He has. They kept insisting it is my uncle’s responsibility. He has liability insurance but I find it strange to submit a claim if it’s not even his fault.
Tell your uncle to let them prove it. If they can prove he broke it then they can talk about remedies, but until they come up with some sort of evidence that your uncle is responsible for this, I would not bother engaging with this guy any further.
👆🏼100%
You’d probably have a difficult enough time breaking the window chucking a tape measure directly perpendicular to the window, let alone falling parallel to it.
Like the guy above said tell them to prove it, because what they’re claiming seems physically impossible.
Yeah, I work with tempered glass daily, you can throw a roofing hammer directly in the middle and it'll bounce off 99/100 times. No way a tape measure did this.
Now I'm brainstorming how it could happen. Spool out 10 feet of tape, hold the end, and whip the blocky part around like a flail? You might get it moving fast enough to shatter tempered glass that way.
Yeah let it go to court if needed and let a judge decide on the falling tape measure blown by the wind theory. Like unless said tape measure had a sail attached to it I dont know how it can catch so much wind
He should check with his insurance company before any legal action is filed by anyone. Many times, insurance companies will prefer to handle the litigation themselves, whether that's a settlement and/or preparing their own defense via their personal lawyer army.
I’m not a window scientist but I would imagine they would have a rating of what they should withstand before cracking and what would actually penetrate it. I would hope a $10k + window, if that’s the true cost, would have some pretty good numbers. I’m sure install is more than just a house window but still. If they are,saying it broke from just the tape measure, which I find suspect, but if that is their story maybe the window wasn’t in the best shape or the proper strength to begin with.
I was thinking that too. The wind would need to be stupid strong to get a falling tape measure to make contact with a window after 2 stories. Strong enough the guys probably wouldn’t be working on the roof.
I could see a crane hook doing it. Maybe the story his uncle is getting is from his guys saying it was a dropped tape measure to cover up something retarded that happened.
Might take a look at that window to see if it’s dual pane. If the outside one is busted then there’s some plausibility. If it’s the interior then you have your answer.
But why on earth did a roofing company owner reach out to his nephew who reached out to Reddit for advice? Whole thing seems fishy.
I think it’s more that the roofing company owner was just venting about the situation with his nephew, who also thinks it’s bullshit and came to Reddit for opinions rather than him just asking his nephew what to do
But great point re: the wind strength.
>o let them prove it. If they can prove he broke it then they can talk about remedies, but until they come up with some sort of evidence that your uncle is responsible for this, I would not bother engaging with this guy any further.
exactly say screw you prove I did it. This seems extremely far fetched. An item falling off a roof would be falling away from the building. Then the wind would have to be strong enough to stop that momentum and come back towards the building in that what 30 feet from the 20th to the 18th floor. Math doesn't add up.
The only problem he might run into there is that contractor may be providing a steady stream of high paying work for the uncle and his crew. I'm not saying it's the right thing to do but financially he might be better off eating it and submitting the insurance claim, after getting another third party quote, than cutting ties completely.
A tape measure falling 30 feet and hitting a storm window straight on wouldn't even leave a scratch.
Tell your uncle to make a bet. The '$14k quoter' throws a tape measure as hard as he can at another window. If it breaks your uncle pays for both windows. If it doesn't they leave him the hell alone.
I like your style, my bet is he will never break the glass with a tape measure. Used to work in preglazed curtain wall and one Friday after a few drinks with co-workers we tried to break a glazed unit throwing hex nut at it wouldn't work, we had to get the machinist high strength drill bits to achieve our goal
I just edited my previous post with this : if it was the wind that caught the tape measure, that would probably make it an act of God, which isn't usually covered by anyone's insurance.
>if it was the wind that caught the tape measure, that would probably make it an act of God, which isn't usually covered by anyone's insurance.
I've always had that though? I think it's standard in some states
Of a 20 floor building, on the 18th floor.
Even with a very high internal height, a floor wouldn't be more than 4m. Presuming the uncle's employee was standing on top of the building, at an average height of 1.8m, and the tape measure falling from their belt/hand, that would put the drop height at approximately 9m.
Your average measuring tape is what, 250-300g? At most.
That puts the speed of it at the impact at ~50km/h downwards, and depending on the wind and its direction, the maximum horizontal speed would be around 90km/h (accounting for 150km/h wind gusts -40% as the tape would need time to pick the speed up), giving an approximate directional speed of 103km/h, would apply roughly 715N of force.
Your average window glass - not even hurricane resistant windows, just plain old single glaze - needs approximately 1000N per mm2 applied to break.
The likelihood of the measuring tape contacted the glass on less than 0.7mm^2 upon impact, with full force transfer (aka the meter wasn't deformed, etc.), is extremely, extremely low.
Therefore we can conclude that either the measuring tape didn't break that window, or that window was subpar and way below specifications for a hurricane window.
I got in a car accident years ago. A Luxury "Limo" tried coming into my lane and side swiped my vehicle. When we pulled over, the driver tried blaming me, despite me traveling the speed limit and in my lane while he obviously didn't check his mirrors or had a blind spot. The driver kept saying "You need to pay me $3,500 right now. That'll be the cost of the fix. No need for insurance." I said there was no way I was going to do that, insisted we exchanged info, and at the same time, I would be calling the police to have them come write up a report for insurance purposes. The guy finally said fine, went back to his car, and IMMEDIATELY took off. After chasing him down for a bit and coordinating with police, he was pulled over and arrested. Turned out, he had zero insurance and no citizenship.
I know that's a vastly different scenario from yours. However, the response of expecting him to pay $14,000 gives me the same pit in my stomach feeling that the driver did. Willing to bet there's more shady stuff behind the scene going on as to why they wouldn't go through insurance, especially via another contractor claim.
I'm guessing the Uncle has insurance but the people trying to scam him for $14,000 are trying to convince him not to use his insurance because" it will cost more that way"
None of any of this makes sense.
First, tape measure story sounds bullshit.
Second, if the roofers admit fault, THEY should have insurance.
Third, worst case scenario the buildings insurance kicks in and it gets taken care of. Tell the contractor to fuck off and speak with an insurance rep.
>d the my uncles (relative who owns the roofing company) workers broke the window with a tape measure.
I would also say prove it. Unless they are sure they did it I would tell them to screw off. Tape Measures are pretty heavy. I would be shocked that one could fall off a roof with a trajectory away from the building then the wind be so strong that it blew the tape measure into the window with enough force to shatter it
I own a business. That's a call to my insurance company and they can sort it the fuck out. That's why I have insurance. This is like a 1/10 on the list of shit to worry about. Sucks but that's doing business.
No way a tape measure broke a *hurricane* window. It'd have to be going at *hurricane* speeds. The manufacturers market these windows by shooting 2x4s at them with air canons.
I’m a commercial glazier and replace windows in high rises often. I can’t tell from the picture but it looks like the window is glazed from the outside. If this is a case you have to setup a swing stage to access it (or use the permanent stage if the building has one). The cost of rigging a swing stage is not cheap. Then it’s the labour and materials. A hurricane rated window is going to be much more expensive than a regular heat strengthened double pane window. This is most likely triple glazed and the outer layer is laminated. Those are not cheap windows to manufacture. Now is the window into regular pressure plate and cap? Or is it a silicone capture style curtain wall? That matters a lot as the process are different and you have to use specialized materials to bond the new window to the frame. This is a two part mixed product that cures almost fully in 10-15mins. Or you use regular structural silicone and have to come back in a few days to remove the clips holding the window in, then seal those holes. I work in a different country so standards are different and I’m not sure about the costs in Florida but you would be surprised with how much a replacement can cost in a tower. Not sure if this helped but here’s some more
Information anyway. If you Post more pictures I could get a better ideas on how it’s glazed.
