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Where's my glass?

Does what it says on the tin
bungeejumper
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Where's my glass?

#420512

Postby bungeejumper » June 18th, 2021, 3:12 pm

Probably a bigger question about building material shortages in general, but bear with me. :roll:

About ten weeks ago, I posted here about a five foot pane of toughened glass in my greenhouse that had spontaneously shattered. (viewtopic.php?f=40&t=28804). And I ended with the encouraging news that a bright young local company had sold me a replacement pane for barely twenty quid.

Well, they had and they hadn't. I paid them, but after three weeks they said my glass was "still in manufacturing", and two weeks after that they said the same thing again. (Explanatory note, you make toughened glass by heating a pane of standard glass and then cooling in a special machine. It takes time, and logistics.) But feck it, I still had a hole in my greenhouse, so I ordered a second toughened pane from the biggest local supplier.

And guess what? Five weeks later it hasn't arrived, and this second lot don't know when it'll be delivered. This getting beyond a coincidence.

So what's going on? I've heard about shortages of building supplies, which are due to:

1) Covid home-improvers buying everything up.
2) Covid labour shortages creating product shortages.
3) Brexit causing transport difficulties.
4) Suez Canal blockages causing transport difficulties.
5) China hoarding all the shipping containers, so they've become too expensive for many producers.
6) China building fewer houses.
7) China building more houses.
8) A global shortage of sand for making glass. (Seriously.... )
9) The global economic contraction.
10) The global economic surge.

My guess? Big UK builders are ridiculously busy, and they're snaffling up all the building materials in the yards so that retailers who deal with the general public aren't getting a look in. But what have other Fools been experiencing?

Late unexpected development:: My wife was strimming the lawn yesterday, and a pebble shot up and hit another pane of glass in our greenhouse, about six feet up from the ground. Bang, click, click, click, another pile of granulated sugar. She was more than a little upset about it. Relax, I said, I've ordered two panes of glass, and two panes of glass is what we need. Forward thinkers don't get much more forward than me. :lol:

Bit of a pain, though. And I still have no idea when the stuff will arrive. Sheesh. Thanks for listening. :|

BJ

UncleEbenezer
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Re: Where's my glass?

#420514

Postby UncleEbenezer » June 18th, 2021, 3:25 pm

bungeejumper wrote:Thanks for listening. :|

BJ

If your glass hasn't arrived by this evening, drink it straight from the bottle.

forgotusername
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Re: Where's my glass?

#420525

Postby forgotusername » June 18th, 2021, 3:51 pm

Similar problem here. Ordered a new aluminium window to be sprayed in two colours, inside and outside, after speaking to window manufacturer. They said it takes 4 weeks because it's a two colour job. Fine, ordered through a local window supplier mid March and waited. After 6 weeks no news so rang manufacturer and asked "how long to make a two colour window?" 4 weeks he said. Why then have I been waiting 6 weeks? After which he wouldn't discuss with me because technically it wasn't my window, it belonged to the local window supplier.

Eventually after making a song and dance on a regular basis my new window was fitted 12 weeks after being ordered.One of the panes of glass was badly scratched so has been reordered but at leat I have glass in my window.

My local window company said this manufacturer was one of the best, others were worse. If that's true there must be some real horror stories about getting new windows.

I can only presume that demand is exceeding the capacity of companies to meet normal delivery times. Whether that's due to lack of materials or labour shortages I don't know but I agree the big boys will be making sure they get their orders filled ahead of small fry. After all, they spend huge amounts and can take their business elsewhere if they fell let down.

Mike4
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Re: Where's my glass?

#420611

Postby Mike4 » June 18th, 2021, 8:23 pm

bungeejumper wrote:Bit of a pain, though. And I still have no idea when the stuff will arrive. Sheesh. Thanks for listening. :|


OMG how can you possibly have missed such a golden opportunity for a groaning pun?

"Bit of a pane, though"... Shirley!

quelquod
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Re: Where's my glass?

#420629

Postby quelquod » June 18th, 2021, 10:06 pm

Different experience for me. I ordered 2 dg windows online to replace the well-rotted wooden ones in my garage in April. Promised 3 weeks, came in 4. I managed to crack a pane giving the rather tight beading laldy (*) so ordered a unit online. Chose free delivery (Fifer y’know) in 28 days, came in 20. Pretty fair service really.

* didn’t notice that the unit had slid across with the bead and snagged it on a screwhead- rats! Still, SWMBO thinks it looks nice - brownie points!

88V8
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Re: Where's my glass?

#421121

Postby 88V8 » June 21st, 2021, 11:13 am

bungeejumper wrote:.....a five foot pane of toughened glass in my greenhouse that had spontaneously shattered.

Toughened glass ... what an invention... glass industry job creation scheme, and burglars' friend.

V8

jaizan
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Re: Where's my glass?

#422418

Postby jaizan » June 25th, 2021, 10:18 pm

If the window suppliers are that unreliable in terms of quality control and timing promises, how on earth are we to trust them to fill the cavities with argon gas where specified ?

I've no idea how we check that, but we are paying the heating bill if insulation efficiency is not as it should be.

JessUK98
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Re: Where's my glass?

#425449

Postby JessUK98 » July 7th, 2021, 9:54 am

It took a couple of months longer than quoted for the guys to fit 2 new back doors for me, and they said it was because of a problem getting the glass for the doors as well.


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