack when tinited paint and any other graphic placed on them IF they are in direct sunlight
 

S'N'S

New Member
This has probably already been dealt with, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents...
I own a signs and tint shop, so we have a lot of experience in both window perfs and window tinting.
Cracks in the glass can be worsened by tint or by perfs, but they very very rarely originate from either. If the tint was selected based on the window type (single pane/double paned, Tempered/annealed, colored/clear, LowE/Non-LowE/High performance LowE, any applicable shading on the window), then either there is uneven shading on the glass during the day, like a column in front of the window that shades just a portion of the glass while getting direct sunlight everywhere else, causing a thermal stress fracture, or (and this is the case 99% of the time) the edge of the glass that is hidden in the frame had imperfections that lead to cracking after the increase in thermal load.
The customer may say that's still your fault, but even if you use all the correct materials to ensure you're within the accepted thermal tolerance, the likelihood of breakage is high.

This make the most sense, thanks for the explanation.
 
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