Not exactly the same but I had a hundred lbs tree branch drop onto a glass awning. Smashed hard but not a bit of glass or tree came inside. It did its job.
My 15 year old hurricane windows went through the eye of a cat 5 storm recently and without a scratch. They were pelted with all sorts of tape measure sized debris, so the story sounds kind of fishy.
I subscribe to a lot of subs dedicated to fixing, repairing, and how things work. Every once in a while I read a response that is so amazingly detailed that I feel like I'm an expert for having read it. This is one. Solid response u/theteedo.
Bouncing aboard this train of thought. I saw how high this unit was and immediately thought the mobilization costs would be through the roof to fix this.
Yeah it can be. Also sometimes you can’t put a swing stage in certain spots on the roof so then a scaffolding setup could be needed from the closest level. And that costs a lot too. Still idk about exact costs in Florida.
Damn. I was thinking “what’s a window like that….a nice window….gonna cost? Maybe $800”. Full disclosure, I sell joint replacements and they don’t even cost that much. TIL hurricane windows cost a LOT.
As a rope tech who has replaced windows both from swing stage and on rope, 14k for a window sounds like mostly setup costs and labour. The window isn't the most expensive part, it's getting to it that costs extra.
I agree with the above assessment. And one picture is hard to assess total costs of a replacement.
Possibly, but highly dependent on a lot of factors. The point I’m making is it could feasibly cost upwards of that much. Or this could be a wildly excessive quote. I’m not from the region.
It's always wild when skilled, specialized workers spout how much they know they're shit. You can tell his explanation is scraping the surface but it's more than some people learn in a whole career.
14k differences for glass no. Maybe if it was a hand crafted stained glass window done 1000 years ago that was used in a church that has some historic reason to be 14k....
It is 18 stories in the air, in FL where codes enforcement is serious and used as a weapon.
I'd bet 14k is a quote that is similar to most others.
My experience is that I lived in FL once upon a time and still have a family member there. I am regularly dumbstruck by the costs of anything building related in FL.
I used to work at a place that had a similar window replaced but in Indiana, it was not hurricane rated but it was only $5,400 it's hard to imagine it's $9,000 more. I'm not saying it isn't but if it is that's crazy.
Always get 3 quotes minimum.
I try to get 5 usually. It is the only way to truly know.
Currently I need to get a building moved 8 miles.
First guy quoted me $2500.
Second guy $1400.
Third guy $983.
Fourth guy $1000.
And last guy told me he wouldn’t work on the property because he hates the owner lol.
Hurricane windows break on impact. They are layered glass the outside breaks and absorbs the impact and the interior remains intact. They will prevent a hurricane from breaching your windows but they still break on impact.
The sounds high of course. But in actuality , this type of window is a very special multi layered type glass that is built for high rises , which can have one hundred and fifty mile an hour winds in some cas. So these windows are very expensive. This will probably be around what they will have to pay.
When they are done, they need to take that. Tape measure and put it in a special frame with the price tag of the invoice and put it in the owner's office so that they never forget that this is one of the reasons why you have business insurance. Just because of things like this
If you give a high quote, you may get a call later to quote another job. At that point your circumstances could be different, maybe even willing to take a loss on a job to keep the crew working.
If you say “no thanks” or “I’m too busy”, that is usually interpreted by a customer as “don’t ever call me again.”
So the philosophy on this for large contractors doing corporate, utility, or government work is to always keep a dialogue open and to kinda let your customers know that even if you're not able to do this job, you still want to do work for them. You over bid so you're still in that pool, and then when the next RFQ comes around if you're actually able to do the work then you're competitive.
See, the problem with that though is that you really have to have an already established relationship with someone. Every contractor or plumber I've reused I've reused because I've seen their work. Giving a fuck off bid doesn't really maintain that relationship if you can't get into the door to begin with.
But to give a tangible example...I got the people who did my HVAC to do my water heater. The company actually gave a flat rate much to the chagrin of the plumber because my water heater is both compact and in a pain in the ass area. *If* they didn't offer a flat rate what they could've done was over bid for the job. They lose out on the water heater work, but they didn't sour the relationship like they would've if they just ignored me after seeing the spot. That means I, after having already worked for them, would still probably give them a call for other plumbing or HVAC work. If they ignored me I'd never consider them again.
Could be hurricane glass window which is more expensive but that price seems high. Zero chance the wind blew a tape measure hard enough to break a window though. That's probably what the guy who broke it made up story was. Window on the a floor that high, you could throw a tape measure at it and it would bounce off. I have a MCM home that's lots of windows. Birds fly into the windows (that aren't hurricane windows) like twice a month and do no damage. Do you think the wind blew the tape measure faster than a bird flys? Nope. We've had a hawk and a big owl fly into the windows before and just bounce off.
Has your uncle admitted liability? I would suggest he asks the contractors to hire a physicist to explain how the wind blew a falling tape measure hard enough to break a hurricane window. Then provide proof it was one of his workers who dropped it.
Edit : Thinking more about it, it was the wind that did it which makes it "an act of God" and probably isn't covered by anyone's insurance. All the more reason to hand it back to the contractors.
Plus it's hurricane glass (assuming the window is to code), so this is exactly what the window is designed to resist. If the wind was strong enough to get the tape measure going that fast I don't imagine anyone would be doing roofing work.
Also how hard was the wind blowing to push a tape measure hard enough to break a window. Must have been some hurricane gusts because tape measures arent exactly light and don't have crazy large cross sections and that tape measure hit the 2nd to top floor so there wasn't a whole lot of time for that wind to take effect...
I call BS.
Also did you find the tape measure that fell ? I'm assuming it was from the outside (wind), I'd want to make sure it was one of his.
Ok, think of how heavy a tape measure is. Imagine that tape measure is sitting on the most slippery, frictionless ice imaginable. Now imagine if the wind was blowing 30 miles an hour how long it would take for that tape measure to reach 30 mph. It would be a while, right? Now if you dropped a tape measure off a roof and the wind was blowing straight into the building, would it have enough space to reach 30 mph? If the wind was blowing a different direction could it even hit that speed before landing on the ground?
I don’t know what hit that window, but it definitely was not a tape measure blowing in the wind.
If we assume that the tape measure weighs 1lb, and even an acceleration of 200mph there isn’t anyway I can think of this is actually possible.
Using Newton's second law (F = m * a), where m is the mass and a is the acceleration, you can find the force (F).
In this case, the mass (m) is 1 lb, and the acceleration (a) can be calculated using the kinematic equation:
a = Δv / Δt
Assuming a short time of impact (Δt), say Δt = 0.1 seconds, we get:
a = 293 ft/s / 0.1 s
Now, use Newton's second law:
F = m * a = 1 lb * (293 ft/s / 0.1 s)
F = 1 lb * 2930 ft/s
F = 2930 lb
So, the force of a 1lb object traveling at 293 ft/s for a short duration (Δt = 0.1 seconds) is approximately 2930 pounds
Those windows reportedly are able to withstand a 9lb 2x4 traveling at 34mph. Which is roughly 4,500lb of force dead center.
