prettyflamingo
New Member
The Star has a theory...
http://media.thestar.topscms.com/images/a3/4a/59838bb543dfbb912a35b66a8d1c.jpg
http://media.thestar.topscms.com/images/a3/4a/59838bb543dfbb912a35b66a8d1c.jpg
Automation Gallery
Superstar
I think then its time for laminated glass... oh but then its double the cost, still better than a lawsuit.
I called it..good move
Toronto condo developer to replace balcony glass
The Toronto condominium developer at the centre of a controversy over glass falling on the city's streets, has announced it is replacing all of the glass in the balconies of three of its buildings.
The buildings, all in downtown Toronto, will have the existing tempered glass used in their balconies replaced with laminated glass.
More....http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/08/17/toronto-condo-glass.html
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dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
Kudos to Lanterra for doing this right. Good on them.
CityPlaceN1
Senior Member
Joking right? They got caught. We've been talking about this for months here at Urban Toronto. It took how many pieces to come down before they finally woke up?
Northern Magus
Active Member
Ah, the power of bad publicity. But at least they're biting the bullet rather than bunkering.
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
As I recall, two pieces came down at first several months apart, a very unusual occurrence. After that every balcony system was checked by Building Inspectors and passed. When it started again during the heatwave a few weeks back the decision was made to remove all balcony glass and railings in the north tower. Then One Bedford happened, two panels blow in less than a week and in the middle of all that a panel blows from the south tower. Yesterday they announce all three building's balcony systems will be replaced with laminated glass when in fact the glass used was possibly defective to begin with which isn't Lanterra's fault if that's the case. Further, they'll use the more expensive laminated glass going forward. So, good on them. Nothing from Daniels yet re: Festival Tower.
You're looking for conspiracies where there are none. Lanterra weren't trying to cheap out: they've been bitten by bad glass, likely not tempered properly, as has been suggested by U of T Engineering Prof Doug Perovic. No developer wants their reputation to take a hit like this - you cannot continue to develop if you build unsafe buildings, plain and simple.
At first it seemed that is was only a problem with the north tower at Murano, so Lanterra announced that they would pay to fix that. Now there have been a couple of incidents at One Bedford, and one at Murano south. So now they will pay to replace the glass in all three buildings simply because it makes sense for everyone. They have also announced that effective immediately all of Lanterra's projects will have laminated glass for their balcony glazing. Good solution!
The balconies will get fixed and Lanterra will soldier on.
42
Masin
New Member
http://www.lanterradevelopments.com/
They've made an announcement on their website. The first thing that shows up is the announcement..
They've made an announcement on their website. The first thing that shows up is the announcement..
ladyscraper
man alive
This is definitely the way they had to deal with it to ensure that people will buy their future condos.
Automation Gallery
Superstar
Im curious if the laminated glass will have a different visual effect than the tempered glass on the building.
drum118
Superstar
Flaws discovered in exploding glass balconies
Published On Thu Aug 18 2011
Liam Casey Staff Reporter
Microscopic imperfections buried within the pane are behind the spate of exploding glass balconies on downtown condo towers, an engineer says.
Mark Brook is a partner at BVDA Façade Engineering which is analyzing glass from the north tower of the Murano building, where at least nine panes have exploded since last September.
Brook recently discovered nickel sulfide crystals in two shattered panes. These crystals grow over time, which stresses the glass. If the imperfection is in the right place, the pressure builds until the pane explodes.
“It’s either bullets or inclusions,” Brook said. “And there’s no evidence someone’s shooting at the balconies.”
To get a definitive answer, Brook needed at least one of two specific bits of glass where the explosion originated — the portion containing the nickel sulfide crystal. That’s nearly impossible when a pane explodes into hundreds of pieces strewn across a busy street.
But the engineering firm was lucky. It had been testing intact panels from the north tower of the Murano building as the developer took them down. One night, a pane resting against a wall in the testing facility exploded. They found their specific glass bit.
“It’s not poor installation,” Brook said. “It’s not wind, it’s not the weather, it’s these imperfections.”
Brook first suspected the faulty glass was from a bad batch. It was actually several contaminated batches from manufacturing facilities in the United States that ended up in Toronto.
“Exploding glass isn’t that abnormal,” Brook said. “It’s just been making the news because it’s been exploding onto busy streets like Bay St.”
Brook’s firm has been contracted by Lanterra Developments to examine the glass on three of its condos where balcony railings have shattered: the two Murano towers as well as One Bedford Rd. The developer has said it will replace the tempered panes with the safer laminated variety — an inner layer of tempered glass and an outer layer of heat-strengthened glass sandwiching a sheet of plastic — on these and all future projects.
Glass has also shattered on three Toronto buildings built by other developers.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1041662--flaws-discovered-in-exploding-glass-balconies?bn=1
Published On Thu Aug 18 2011
Liam Casey Staff Reporter
Microscopic imperfections buried within the pane are behind the spate of exploding glass balconies on downtown condo towers, an engineer says.
Mark Brook is a partner at BVDA Façade Engineering which is analyzing glass from the north tower of the Murano building, where at least nine panes have exploded since last September.
Brook recently discovered nickel sulfide crystals in two shattered panes. These crystals grow over time, which stresses the glass. If the imperfection is in the right place, the pressure builds until the pane explodes.
“It’s either bullets or inclusions,” Brook said. “And there’s no evidence someone’s shooting at the balconies.”
To get a definitive answer, Brook needed at least one of two specific bits of glass where the explosion originated — the portion containing the nickel sulfide crystal. That’s nearly impossible when a pane explodes into hundreds of pieces strewn across a busy street.
But the engineering firm was lucky. It had been testing intact panels from the north tower of the Murano building as the developer took them down. One night, a pane resting against a wall in the testing facility exploded. They found their specific glass bit.
“It’s not poor installation,” Brook said. “It’s not wind, it’s not the weather, it’s these imperfections.”
Brook first suspected the faulty glass was from a bad batch. It was actually several contaminated batches from manufacturing facilities in the United States that ended up in Toronto.
“Exploding glass isn’t that abnormal,” Brook said. “It’s just been making the news because it’s been exploding onto busy streets like Bay St.”
Brook’s firm has been contracted by Lanterra Developments to examine the glass on three of its condos where balcony railings have shattered: the two Murano towers as well as One Bedford Rd. The developer has said it will replace the tempered panes with the safer laminated variety — an inner layer of tempered glass and an outer layer of heat-strengthened glass sandwiching a sheet of plastic — on these and all future projects.
Glass has also shattered on three Toronto buildings built by other developers.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1041662--flaws-discovered-in-exploding-glass-balconies?bn=1
doug
Active Member
Cheap american glass!
Solaris
Senior Member
Cheap american glass!
Well at least we can passing the blame to cheap products made in China !!
Edward
Senior Member
Good to see some answers.
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
Tests were also conducted at an engineering lab at U of T and they came up with the same preliminary results.