c/glaziers

Wasted $150 on a cheap glass cutter that couldn't even score a straight line on 1/4 inch plate

Picked up a no-name cutter from a hardware store in Phoenix last month, and it dulled after like 3 cuts. Has anyone else had better luck with a specific brand that actually holds an edge?

Serious question, is a 5% waste factor on big storefront jobs still realistic?

I was talking to a guy at the supply house who said he always orders 10% extra on anything over 100 square feet. He told me, 'A single bad cut on a big piece of low-iron glass and you're out $300 and a whole day.' But my old boss drilled into me that 5% was the standard and anything more was poor planning. I'm doing a 500 sq ft job next month and I'm stuck between these two numbers. What's your take on the right amount of overage for commercial work?

Shoutout to the job in Dallas where I saw a big difference in sealant failure after just 2 years

We did a storefront in Dallas back in 2021 and the silicone they used started peeling off the glass by last summer, but the spot where we used a different primer held up fine. Has anyone else seen a specific brand of sealant fail way faster than expected?

The day a 10-foot curved glass panel showed up with the wrong radius

Got a call for a high-end shower enclosure in a new build over in Westlake. The spec sheet clearly said a 48-inch radius, but the crate from the supplier had a 36-inch panel inside. Had to call the architect, delay the tile guys by two days, and eat the cost of a temp cover. Ever had a supplier mistake throw your whole schedule off like that?

Cutting down on waste on a big Reno job with a simple layout trick

We had a commercial job in Reno with over 50 custom tempered lites, and the waste from the cutting patterns was killing our margin. My lead, Frank, suggested we lay out all the digital templates on the cutting table software first, then manually rotate a few by 15 degrees to nest them better. We saved almost 12 sheets of glass across the whole project. Anyone else have a go-to method for optimizing material use on big orders?

Just realized how much old glass in historic buildings weighs

I was reading a report from a restoration project on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. They said a single original window pane from 1895, about 36 by 48 inches, can weigh over 80 pounds because of the old, dense glass formula. I always figured old glass was lighter, not heavier. Has anyone else had to handle glass that heavy on a job?

Heard a homeowner in Denver tell his buddy that tempered glass is just a scam to charge more

PSA: A client in Denver asked for 'smart glass' in their bathroom remodel... I had to look it up.

Vent: Tried that new UV-cure sealant on a big storefront job in Denver and it failed hard

Honestly, I followed the spec sheet to the letter on a 20-foot run of insulated units, but after three days in direct sun the sealant turned brittle and started pulling away. Ngl, I'm back to trusting my old polysulfide method for anything over 10 feet, what's your go-to for high UV exposure areas?

Had to pick between a standard 1/4 inch and laminated for a big storefront job in Tacoma

The client wanted the glass for a new coffee shop on 6th Ave, and the budget was tight. I went with the laminated because the spot gets a lot of foot traffic and I was worried about break-ins. It cost about $400 more for the whole job, but the peace of mind was worth it. Anyone have a good supplier for laminated sheets in the Puget Sound area that doesn't kill you on delivery?

Can we talk about how much glass a skyscraper actually uses?

I was reading an article about a new building going up in Chicago and it said the curtain wall will use over 350,000 square feet of glass. That number just blew my mind, I had no idea a single project could use that much material. It made me think about the sheer scale of the panels and the logistics of getting them all up there without a single break. I've only ever done residential and small commercial jobs, so the planning for something that big is hard to picture. Has anyone here ever been part of a skyscraper glazing crew? What's the biggest single pane you've ever had to install?

Back when the shop in Tacoma first started pushing those UV-cure sealants, I thought it was just a gimmick.

I was sure the old two-part polysulfide was the only thing that would hold up long term, especially on big commercial units. Then I had to redo a failed job on a south-facing storefront after just two years, and the UV stuff the supplier gave me as a replacement is still perfect five years later. Anyone else have a change of heart on a new product after seeing it work in the real world?

Showerthought: The aquarium downtown made me think about glass thickness differently

I took my niece to the city aquarium yesterday and stood in front of their big shark tank for a while. It's a huge panel, maybe 30 feet wide, and you can see a tiny curve at the very edges. It hit me that the water pressure must be insane, and the glass has to be way thicker than anything we do in houses. I always just follow the charts for residential stuff, but seeing it in person made the engineering click. Has anyone here ever worked on a big commercial tank like that?