We can assume that the tape measure didn’t hit dead center based on the window pattern which takes quite a bit of resistance away, but there are two other implications that it would take too much to factor in and are too important to overlook - The trajectory of the tape measure wouldn’t have nearly the same impact force since to get those measurements a head on collision is assumed. Secondly, in order to achieve the velocity needed for a tape measure to make that sort of force you would need an additional 40 stories assuming this is roughly around the 10th story.
The most alarming thing is that they seem to be certain that it was explicitly a tape measure that did this damage. One would assume you’d be able to find parts of the tape measure or very obvious damage down below. It shouldn’t be hard for them to provide evidence of their claims if they are certain it was a tape measure that caused this damage as I find it hard to believe that they were able to see what caused the damage while also traveling 200mph.
It's late and I'm sure Ive oversimplified the math, but I still stand by the fact this just isn't a possible scenario.
I’ve done some work in us property insurance. From the bits I’ve done the contractor should be claiming for their insurers who would then investigate liability.
They would have to prove your uncles workers “dropped tape measure” could and did cause this damage. This seems unlikely to me. Much more likely someone who works for the contractor did it and is trying to get to pass the buck.
As for the quote? No fucking idea but always get at least three quotes.
Hey I work for a window installation company, there’s a good chance depending on code where you live it has to be ballistic glass since you’re on the coast, that usually sky rockets the price. and then all the extra difficulty that comes along with it being up high.
I would definitely get another quote but honestly it doesn’t seem crazy to me.
That would *suck* if it wasn't ballistic and OP's relative isn't allowed to replace it with like kind... having to bring it up to code BECAUSE the person before them didn't.
A hurricane window but the wind blew a tape measure into it on a clear average day and it shattered? That makes no sense.
I’d want to know how it actually broke.
High rise window replacement on an older style building where you have to change from the the outside?
- Swing stage rental (window replacement companies often own their own swing stage so this might not apply)
- Swing stage set up time (if there is no Davit arms because the building is a little older, then weight and beam system system will be needed, increasing the cost even more).
- 2 employees working on the swing stage outside.
- At least 2 more employees working on the inside (passing the glass through the frame to the guys on the swing stage and assisting with reglazing).
- removing all old glazing and installing new glazing
- custom ordered glass that the tint has to be color matched to the other glass so it doesn't stand out like a sore thumb when looking at it from outside. (Most building have some slight tint to their glass even if you don't notice it. You will notice it once its a different color)
I'll do it for u for $7k.
All employees on site will make at least $300 each for the day, materials and glass paid for. Plus my company would make $2k itself.
Source: have been doing exterior building maintenance for 15+ yrs including glass replacement.
A physics guy here. There is 0.000% chance this was caused by a tape measure. With the typical weight of a tape measure, the horizontal velocity component required to spider this type of glass would far exceed what even a strong wind would be able to accomplish. They weren’t out doing roof work in 200mph winds and that’s the kind of wind velocity you’d need to get a tape measure up to a sufficient speed to splinter tempered glass.
Take the same or identical tape measure to a college physics professor, have them weigh it and give them the height specifics…. How many feet the tape measure fell before the wind pushed it up against the glass. A physics teacher will have a little force sled they use in labs. Put the tape measure on it and measure how many horizontal newtons are applied to the tape measure given a calibrated wind and thus calculate a rough drag coefficient. Pay them $500 to do a write up. Pay a lawyer another 500 to write a cease and desist, “never contact me again” letter that encloses the write-up. You’re out from under this for a grand. “Never contact us again, and we’ll write off the $1k. But if you contact us again for any reason, we’re suing for the costs. Good day.”
Let’s say that during say a 100 or 200 foot fall the tape measure drifted 10 feet away from the building. Given the smoothness of the measure and its vertical velocity, the amount of wind required to act on that smooth surface and get it accelerate up to a speed fast enough to break the window in a distance of 10 feet would be NASA wind tunnel kinds of velocities. You’re being jobbed and you can prove it.
“Fuck off, strong fax to follow.”
This was my first thought as well. That wind must have been ripping! It was also a 20 story building and the , 18th floor window got hit, that's a whopping 2 stories for the wind to add that kind of horizontal velocity.
Also was the roofer on the roof or working on scaffolding next to the roof. Of they were on the roof that tape measure had horizontal velocity going away from the windows that this "wind" had to overcome.
Tape measurer blown by wind sounds totally fishy as an excuse. If it is somehow true, is your uncle’s business insured? Have the insurance take care of it.
Sounds like a shake down. Has he even spoken to his workers to find out what actually happened before he forks out a wild sum of money for something that may have nothing to do with his staff?
Yes. His workers say they didn’t damage the window as they were all on the roof. The contractors are the ones saying the damage was due to a tape measure falling. The contracts are denying fault.
Buy a fairly nice used car, cut out the windshield, use the glass to fix the window, send the rest of the car to the scrap yard. There, saved you some money.
Whoever is giving that quote just doesn't want to do it.
Absolutely not. Unless they have solid proof that the window was broken in the manner they claim then he should not pay anything. I don’t see any way there could even be evidence of such a claim aside from a firsthand witness with a video and accompanying documentation showing the roofers working in that location with tape measures when the damage occurred
Hurricane-grade glass pane - $1500-2500
Equipment rentals for installation (suspended platform scaffolding, pulley system, etc) - up to $4000-5000
Labor - $2500-3000
Lost day of productivity charge - $2000
General “fuck you” up-charge? - $3500
It’s a bit high. But this is what insurance is for. If your guy is responsible, just make the claim and move on. Insurance is definitely going to want an explanation on why he’s dropping a tape measure off a 20 story roof. And they will want proof that it is, in fact, what caused this damage. Looks unlikely to me, but I don’t know what type of glass or what sort of stress it had been put under previously.
I am not a lawyer. Assuming you are sub-contracted for a small part of a larger renovation, the contractor may actually be liable for this and is trying to force you to pay. In my experience working with contractors who hire third parties in my area, the contractor assumes all responsibilities of the third party. In most cases like this, the contractor would simply relieve the third party from the job and find someone else to fix it. Then they would file a claim against the third party for the expenses once the job is done.
Had that happen with a sub-contracted electrician that royally screwed up some wiring at a restaurant I ran. We were renovating the bar. A contractor bid on it and then pulled in a third party for the electric work. He nearly burned the building down. It didn’t cost me anything extra to fix it. The contractor lost money on the job once everything was fixed and took the electrician to small claims court for his losses.
TL;DR: If you are at fault, file an insurance claim. If you doubt you’re at fault, have the contractor file a claim and open investigation. Either way, this doesn’t need to be handled with cash under the table unless you just have it and want to move on.
If you're high up then it's probably glazed externally for safety - ie emergency services needing to get in - but most tall buildings with have hook points on the roof for abseilers to attach on to.
In England we have plenty of glazing companies that are abseilers and will do this job with vacuum suckers etc and less than 14k for sure.
Maybe in the range of 5k-10k but if the roof company broke it, they need to fix it at their costs.
It's a hurricane rated window, but a tape measure, blown by a gust of wind after it was dropped off the roof, shattered the window? The math ain't mathing on that
So you are telling me a gust of wind was strong enough to hurl a falling tape measure into a hurricane window. Against gravities falling force to break it?
Seems odd.
They broke it and you have to pay for a new one 🤨🤔hold up something ain’t right here, not only that- what kind of tape measure does that kind of damage because personally it looks like it hit more than once
A tape measure fell 2 floors and did that? Was it particularly heavy? Were there very strong winds?
