Builders damaged glass on double glazed french doors

SCoomby

Hi there

My partner has just cleaned the windows and doors on our brand new garden room extension and has discovered that the French doors have chips and scratches caused by our builder. They are all UPVC double glazed units and the damage is very noticeable unfortunately. In the extension we have a back door, French door set (2 doors and 2 demi panels) and 2 windows. The back door and French door set were re-used from the existing property and they were unmarked at the time. The 2 windows are brand new and were fitted once the roof was installed. The existing back door and French door set was moved into the extension on the same day. It looks like the French doors were damaged when they were building the walls probably when they were cutting up the blocks. There are no marks on the 2 new windows however.

In addition, verbally and in writing I specifically said that any damage caused to the property must be repaired and that the existing Windows and doors (near where the extension is being built) are covered in sheets to protect them during the build. He had agreed to these terms but did not cover up the windows up as requested. I queried him about this at the time and he said it will not be necessary.
Can these double glazed window panes be repaired or will they have to be replaced? Where do I stand with the builder? I connected him yesterday regarding the damage and he blew his top and his whole conversation was full of attitude. He wasn't at all apologetic.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.


Steve

Owain_Moneysaver

You haven't paid him yet have you?

Take photos of all the damage.

keystone

If he damaged the DG units he should replace them or pay to have them replaced. He should be man enough to 'fess up if it was his guys. But you need to be nice rather than accusational and confrontational. BTW - you can't repair a DG unit.

The keys here are probably a) the time at which you noticed the damage, b) the time at which you advised him of it and c) the timespan betwen the two. If theres a large gap you've prolly given him wriggle room.

Cheers

greenface

is it the upvc frames or the glass units ?

SCoomby

Thanks for the replies. It's the glass units, all 4 of them :-(

macka0

i didnt think that toughened glass would chip without smashing... so i would check what kind of glass is in them

docmatt

macka0 wrote: »

i didnt think that toughened glass would chip without smashing... so i would check what kind of glass is in them

yeah it can still scratch mate like normal glass, like you say a deep chip could trigger it to pop

greenface

If it was in the frame it cant really chip . It cant chip if its toughened but laminated can but only at the edges and If its not out of the frame ? the glass may have been removed while work was going on. Also give it a good clean up just in case its not a scratch but a deep down mark (that maybe hard to shift. We can sometimes buff a scratch out with Jewlers rouge but the price has gone down alot for toughened.Unless its huge or special (leads,bevels,antisun etc) make the builder replace them.

NeverInDebt

You can get scratches repaired on glass but it depends on how deep they are. I had mine patio (new doors) scratched be careless fitter and had then polished and as good as new

1984ReturnsForReal_2

SCoomby wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. It's the glass units, all 4 of them :-(

How long ago was the work done?