It takes several days for concrete to chemically bond to glass. Although within the first day or two it can be pushed off with your finger. Silicone caulk takes only several hours to cure depending on what type. Paint will harden up in less time than that. Mineral deposits can form and bond to glass or coated glass in less than an hour, sometimes only minutes. And certain acids will etch glass in literally seconds! Of course scratches happen instantly.
As the GANA Bulletin explains when something more than a mop and a squeegee are necessary to clean a window this is Non-Routine window cleaning. Which demands special techniques and products to safely accomplish. Sometimes there is nothing that can be done and the windows will need to be replaced. Unfortunately general contractors and sub laborers such as painters, and concrete workers have no knowledge of these facts. Until it is too late. Our job has become twofold. It involves the actual work of window cleaning. Whether that be routine or nonroutine. But it also and especially has become one of education. That is one of the biggest reasons I am writing this post. Please use it in any way you chose to accomplish that end.
One of the most effective ways we can educate our existing and potential customers is by demonstrations either live or by means of short videos. Which I will be working on and have been promising you for quite some time now. Another way is by means of real life documentations of actual jobs. This should include quality pictures and videos of actual cases. The IWCA Glass Committee is right now in the process of compiling a list of actual quality pictures that can be used for educational purposes.
Documenting a potential job should include an accurate description of the problem(s). It should include a write up of the building. How many windows and their dimensions. What happened to the windows? Were they covered with concrete, stained, splattered with paint, smeared with silicone caulk, etched with acid, scratched by a sub-laborer, or some other type of damage? What would have prevented this problem and how much would that have cost including what would have been a routine window cleaning? What remedy was now needed and what became the cost of what has become a non-routine window cleaning? It would also be of interest to note what the total cost per window would be to replace.
Another unfortunate circumstance comes up when an inexperienced janitorial company or window cleaning company is called in to find an answer. In so doing the wrong abrasives or acids can be used that do further harm to the windows. The glass can very easily be etched, or scratched. Low e coatings can also be etched/stripped off, or scratched. Plastic glazing can be chemically crazed or hazed. Both of these conditions are usually permanent and cannot be repaired. Which can bring on a lawsuit. I suggest at this point reading my previous article on restoring windows and lawsuits.
If you would like some help in documenting any case reports just send me an email and we can discuss it.
Written by Henry Grover Jr.
henrygroverjr@gmail.com
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1 comment:
nicely done the true article
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