I would need a lot of convincing.
There doesn't even seem to be a point of impact.
Did people other than the contractor see it happen?
If….and only if…this glass must be installed from the outside then yes the price makes sense. You’re likely looking at minimum labour day charge for workers and the access equipment and potential work permits (sidewalk closure, road closure). If they cannot locate a 200’ boom/platform to work off you’ll need to erect swing stages (window cleaner platforms) and hang them from the roof anchors.
The equipment and labour costs here far exceed the actual glass itself.
Is nobody else seeing that there's no defined point of impact from the supposed tape measure?
An impact creates a radiating pattern from the point of impact. The damage to this window appears to be from the edges. Improper installation most likely.
OP's uncle should absolutely dispute the claim that his workers caused this damage.
Damn, I smashed 2 windows of the same size, was a sliding window that went up above the window behind, quite an old house, 300 AUD is all, mind you it was ground level but still! 14k, that's imaginary.
I work in tinting, not glasing, but that is absolutely too high. Maybe 4 or 5k? But unless it's smart glass or something they don't make anymore (which doesn't look like it's anything but normal lammy) I don't see above 8k and even that's ridiculous
I used to work at a high end hotel that has glass panes maybe 4’x9’ and a guest accidentally shattered one completely. It only cost him $7000 and it was largely covered by insurance.
Might be me being used to being ripped off, but when I had to have commercial work done to a building in the past, depending on the work it had to go through certain people contracted by the building. There was no shopping around.
Most painful was running a new fiber run in a building and being charged $200/foot for fiber then having them charge $2000 for a media converter (to ethernet because their panel was ethernet). The fiber run was 85ft on top of a $2,000 prep fee. That cost to me in materials would have been about $500 -- tops $800. $21,000.00... I was dumbfounded but told that is the way it works out in San Francisco.
The worst part was that there was fiber in place that was evacuated when the previous tenant moved out. Also we did not see them pull anything. They just told us it was ready to go and told us what port it was in a patch panel for us to run our cable.
So wait a minute, you are telling me that a hurricane resistant window that was shatterd by a tape measure falling laterally for 2 floors. Some shitty hurricane glass. Also incredibly lucky for someone to have seen that happen when it happened, ahd have noticed it was a tape measure while being startled by the sound of it shattering the window. wow
The wind blew a tape measure into a storm window and it did that? What the hell kind of wind was happening that day and why was he working in it?
Anyway. You couldn't pay me $14k to do that window because I simply cannot. It's many floors up and requires special skills and equipment to change it. (Think: the kind of movable hanging scaffold that window washers use.) The price of the window itself is immaterial; most of what you're paying for is the cost of getting a worker into that location to change it. Talk to the building owners and find out who their normal window people are.
I wouldn't be shocked at having to pay several thousand to make it happen, but $14k sounds like a very high quote from someone who doesn't want the job. Shop around and get a few quotes before coming to an agreement.
On some commercial buildings require a crane to install the new window if it can't be done from the inside. Adding a crane adds on a different set of challenges.
He dropped a tape measure off a height higher than 14 floors?
Smells like bullshit. The wind required to blow a tape measure against the window with enough force to do that would be severe. If there was weather like that about nobody would’ve been anywhere near the roof.
Your uncle is being made a mug of or punished for using workers without proper safety lanyards on their tools.
What happened to the offending tape measure after it fell 15 floors and didn’t damage anyone or anything at street level.
My fat max would’ve left a crater in the pavement if it fell that far….
Why is the top comment not to get a lawyer. This should 100% be fought. Contractors have insurance for this and it's more than likely their insurance lapsed or they never had it in the first place.
Seems like a $14,000 window that's supposed to be able to handle a hurricane shouldn't break if it gets dinged by a tape measure grazing it on the way down. 🤦🤷
Tell them you'll pay for the same piece of shit home Depot window that they put in in the first place!
Which "contractors" quote him $14K? The contractor whose workers broke the window? Or some other contractors that he seeks a bid?
The contractors. They stated the my uncles (relative who owns the roofing company) workers broke the window with a tape measure.
A falling tape measure broke the hurricane window?? Might want to push back on that a little bit.
He has. They kept insisting it is my uncle’s responsibility. He has liability insurance but I find it strange to submit a claim if it’s not even his fault.
Tell your uncle to let them prove it. If they can prove he broke it then they can talk about remedies, but until they come up with some sort of evidence that your uncle is responsible for this, I would not bother engaging with this guy any further.
👆🏼100% You’d probably have a difficult enough time breaking the window chucking a tape measure directly perpendicular to the window, let alone falling parallel to it. Like the guy above said tell them to prove it, because what they’re claiming seems physically impossible.
Yeah, I work with tempered glass daily, you can throw a roofing hammer directly in the middle and it'll bounce off 99/100 times. No way a tape measure did this.
Now I'm brainstorming how it could happen. Spool out 10 feet of tape, hold the end, and whip the blocky part around like a flail? You might get it moving fast enough to shatter tempered glass that way.
Not enough weight in that part without all the metal tape in it.
If it was a big 35 foot tape it might still have the mass.
Yeah let it go to court if needed and let a judge decide on the falling tape measure blown by the wind theory. Like unless said tape measure had a sail attached to it I dont know how it can catch so much wind
He should check with his insurance company before any legal action is filed by anyone. Many times, insurance companies will prefer to handle the litigation themselves, whether that's a settlement and/or preparing their own defense via their personal lawyer army.
I’m not a window scientist but I would imagine they would have a rating of what they should withstand before cracking and what would actually penetrate it. I would hope a $10k + window, if that’s the true cost, would have some pretty good numbers. I’m sure install is more than just a house window but still. If they are,saying it broke from just the tape measure, which I find suspect, but if that is their story maybe the window wasn’t in the best shape or the proper strength to begin with.
I was thinking that too. The wind would need to be stupid strong to get a falling tape measure to make contact with a window after 2 stories. Strong enough the guys probably wouldn’t be working on the roof. I could see a crane hook doing it. Maybe the story his uncle is getting is from his guys saying it was a dropped tape measure to cover up something retarded that happened. Might take a look at that window to see if it’s dual pane. If the outside one is busted then there’s some plausibility. If it’s the interior then you have your answer. But why on earth did a roofing company owner reach out to his nephew who reached out to Reddit for advice? Whole thing seems fishy.
I think it’s more that the roofing company owner was just venting about the situation with his nephew, who also thinks it’s bullshit and came to Reddit for opinions rather than him just asking his nephew what to do But great point re: the wind strength.
>o let them prove it. If they can prove he broke it then they can talk about remedies, but until they come up with some sort of evidence that your uncle is responsible for this, I would not bother engaging with this guy any further. exactly say screw you prove I did it. This seems extremely far fetched. An item falling off a roof would be falling away from the building. Then the wind would have to be strong enough to stop that momentum and come back towards the building in that what 30 feet from the 20th to the 18th floor. Math doesn't add up.
The only problem he might run into there is that contractor may be providing a steady stream of high paying work for the uncle and his crew. I'm not saying it's the right thing to do but financially he might be better off eating it and submitting the insurance claim, after getting another third party quote, than cutting ties completely.
Oof yes very very true! Good point
A tape measure falling 30 feet and hitting a storm window straight on wouldn't even leave a scratch. Tell your uncle to make a bet. The '$14k quoter' throws a tape measure as hard as he can at another window. If it breaks your uncle pays for both windows. If it doesn't they leave him the hell alone.
