Shattered Bathtub Doors...What to Do?!?

Yeah I need decals on my mirrored glass to my office; birds come flying and run right into it.


Loud and scary when it happens.

Oh yeah. I have a garden window, the cardinals seem to fly into it. I got decals on it, too. It works,

The windshield. It was unbelieveable. I sat covered in small sharp pieces of glass. I had cuts all over my face. I was still picking out small embedded pieces one year later, pieces the medical field missed. I had small pieces cut my eyes. When I got out of the car the windshield glass dripped off of me. The other side of the windshield was large smashed jagged pieces. Very dangerous looking pieces. The bike, a Harley, smashed thru the glass and pushed the windshield into me. Believe me, they where small and sharp. Trust me on this one. I saw this first hand.

The sliding glass door, yes broke into some large pieces but, where my son walked where his belt buckle hit ( he is a very tall kid) that glass smashed into small pieces and rained down on him. Like son like mother, this poor kid also, got glass cuts on his face and neck. He was lucky, very lucky.

The pyrex dish might had been my own fault. I had it in the oven at 350 and took the food out and placed the dish into the sink, where I promptly turned on the cold water. Well, I learned a lesson there. It exploded and what didn't break up, I could still hear cracking a good 5 minutes later.

glass

I had a car accident and the motorcyclist hit my windshield ( he was drunk) and the glass shattered into sharp pieces which cut into my face.

American cars use laminated safety glass which breaks like any other piece of glass, but the plastic lamination holds it somewhat in place so it doesn't fly around. European cars use tempered glass for the windshield, but since tempered glass become opaque if it shatters but does not fall out of its frame, there is an oval area that is not tempered in front of the driver so he can maintain visibility after an incident. If something were to impact that oval it WOULD shatter like a house window and the glass fragments would fly around and be the equivalent of many spears. That is one reason why European cars are not allowed into the USA until the windshield is replaced.

I guess that would explain it. Thank you HJ.

shattered bathtub Kohler door - it happened to me too

Well, the same just happened to me today with a Kohler glass sliding door. I had taken a shower an hour before and luckly I was in the kitchen with my infant son. All of a sudden I hear this huge crash, I walked into the bathroom, and sure enough one of the sliding glass doors was in a million pieces on the floor...crackling?!?!

We just had it installed 11 months ago so this is quite a surprise. We bought the Kohler brand because their supposedly higher quality but now I'm starting to wonder. Reading your story, good thing my 4 year wasn't taking a bath in our tub like usual.

Now I'm off to browse Kohler's website hoping to find out what my options are. Thank you for your story, I will definitely NOT use Kohler or glass as a replacement.

tisabelli said:

Well, the same just happened to me today with a Kohler glass sliding door. I had taken a shower an hour before and luckly I was in the kitchen with my infant son. All of a sudden I hear this huge crash, I walked into the bathroom, and sure enough one of the sliding glass doors was in a million pieces on the floor...crackling?!?!

We just had it installed 11 months ago so this is quite a surprise. We bought the Kohler brand because their supposedly higher quality but now I'm starting to wonder. Reading your story, good thing my 4 year wasn't taking a bath in our tub like usual.

Now I'm off to browse Kohler's website hoping to find out what my options are. Thank you for your story, I will definitely NOT use Kohler or glass as a replacement.

Click to expand...

That 'crackling' sound you're noticing is the sound that tempered glass makes after it shatters. This isn't a good sign that it's happened multiple times on fairly new units.

HE

Hmmmm

Are we ready for a Chinese glass recall?

Don't worry the chinese will probably execute the person in charge of the plant... The quality of their stuff will improve soon!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/business/worldbusiness/11execute.html

Redwood said:

Hmmmm

Are we ready for a Chinese glass recall?

Don't worry the chinese will probably execute the person in charge of the plant... The quality of their stuff will improve soon!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/business/worldbusiness/11execute.html

Click to expand...

Hey Red,
You realize that when they do those executions they're just 'cutting their losses'..............How do you get more information out of a dead man?

Looks good in the papers, though.

HE

Just heard back from Kohler

Howard Emerson said:

That 'crackling' sound you're noticing is the sound that tempered glass makes after it shatters. This isn't a good sign that it's happened multiple times on fairly new units.

HE

Click to expand...

thanks for explaining that.
By the way, Kohler just called me and said they couldn't reimburse me my money, I'd have to go to the store that sold it to me? They would, however, only replace the door that broke. When I told them I didn't want a glass door replacement since I didn't have luck with the first one (which is why I wanted my money back) they basically said it didn't matter, they'd only replace what broke. So, to whoever wants to buy a Kohler glass bathroom door, I'd advise NOT to buy.

And I thought just me.

Had the same door shatter on me during an new install years ago.
Kohler replaced the door but would not pay for the stiches in my hand.
Thought they quit making them.

Shattered Sterling/Kohler Shower Door

I also had a Sterling/Kohler shower door (installed 5 yrs ago) basically explode when my 4-year-old slammed it shut (into its frame) with one hand. It shattered into a combination of pebble-sized pieces and small glass slivers. The projectile slivers of glass cut my son's face requiring stitches and were also embedded in his head and were removed by a doctor with tweezers. My husband was in the shower and his leg and foot had multiple cuts.
I contacted Kohler and while they did offer me a credit for the doors from the store where they were purchased as a sign of "goodwill", it was my conversation with them that was especially troubling. They said the door would be expected to possibly shatter from the force of a preschooler slamming it shut (not a very strong force or an unusual occurrance!) and that the shattering would be an "explosion" (Kohler's word) with small shards of projectile glass. They say that my door was not defective but behaved as expected. I am surprised that the product would not be sturdy enough to be used in a home with small children, or that there wouldn't be warnings of its fragility.

Tempered glass is quite strong for its thickness. But, any scratches, chips, or sharp edges (which may not be seen because of a frame, for example), is a weak point and the thing can break. Once it starts to break, in the process of relieving the stresses, it will catastrophically break. Thicker is stronger.

glass

European cars have tempered glass windshields which is one reason they cannot be imported without being revised. However they also have an untempered oval in front of the driver so that if the windshield shatters and stays in the frame the driver will be able to see where he is going.

broken glass

I had know idea tempered glass can cause horrific injuries such as the thread starter mom had described. I just don't understand how pebble size pcs of glass can cause such serious injuries.

Quote: "30 pounds of glass shards! After 20 hours in the hospital to close up some of the horrible wounds, and after a significant loss of blood, he received dozens of stitches"

You have got to be freaking kidding me. That glass sounds like it was never tempered, or some how was tempered wrong. I would have an expert took at it immediately to determine what kind of glass that was.

Sterling 5300

I personally installed a Sterling 5300 sliding glass shower door unit in my home several years ago. I have no complaints about this product; the doors have never been loose and the wheels have not presented any problems. I understand this model was discontinued a few years ago; however, I would definitely purchase another 5300 if it were still being produced. My young children have never experienced problems in its use.

Here's some wood for you to knock on.

Freak accidents happen all the time. I hope your son is feeling ok. It's not wrong to use sliding shower doors but before having one installed in your bathroom, research about the product and its manufacturer. The last thing we want is seeing our loved ones hurt by products unscrupulously manufactured.