Shower Glass De-lamination
Hello,
Your help with this issue could save me a lot of time and money.
We remodeled our bathroom over a year ago and had a frameless glass shower unit installed.
Following the installers advise, we applied Rain-X to the glass before using the unit. Over a short period of time, we noticed a checker-board pattern appear between the double pane glass when using a hot water shower. This progressed with the appearance of water spots between the panes. We reported the problem to the installer and they came and replaced the glass partitions. The installer told us this time to use glass cleaner containing Rain-X before using the shower, which I did. Within a short period of time the same issue returned. The installer instructed us to use a buffing pad to remove the spots. That didn’t work so I wanted to completely rule out hard water spots on the surface of the glass and cleaned with a lemon juice- vinegar/baking soda-vinegar/water protocol. The surface of the glass sparkled but did not remove the water spots.
I believe this to be material and/or installation defect that allowed moisture to collect between the double pane glass resulting in the checker-board appearance following a hot shower and the subsequent appearance of water spots, none of which is on the surface. Unfortunately, we may have waited too long for another warranty replacement while pursuing installer recommendations to remove ” hard water spots”. Bottom line,something has to be done as it is getting worse.
How do you suggest we proceed and how do we prevent this from occurring again on the next glass replacement?
HELP!!!
Rob Hailes
Hi Rob,
Laminated glass is basically two pieces of glass that are laminated together with clear plastic. It is impossible to tell this by looking straight through the glass with the naked eye. This is the type of glass that is used in the windshield of your car. It is a type of safety glass, and meets code for showers (unless the local authority having jurisdiction says otherwise).
The problem is that the manufacturer and supplier of the glass will not give you a warranty for use in a shower enclosure. The edges of the laminated glass need to be protected from being exposed to water directly, like in the case of a frameless shower enclosure. These panels will normally work out fine when the edges are captured (framed), but when the edges are exposed they are vulnerable to what is known as “delamination.” The glass begins to pull away from the plastic lamination and vice-versa.
Without seeing your glass, that is what I am guessing is happening in your situation. The solution is to replace the laminated glass with tempered.
I hope this helps,
-Chris