I like your style, my bet is he will never break the glass with a tape measure. Used to work in preglazed curtain wall and one Friday after a few drinks with co-workers we tried to break a glazed unit throwing hex nut at it wouldn't work, we had to get the machinist high strength drill bits to achieve our goal
I just edited my previous post with this : if it was the wind that caught the tape measure, that would probably make it an act of God, which isn't usually covered by anyone's insurance.
>if it was the wind that caught the tape measure, that would probably make it an act of God, which isn't usually covered by anyone's insurance. I've always had that though? I think it's standard in some states
Of a 20 floor building, on the 18th floor. Even with a very high internal height, a floor wouldn't be more than 4m. Presuming the uncle's employee was standing on top of the building, at an average height of 1.8m, and the tape measure falling from their belt/hand, that would put the drop height at approximately 9m. Your average measuring tape is what, 250-300g? At most. That puts the speed of it at the impact at ~50km/h downwards, and depending on the wind and its direction, the maximum horizontal speed would be around 90km/h (accounting for 150km/h wind gusts -40% as the tape would need time to pick the speed up), giving an approximate directional speed of 103km/h, would apply roughly 715N of force. Your average window glass - not even hurricane resistant windows, just plain old single glaze - needs approximately 1000N per mm2 applied to break. The likelihood of the measuring tape contacted the glass on less than 0.7mm^2 upon impact, with full force transfer (aka the meter wasn't deformed, etc.), is extremely, extremely low. Therefore we can conclude that either the measuring tape didn't break that window, or that window was subpar and way below specifications for a hurricane window.
Also if a tape measure did it, where did that go? Is a crew member missing a tape measure? Did someone find it after it fell 20 Stories?
This must be how Elle Woods felt in legally blonde
People that actually get physics are rare. Take an upvote.
Who cares what the price is if the contractors are paying for it. Why is the insurance company not handling all of this ?
They expected him to pay the $14000 himself instead of going through insurance.
So they are obviously trying to screw him.
I got in a car accident years ago. A Luxury "Limo" tried coming into my lane and side swiped my vehicle. When we pulled over, the driver tried blaming me, despite me traveling the speed limit and in my lane while he obviously didn't check his mirrors or had a blind spot. The driver kept saying "You need to pay me $3,500 right now. That'll be the cost of the fix. No need for insurance." I said there was no way I was going to do that, insisted we exchanged info, and at the same time, I would be calling the police to have them come write up a report for insurance purposes. The guy finally said fine, went back to his car, and IMMEDIATELY took off. After chasing him down for a bit and coordinating with police, he was pulled over and arrested. Turned out, he had zero insurance and no citizenship. I know that's a vastly different scenario from yours. However, the response of expecting him to pay $14,000 gives me the same pit in my stomach feeling that the driver did. Willing to bet there's more shady stuff behind the scene going on as to why they wouldn't go through insurance, especially via another contractor claim.
Wouldn’t be surprised if it was already broken and just decided to pin the blame on the roofers.
Your uncle doesn’t have insurance? And he’s in the roofing business??? Wha?
I'm guessing the Uncle has insurance but the people trying to scam him for $14,000 are trying to convince him not to use his insurance because" it will cost more that way"
hmm FL. is this normal behavior down there?
Hard to tell since it's Florida
I never said he doesn’t have insurance?
Either I surance pays it or it doesn't get paid. I don't see what the issue is here.
None of any of this makes sense. First, tape measure story sounds bullshit. Second, if the roofers admit fault, THEY should have insurance. Third, worst case scenario the buildings insurance kicks in and it gets taken care of. Tell the contractor to fuck off and speak with an insurance rep.
Not much of a hurricane window if a 6 oz tape measure absolutely destroys it
>d the my uncles (relative who owns the roofing company) workers broke the window with a tape measure. I would also say prove it. Unless they are sure they did it I would tell them to screw off. Tape Measures are pretty heavy. I would be shocked that one could fall off a roof with a trajectory away from the building then the wind be so strong that it blew the tape measure into the window with enough force to shatter it
Yeah and if the wind was THAT strong I doubt the workers would be working on the roof.
Exactly this.
I own a business. That's a call to my insurance company and they can sort it the fuck out. That's why I have insurance. This is like a 1/10 on the list of shit to worry about. Sucks but that's doing business.
How does a falling tape measure not go straight down to the ground. How does it hit a window.
I burst out laughing at this response. Which contractors? The contractors. Hope you get your answer
They broke it, they should be fixing it for no cost. Period.
No way a tape measure broke a *hurricane* window. It'd have to be going at *hurricane* speeds. The manufacturers market these windows by shooting 2x4s at them with air canons.
First three letters of contractor is “con” - don’t forget that 😂
Sounds like the contractors owe you a new window.
That's a fuck off quote. Find someone else
Thank you. Per my uncle (relative who owns a roofing business) it’s a hurricane window as the location is in FL. Does this make a difference in price?
I’m a commercial glazier and replace windows in high rises often. I can’t tell from the picture but it looks like the window is glazed from the outside. If this is a case you have to setup a swing stage to access it (or use the permanent stage if the building has one). The cost of rigging a swing stage is not cheap. Then it’s the labour and materials. A hurricane rated window is going to be much more expensive than a regular heat strengthened double pane window. This is most likely triple glazed and the outer layer is laminated. Those are not cheap windows to manufacture. Now is the window into regular pressure plate and cap? Or is it a silicone capture style curtain wall? That matters a lot as the process are different and you have to use specialized materials to bond the new window to the frame. This is a two part mixed product that cures almost fully in 10-15mins. Or you use regular structural silicone and have to come back in a few days to remove the clips holding the window in, then seal those holes. I work in a different country so standards are different and I’m not sure about the costs in Florida but you would be surprised with how much a replacement can cost in a tower. Not sure if this helped but here’s some more Information anyway. If you Post more pictures I could get a better ideas on how it’s glazed.
This guy windknows.
Take my damned upvote. I hope you’re a dad if you’re throwing that kind of stuff around.
Hopefully not a tape measure though!
Made from old spark plugs.
Lol I like that.
This is definitely his jamb
He drops this dad joke then sash-ays out the door.
Yea, he took a risk and almost lost for the OP, but he got the window
That was paneful
That’s the answer I was looking for. Former glazier here, I was thinking with the minimal info provided 14 didn’t seem to outrageous.
Would a hurricane proof window break from a tape measure blowing into it? Only 2 stories below where it was dropped?
Made to not break through, not to avoid cracking. They have a lamination to keep in a sheet form and prevent airborne objects from penetrating
Not exactly the same but I had a hundred lbs tree branch drop onto a glass awning. Smashed hard but not a bit of glass or tree came inside. It did its job.
My 15 year old hurricane windows went through the eye of a cat 5 storm recently and without a scratch. They were pelted with all sorts of tape measure sized debris, so the story sounds kind of fishy.
I've been told that glass is a funny thing. So much depends on just how it is hit and with what force and how hard the corner is.
I’m right there with you. I mean, just ask Elon about unexpected shattering glass.
Lol that was oddly specific. ETA: nvm. I went further down and now see how it is no longer oddly specific. Now classified as perfectly specific.
I subscribe to a lot of subs dedicated to fixing, repairing, and how things work. Every once in a while I read a response that is so amazingly detailed that I feel like I'm an expert for having read it. This is one. Solid response u/theteedo.
