New Build - Bifold door glass shattered

fuss1707

Evening
just looking for some advice, I came home tonight to find one of the lanes of glass in my bifold doors shattered from the heat (checking on cctv nothing hot the glass it was spontaneous) after ringing the emergency line for our developers they informed me that they wouldn’t send anyone out as it was no longer under warrantee, we have been in the property for a year. Where do I stand with this?

Aylesbury_Duck

fuss1707 said:

Evening
just looking for some advice, I came home tonight to find one of the lanes of glass in my bifold doors shattered from the heat (checking on cctv nothing hot the glass it was spontaneous) after ringing the emergency line for our developers they informed me that they wouldn’t send anyone out as it was no longer under warrantee, we have been in the property for a year. Where do I stand with this?

Emergency?  You're possibly getting through to the wrong people by overplaying it. 

You need to dig out your warranty paperwork to see if what they're saying is correct.  It may well be, but if not, the paperwork should explain how to go about exercising your warranty rights. 

fuss1707

Yes reported to the emergency line as I’ve got a young child in the house and as it’s open plan there is no way of “cordoning” this area off. Will dig out the paperwork but wasn’t sure if they came under the 10 year building guarantee

Aylesbury_Duck

You may have considered it an emergency, but it isn't one.  I assume you're still able to live there safely or have you moved out temporarily, given the apparent danger?

Their emergency line is probably for things like a burst pipe or collapsed roof, so you may have been misinformed by someone not knowledgeable about any warranty on glazing.  Have a look at the NHBC website.  It's possible this is covered under the first two year part of the 10 year guarantee, unless glazing units are specifically excluded.  I know that wear and tear or maintenance matters are excluded so it's possible they will try and classify it as wear, suggesting you haven't operated the bifold doors correctly or similar, so make sure you've been operating them as per the instructions for them.

I'm being deliberately cynical about the whole "emergency" thing because a. it may have led you down the wrong path and b. people who overplay things like this don't necessarily get the action they need.  Do your research, contact the developer armed with facts and keep the drama out of it.

68ComebackSpecial

The heat may have caused the glass to shatter after it had been previously compromised by impact damage. Don't underestimate the damage a young child can do! I have a glass half-height wall dividing a split level living area and our daughter managed to put a crack across one corner by whacking it with a walking stick when she was 18 months old. It's going to be pretty much impossible to prove that the breakage wasn't caused by accidental damage.

Aylesbury_Duck

68ComebackSpecial said:

The heat may have caused the glass to shatter after it had been previously compromised by impact damage. Don't underestimate the damage a young child can do! I have a glass half-height wall dividing a split level living area and our daughter managed to put a crack across one corner by whacking it with a walking stick when she was 18 months old. It's going to be pretty much impossible to prove that the breakage wasn't caused by accidental damage.

Yes, and the builder may reasonably argue that the glass coped with much higher temperatures for sustained periods over the summer, so some form of impact or wear has occurred in the meantime.

OP, they may ask you to have someone inspect the doors and report.