PSA: Heard a guy at the supply house say he never uses a certain sealant for overhead glass anymore

He was telling his buddy about a job in Tempe where it failed after 18 months. I always thought it was fine, but now I'm switching to a different brand for anything vertical or sloped. Anyone have a go-to for exterior overhead panels?

Warning: I was using the same old caulk for years until a guy in Denver said something

I was grabbing a tube of the standard silicone I always use at the supply house, and this older installer next to me pointed at it and said, 'You know, that stuff will yellow on south-facing glass in about 18 months, right?'. He told me to switch to a specific UV-resistant polyurethane sealant for those jobs, and it completely changed how I think about long-term installs. What's your go-to sealant for big, sunny storefronts that has held up the best?

Why does nobody talk about the time a bird flew straight through a brand new storefront window?

I just finished installing a 10-foot tempered glass panel at a bakery downtown yesterday, and before I could even pack up my tools, a pigeon flew right into it at full speed. The glass didn't break, but the bird left a perfect, greasy outline of itself, like a cartoon ghost. Has anyone else had a job 'christened' by local wildlife like that?

Spent $400 on a digital level for big storefront jobs, and I'm split on it.

On one hand, it saved my back and got the mullions dead straight on a 20-foot run last week. On the other, it feels like a fancy crutch for something a good old spirit level and chalk line should do. Anyone still swear by the old ways, or is digital the only way to go now?

Question about a comment on my old-school glazing point technique

A homeowner in Denver watched me hand-set points on a 12-over-12 sash last week and said, 'I didn't know anyone still did that,' which made me wonder if we're losing the basic skills by defaulting to modern sealants for every single job.

Vent: The whole week was a write-off after that custom curved glass job in Brentwood...

Vent: That week we had to replace 48 panes of historic wavy glass...

Got a call last Tuesday for an emergency job at the old theater downtown, a storm blew out a whole section of the original 1920s glass. The owner wanted it all replaced with exact matches, which meant hunting down a supplier who still makes that specific wavy pattern. By Friday, we'd installed 48 panes, each one hand-cut and fitted because none of the openings were truly square. What made it stand out was the pressure to keep the look perfect while working against the clock and a tight $15k budget. Has anyone else had a job where the material sourcing was the real battle?

Can we talk about using a heat gun on tempered glass?

I was on a job in Tampa last week, trying to remove a stuck vinyl decal from a storefront door. The glass was clearly tempered, but my partner insisted on using the heat gun anyway. He set it to 450 degrees and held it about six inches away. We heard a loud pop and the whole panel just shattered into a million pieces. I had to call the shop for a rush replacement, which cost the client an extra $200. Has anyone else had a boss or crew member push for a method you knew was wrong?

Had to replace a 12-foot curved glass panel in a Miami hotel lobby last month

The old one got cracked by a delivery cart, and the new piece took three of us to carry in. The heat and humidity made the sealant set up way too fast, so we had to work in short bursts. Anyone else had a big install go sideways because of the weather?

Had to cut a custom piece for a pet lizard's tank last month and the owner wanted it shaped like a leaf

I was working on a job in Springfield and the client brought in a sketch of a giant leaf for their iguana's new enclosure. Spent half a day grinding the glass to match the weird curves, and the lizard just ignored it and slept on a rock. Has anyone else had to make something this odd for an animal?

That curved shower door in the old Craftsman house took me two full days to get the silicone bead perfect.

I had to re-cut the glass twice and ended up using a new brand of sealant, ProGlaze, because the old stuff kept pulling away from the tile, so what's your go-to method for a clean, lasting seal on a tricky radius?

Rant: A big custom shower panel cracked on me during install yesterday

It was a 72 by 48 inch piece of 3/4 inch thick clear tempered glass for a high end bathroom job. I had it perfectly set in the channel, everything looked good, and then I heard that awful pop sound when I was just starting to tighten the final clamp. Now I'm stuck between two ways of thinking. One side says it was a flaw in the glass itself, maybe from the tempering process, and nothing I did would have stopped it. The other side says maybe my pad on the clamp was worn down and I put pressure on a bad spot. What's your take on sudden cracks during a routine install? Ever had one you're sure wasn't your fault?