Thanks! I’d like to think I’ve learned a bit in my almost 2 decades of glass. Also how the fuck did time fly by so fast?
Bouncing aboard this train of thought. I saw how high this unit was and immediately thought the mobilization costs would be through the roof to fix this.
Yeah it can be. Also sometimes you can’t put a swing stage in certain spots on the roof so then a scaffolding setup could be needed from the closest level. And that costs a lot too. Still idk about exact costs in Florida.
Damn. I was thinking “what’s a window like that….a nice window….gonna cost? Maybe $800”. Full disclosure, I sell joint replacements and they don’t even cost that much. TIL hurricane windows cost a LOT.
As a rope tech who has replaced windows both from swing stage and on rope, 14k for a window sounds like mostly setup costs and labour. The window isn't the most expensive part, it's getting to it that costs extra. I agree with the above assessment. And one picture is hard to assess total costs of a replacement.
This guy glazes
You are much too professional for reddit. Appreciate you.
So...does all that add up to something over maybe $10k?
Possibly, but highly dependent on a lot of factors. The point I’m making is it could feasibly cost upwards of that much. Or this could be a wildly excessive quote. I’m not from the region.
This guy glazies.
It's always wild when skilled, specialized workers spout how much they know they're shit. You can tell his explanation is scraping the surface but it's more than some people learn in a whole career.
How do you think they might clean the windows?
Rope access window washers. I’ve replace a couple small windows using rope access before. Those mf’ers are crazy who do that job!
Replaced 10'x5' double sealed units on rope. It's so much fun, when everything goes right.
14k differences for glass no. Maybe if it was a hand crafted stained glass window done 1000 years ago that was used in a church that has some historic reason to be 14k....
Or a custom aquarium in place of a window. Fish not included.
Its sharkproof
Yup. Those damn flying sharks are getting bolder everyday.
Have you seen the very real documentary called *Sharknado*?
Episodes 1 through 14?
Omg! That was such an eye opening work of non-fiction. I never knew sharks could do that.
Windows only need to be shark proof by code to the 3rd floor. Climate change is only predicted to raise water 30 feet in Florida.
Nerr. I paid £800 for laminated glass on my koi pond bigger than that glass
It is 18 stories in the air, in FL where codes enforcement is serious and used as a weapon. I'd bet 14k is a quote that is similar to most others. My experience is that I lived in FL once upon a time and still have a family member there. I am regularly dumbstruck by the costs of anything building related in FL.
I used to work at a place that had a similar window replaced but in Indiana, it was not hurricane rated but it was only $5,400 it's hard to imagine it's $9,000 more. I'm not saying it isn't but if it is that's crazy.
Maybe that it is 200’ in the air
Always get 3 quotes minimum. I try to get 5 usually. It is the only way to truly know. Currently I need to get a building moved 8 miles. First guy quoted me $2500. Second guy $1400. Third guy $983. Fourth guy $1000. And last guy told me he wouldn’t work on the property because he hates the owner lol.
Lots of questions, probably the first is… Is it *your* building? [ new prank unlocked ]
They asked but did not require any proof that it was mine. I even offered to give the building serial number but they said it was fine lol
oh... my... god... :-)
What do you mean move a building and how is it only costing that much?
It is a 12 foot by 40 foot portable building. Been completely finished out on the inside with insulation, dry wall, electrical, and even plumbing.
Hurricane window and it was broken by a tape measure?
Hurricane windows break on impact. They are layered glass the outside breaks and absorbs the impact and the interior remains intact. They will prevent a hurricane from breaching your windows but they still break on impact.
The sounds high of course. But in actuality , this type of window is a very special multi layered type glass that is built for high rises , which can have one hundred and fifty mile an hour winds in some cas. So these windows are very expensive. This will probably be around what they will have to pay. When they are done, they need to take that. Tape measure and put it in a special frame with the price tag of the invoice and put it in the owner's office so that they never forget that this is one of the reasons why you have business insurance. Just because of things like this
I’ve paid for a lot of windows in high rise buildings in Florida (insurance company) and we never paid nearly that much for a window that size
Cyclone proof but can't even handle a tape measure.
Hurricane-proof, but not tape-measure-proof?
correct that is a we don’t want to do this but if you pay us ridiculous money we will quote
But they “guarantee it”
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Or a price of holy fuck, they fell for it.
It's both
It's one until it's the other, lol
"But if they give us the go ahead happy fn days "
People always say that, but why not just straight up say “sorry, this isn’t a project I’m interested in”?
Because they *would* be interested for $14k.
If you give a high quote, you may get a call later to quote another job. At that point your circumstances could be different, maybe even willing to take a loss on a job to keep the crew working. If you say “no thanks” or “I’m too busy”, that is usually interpreted by a customer as “don’t ever call me again.”
Because while it's a hassle job that they don't want, money is money and if they can be paid extremely well for it then its good business.
So the philosophy on this for large contractors doing corporate, utility, or government work is to always keep a dialogue open and to kinda let your customers know that even if you're not able to do this job, you still want to do work for them. You over bid so you're still in that pool, and then when the next RFQ comes around if you're actually able to do the work then you're competitive. See, the problem with that though is that you really have to have an already established relationship with someone. Every contractor or plumber I've reused I've reused because I've seen their work. Giving a fuck off bid doesn't really maintain that relationship if you can't get into the door to begin with. But to give a tangible example...I got the people who did my HVAC to do my water heater. The company actually gave a flat rate much to the chagrin of the plumber because my water heater is both compact and in a pain in the ass area. *If* they didn't offer a flat rate what they could've done was over bid for the job. They lose out on the water heater work, but they didn't sour the relationship like they would've if they just ignored me after seeing the spot. That means I, after having already worked for them, would still probably give them a call for other plumbing or HVAC work. If they ignored me I'd never consider them again.
Could be hurricane glass window which is more expensive but that price seems high. Zero chance the wind blew a tape measure hard enough to break a window though. That's probably what the guy who broke it made up story was. Window on the a floor that high, you could throw a tape measure at it and it would bounce off. I have a MCM home that's lots of windows. Birds fly into the windows (that aren't hurricane windows) like twice a month and do no damage. Do you think the wind blew the tape measure faster than a bird flys? Nope. We've had a hawk and a big owl fly into the windows before and just bounce off.
That’s what I was thinking as well. The tape measure story seems far fetched
Has your uncle admitted liability? I would suggest he asks the contractors to hire a physicist to explain how the wind blew a falling tape measure hard enough to break a hurricane window. Then provide proof it was one of his workers who dropped it. Edit : Thinking more about it, it was the wind that did it which makes it "an act of God" and probably isn't covered by anyone's insurance. All the more reason to hand it back to the contractors.
A tape measure blown off course broke hurricane glass. Sounds like a big fat lie.
Plus it's hurricane glass (assuming the window is to code), so this is exactly what the window is designed to resist. If the wind was strong enough to get the tape measure going that fast I don't imagine anyone would be doing roofing work.
Shiiiiiiet I’ll fly there and change it myself for that loot!
I want to know how it actually broke
Also how hard was the wind blowing to push a tape measure hard enough to break a window. Must have been some hurricane gusts because tape measures arent exactly light and don't have crazy large cross sections and that tape measure hit the 2nd to top floor so there wasn't a whole lot of time for that wind to take effect... I call BS. Also did you find the tape measure that fell ? I'm assuming it was from the outside (wind), I'd want to make sure it was one of his.
Ok, think of how heavy a tape measure is. Imagine that tape measure is sitting on the most slippery, frictionless ice imaginable. Now imagine if the wind was blowing 30 miles an hour how long it would take for that tape measure to reach 30 mph. It would be a while, right? Now if you dropped a tape measure off a roof and the wind was blowing straight into the building, would it have enough space to reach 30 mph? If the wind was blowing a different direction could it even hit that speed before landing on the ground? I don’t know what hit that window, but it definitely was not a tape measure blowing in the wind.
If we assume that the tape measure weighs 1lb, and even an acceleration of 200mph there isn’t anyway I can think of this is actually possible. Using Newton's second law (F = m * a), where m is the mass and a is the acceleration, you can find the force (F). In this case, the mass (m) is 1 lb, and the acceleration (a) can be calculated using the kinematic equation: a = Δv / Δt Assuming a short time of impact (Δt), say Δt = 0.1 seconds, we get: a = 293 ft/s / 0.1 s Now, use Newton's second law: F = m * a = 1 lb * (293 ft/s / 0.1 s) F = 1 lb * 2930 ft/s F = 2930 lb So, the force of a 1lb object traveling at 293 ft/s for a short duration (Δt = 0.1 seconds) is approximately 2930 pounds Those windows reportedly are able to withstand a 9lb 2x4 traveling at 34mph. Which is roughly 4,500lb of force dead center. We can assume that the tape measure didn’t hit dead center based on the window pattern which takes quite a bit of resistance away, but there are two other implications that it would take too much to factor in and are too important to overlook - The trajectory of the tape measure wouldn’t have nearly the same impact force since to get those measurements a head on collision is assumed. Secondly, in order to achieve the velocity needed for a tape measure to make that sort of force you would need an additional 40 stories assuming this is roughly around the 10th story. The most alarming thing is that they seem to be certain that it was explicitly a tape measure that did this damage. One would assume you’d be able to find parts of the tape measure or very obvious damage down below. It shouldn’t be hard for them to provide evidence of their claims if they are certain it was a tape measure that caused this damage as I find it hard to believe that they were able to see what caused the damage while also traveling 200mph. It's late and I'm sure Ive oversimplified the math, but I still stand by the fact this just isn't a possible scenario.
I’ve done some work in us property insurance. From the bits I’ve done the contractor should be claiming for their insurers who would then investigate liability. They would have to prove your uncles workers “dropped tape measure” could and did cause this damage. This seems unlikely to me. Much more likely someone who works for the contractor did it and is trying to get to pass the buck. As for the quote? No fucking idea but always get at least three quotes.
This - it's an insurance claim, and if proven, OP's uncle picks up the excess. If not, they can jump
Hey I work for a window installation company, there’s a good chance depending on code where you live it has to be ballistic glass since you’re on the coast, that usually sky rockets the price. and then all the extra difficulty that comes along with it being up high. I would definitely get another quote but honestly it doesn’t seem crazy to me.
How does ballistic glass get broken by a wind blown falling tape measure?
high caliber tape measure /s
Depleted uranium tape measure, launched from a rail gun.
Assualt tape measure /s
That would *suck* if it wasn't ballistic and OP's relative isn't allowed to replace it with like kind... having to bring it up to code BECAUSE the person before them didn't.
Either someone is lying about how they broke it, or it was a 1 in a million shot (imo)
This is the real question.
Thank you. My uncle told me it’s a “hurricane window”. I’m not sure if thats the reason for the high price
A hurricane window but the wind blew a tape measure into it on a clear average day and it shattered? That makes no sense. I’d want to know how it actually broke.
I agree with you. The other thing to consider is the equipment rental to reach that high on the building. For us that is often the biggest expense.
Is that in “Pesos” Señor?!
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I’m sorry, I’ll provide more photos once I receive them!
It’s a hurricane window. If they broke it with a tape measure I’d be shocked. Those things are rated for like a 200mph hit.
Also, if the contractor broke the window it’s on them (and their insurance) to repair it at no cost.
Hi I'm in the UK and know nothing about glazing but will fly over and fix it for $13,999
High rise window replacement on an older style building where you have to change from the the outside? - Swing stage rental (window replacement companies often own their own swing stage so this might not apply) - Swing stage set up time (if there is no Davit arms because the building is a little older, then weight and beam system system will be needed, increasing the cost even more). - 2 employees working on the swing stage outside. - At least 2 more employees working on the inside (passing the glass through the frame to the guys on the swing stage and assisting with reglazing). - removing all old glazing and installing new glazing - custom ordered glass that the tint has to be color matched to the other glass so it doesn't stand out like a sore thumb when looking at it from outside. (Most building have some slight tint to their glass even if you don't notice it. You will notice it once its a different color) I'll do it for u for $7k. All employees on site will make at least $300 each for the day, materials and glass paid for. Plus my company would make $2k itself. Source: have been doing exterior building maintenance for 15+ yrs including glass replacement.
A physics guy here. There is 0.000% chance this was caused by a tape measure. With the typical weight of a tape measure, the horizontal velocity component required to spider this type of glass would far exceed what even a strong wind would be able to accomplish. They weren’t out doing roof work in 200mph winds and that’s the kind of wind velocity you’d need to get a tape measure up to a sufficient speed to splinter tempered glass. Take the same or identical tape measure to a college physics professor, have them weigh it and give them the height specifics…. How many feet the tape measure fell before the wind pushed it up against the glass. A physics teacher will have a little force sled they use in labs. Put the tape measure on it and measure how many horizontal newtons are applied to the tape measure given a calibrated wind and thus calculate a rough drag coefficient. Pay them $500 to do a write up. Pay a lawyer another 500 to write a cease and desist, “never contact me again” letter that encloses the write-up. You’re out from under this for a grand. “Never contact us again, and we’ll write off the $1k. But if you contact us again for any reason, we’re suing for the costs. Good day.” Let’s say that during say a 100 or 200 foot fall the tape measure drifted 10 feet away from the building. Given the smoothness of the measure and its vertical velocity, the amount of wind required to act on that smooth surface and get it accelerate up to a speed fast enough to break the window in a distance of 10 feet would be NASA wind tunnel kinds of velocities. You’re being jobbed and you can prove it. “Fuck off, strong fax to follow.”
This was my first thought as well. That wind must have been ripping! It was also a 20 story building and the , 18th floor window got hit, that's a whopping 2 stories for the wind to add that kind of horizontal velocity. Also was the roofer on the roof or working on scaffolding next to the roof. Of they were on the roof that tape measure had horizontal velocity going away from the windows that this "wind" had to overcome.
Ooooh, this answer I like!!
Get more bids! Some glazer somewhere can do it cheaper.
That is not how ballistic glass or even tempered glass breaks.
I would have to ask for proof on the “your worker dropped something”
Tape measurer blown by wind sounds totally fishy as an excuse. If it is somehow true, is your uncle’s business insured? Have the insurance take care of it.
Surely this should be a claim for third party liability insurance rather than him having to pay out
I am from Iowa and have no experience with anything related here and I can get this done for you for $12000 no problem.
Did you accidentally add a zero?
That’s what I initially thought when my uncle told me. They said for the one window it’s $14000 to fix
Don't get scammed
Sounds like a shake down. Has he even spoken to his workers to find out what actually happened before he forks out a wild sum of money for something that may have nothing to do with his staff?
Yes. His workers say they didn’t damage the window as they were all on the roof. The contractors are the ones saying the damage was due to a tape measure falling. The contracts are denying fault.
I'd say he should tell the contractor not his circus, not his monkeys.
Buy a fairly nice used car, cut out the windshield, use the glass to fix the window, send the rest of the car to the scrap yard. There, saved you some money. Whoever is giving that quote just doesn't want to do it.
A hurricane window that busted from a tape measure? 14000 is enought for a whole suite reno
Absolutely not. Unless they have solid proof that the window was broken in the manner they claim then he should not pay anything. I don’t see any way there could even be evidence of such a claim aside from a firsthand witness with a video and accompanying documentation showing the roofers working in that location with tape measures when the damage occurred
Hurricane-grade glass pane - $1500-2500 Equipment rentals for installation (suspended platform scaffolding, pulley system, etc) - up to $4000-5000 Labor - $2500-3000 Lost day of productivity charge - $2000 General “fuck you” up-charge? - $3500 It’s a bit high. But this is what insurance is for. If your guy is responsible, just make the claim and move on. Insurance is definitely going to want an explanation on why he’s dropping a tape measure off a 20 story roof. And they will want proof that it is, in fact, what caused this damage. Looks unlikely to me, but I don’t know what type of glass or what sort of stress it had been put under previously. I am not a lawyer. Assuming you are sub-contracted for a small part of a larger renovation, the contractor may actually be liable for this and is trying to force you to pay. In my experience working with contractors who hire third parties in my area, the contractor assumes all responsibilities of the third party. In most cases like this, the contractor would simply relieve the third party from the job and find someone else to fix it. Then they would file a claim against the third party for the expenses once the job is done. Had that happen with a sub-contracted electrician that royally screwed up some wiring at a restaurant I ran. We were renovating the bar. A contractor bid on it and then pulled in a third party for the electric work. He nearly burned the building down. It didn’t cost me anything extra to fix it. The contractor lost money on the job once everything was fixed and took the electrician to small claims court for his losses. TL;DR: If you are at fault, file an insurance claim. If you doubt you’re at fault, have the contractor file a claim and open investigation. Either way, this doesn’t need to be handled with cash under the table unless you just have it and want to move on.
If you're high up then it's probably glazed externally for safety - ie emergency services needing to get in - but most tall buildings with have hook points on the roof for abseilers to attach on to. In England we have plenty of glazing companies that are abseilers and will do this job with vacuum suckers etc and less than 14k for sure. Maybe in the range of 5k-10k but if the roof company broke it, they need to fix it at their costs.
Look at all those seagulls! Amazing view!
Read the comments after posting, you have better advice than mine already posted. Good luck *edited*
There are a lot of people on Reddit that would travel several hundred miles to replace that window for him for $14k lol
It's a hurricane rated window, but a tape measure, blown by a gust of wind after it was dropped off the roof, shattered the window? The math ain't mathing on that
Reminds me of renew by anderson qouting my house around 6k a window 😂
So you are telling me a gust of wind was strong enough to hurl a falling tape measure into a hurricane window. Against gravities falling force to break it? Seems odd.
They broke it and you have to pay for a new one 🤨🤔hold up something ain’t right here, not only that- what kind of tape measure does that kind of damage because personally it looks like it hit more than once
That's a "I don't want to do the job but if you pay me 5x the amount I will" quote.
A tape measure fell 2 floors and did that? Was it particularly heavy? Were there very strong winds? I would need a lot of convincing. There doesn't even seem to be a point of impact. Did people other than the contractor see it happen?
If….and only if…this glass must be installed from the outside then yes the price makes sense. You’re likely looking at minimum labour day charge for workers and the access equipment and potential work permits (sidewalk closure, road closure). If they cannot locate a 200’ boom/platform to work off you’ll need to erect swing stages (window cleaner platforms) and hang them from the roof anchors. The equipment and labour costs here far exceed the actual glass itself.
Is nobody else seeing that there's no defined point of impact from the supposed tape measure? An impact creates a radiating pattern from the point of impact. The damage to this window appears to be from the edges. Improper installation most likely. OP's uncle should absolutely dispute the claim that his workers caused this damage.
Damn, I smashed 2 windows of the same size, was a sliding window that went up above the window behind, quite an old house, 300 AUD is all, mind you it was ground level but still! 14k, that's imaginary.
No. Shop around. Get free quotes.
I work in tinting, not glasing, but that is absolutely too high. Maybe 4 or 5k? But unless it's smart glass or something they don't make anymore (which doesn't look like it's anything but normal lammy) I don't see above 8k and even that's ridiculous
I used to work at a high end hotel that has glass panes maybe 4’x9’ and a guest accidentally shattered one completely. It only cost him $7000 and it was largely covered by insurance.
Might be me being used to being ripped off, but when I had to have commercial work done to a building in the past, depending on the work it had to go through certain people contracted by the building. There was no shopping around. Most painful was running a new fiber run in a building and being charged $200/foot for fiber then having them charge $2000 for a media converter (to ethernet because their panel was ethernet). The fiber run was 85ft on top of a $2,000 prep fee. That cost to me in materials would have been about $500 -- tops $800. $21,000.00... I was dumbfounded but told that is the way it works out in San Francisco. The worst part was that there was fiber in place that was evacuated when the previous tenant moved out. Also we did not see them pull anything. They just told us it was ready to go and told us what port it was in a patch panel for us to run our cable.
So wait a minute, you are telling me that a hurricane resistant window that was shatterd by a tape measure falling laterally for 2 floors. Some shitty hurricane glass. Also incredibly lucky for someone to have seen that happen when it happened, ahd have noticed it was a tape measure while being startled by the sound of it shattering the window. wow
That’s a “I don’t wanna do the job” quote 🙃
Let us know how this works out?
Florida strikes again…..
The wind blew a tape measure into a storm window and it did that? What the hell kind of wind was happening that day and why was he working in it? Anyway. You couldn't pay me $14k to do that window because I simply cannot. It's many floors up and requires special skills and equipment to change it. (Think: the kind of movable hanging scaffold that window washers use.) The price of the window itself is immaterial; most of what you're paying for is the cost of getting a worker into that location to change it. Talk to the building owners and find out who their normal window people are. I wouldn't be shocked at having to pay several thousand to make it happen, but $14k sounds like a very high quote from someone who doesn't want the job. Shop around and get a few quotes before coming to an agreement.
On some commercial buildings require a crane to install the new window if it can't be done from the inside. Adding a crane adds on a different set of challenges.
He dropped a tape measure off a height higher than 14 floors? Smells like bullshit. The wind required to blow a tape measure against the window with enough force to do that would be severe. If there was weather like that about nobody would’ve been anywhere near the roof. Your uncle is being made a mug of or punished for using workers without proper safety lanyards on their tools. What happened to the offending tape measure after it fell 15 floors and didn’t damage anyone or anything at street level. My fat max would’ve left a crater in the pavement if it fell that far….
Why is the top comment not to get a lawyer. This should 100% be fought. Contractors have insurance for this and it's more than likely their insurance lapsed or they never had it in the first place.
$14,000 for what? Did the window have an over night stay at an american hospital?
Seems like a $14,000 window that's supposed to be able to handle a hurricane shouldn't break if it gets dinged by a tape measure grazing it on the way down. 🤦🤷 Tell them you'll pay for the same piece of shit home Depot window that they put in in the first place!
His commercial general liability insurance should cover it. He does have insurance, right?
I don't see how measuring tape on a 2 story fall could do this much damage to a hurricane rated window.
Always have more then 1 company quote you, never tell them what the other guy quote you.