c/glaziers

A client in Portland called my caulk lines 'sloppy' and I'm glad they did

Did a big shower door install last month. Thought my silicone work was clean. The homeowner, a retired engineer, pointed out a tiny wobble in the line where the glass met the tile. Said it looked rushed. Honestly, it stung a bit. But I went back the next day with a new tube and a bucket of soapy water. Used my finger for the main bead, then a clean plastic spoon dipped in the soap mix for the final pass. The difference was night and day. Got a perfectly smooth, even line with no tool marks. Now I keep a little spray bottle of soapy water and a few plastic spoons in my kit. Anyone else have a simple tool or trick that upped their finishing game?

Shoutout to the old-timer who showed me the trick for that curved shower door in the new build

Tbh, I swore the tempered glass was warped and spent a whole afternoon fighting it before he came by and showed me the bracket adjustment. Anyone else ever get completely stuck on a simple install?

Update: I was scoring my own glass for years before a new guy in the shop asked why I didn't just use the cutter on the straight edge

It was a 4-foot pane for a Denver loft, and I'd been doing it the slow way since my uncle showed me in '08. Anyone else have a 'well, duh' moment that saved you a ton of time?

Question about using a heat gun on tempered glass doors

I keep seeing guys at the shop try to soften old sealant on tempered shower doors with a heat gun set to high, but last month in a Tampa job we had a panel crack from the sudden temperature change. In my experience, a steady medium heat and a sharp blade works better and avoids the risk. Has anyone else found a safer method for this specific task?

Serious question, why does everyone hate on vinyl glazing?

Last week in a Denver high rise, I had to replace a failed unit. Everyone says vinyl is cheap junk. But three years ago, I put vinyl in my own sunroom. Zero issues. Last month, a client in Boulder wanted vinyl for his garage windows. They look fine, work fine. Maybe the old stuff was bad, but the new stuff holds up. Anyone else using it without problems?

A talk with my wife about glass recycling changed my mind

She works at our town's recycling plant and told me, "We crush about 60% of the donated window glass because it's contaminated with sealant." I always told customers we couldn't recycle their old units, assuming the plant handled it. Now I see we need to strip the glass clean before it even leaves the job site. How do you all handle disposal for big commercial tear-outs?

Honestly, I've been using the wrong cleaner on my squeegee for like two years. A guy in Tampa just told me to use vinegar.

Bought a 'universal' glass suction cup lifter online for $85... it held for about 3 seconds before dropping a patio door panel onto my sawhorses.

Heard a guy at the supply house say 'tempered is tempered, it's all the same'

I was picking up a custom cut for a shower door in Phoenix and this other installer was arguing with the counter guy. He insisted the cheaper imported tempered glass was 'just as good' as the domestic stuff for a high traffic commercial job. The counter guy mentioned the import had a failure rate about 3 times higher in their heat tests. It just made me think, we're putting our name on this stuff. If that panel blows in a food court, who gets the call? Ever had a client push you to use a cheaper material that you knew was a bad idea?

That time I was scoring tempered glass wrong for years

I was cutting a big piece of 3/8 inch tempered for a storefront in Phoenix, and the break was always jagged. My boss came over, watched me push down hard with my cutter, and just said, 'You're trying to cut it like float glass.' He showed me to use a lighter touch and let the score do the work, not force it. The next piece snapped clean as a whistle. Anyone have a different trick for getting a smooth break on thick tempered?

Heard a guy at the supply house say he never uses a chalk line for big storefronts

He was telling his apprentice that eyeballing it with a tape is fine if you're experienced, which honestly made me stop and think about all the callbacks for bowed glass I've seen. I've been in this trade for 15 years and I still snap a line for anything over 4 feet, because even a tiny angle gets bigger across that span. Am I just being too careful, or is skipping the line a bad habit to teach a new guy?

A talk with a museum curator about old glass changed my whole approach to restoration.

I was working on a 1920s leaded glass transom in Sacramento last week, and the homeowner had a friend over who works at the local history museum. She pointed out how the original putty had a specific ratio of linseed oil to whiting, about 3:1, that made it more flexible. I'd been using a modern acrylic compound for years, thinking it was just better. Hearing her explain how the old mix was meant to move with the seasons, not fight them, really hit different. Has anyone else switched back to traditional recipes for period work?

Can we talk about using a 1/8 inch spacer for shower doors?

A client in Tampa said my installs looked 'tight but not too tight' after I switched from a 1/16 inch gap. Has anyone else gotten feedback that made you change your standard practice?

Just looked at my old work log and saw I've cut over 10,000 pieces of glass

I was cleaning out my truck and found my first logbook from when I started my own shop. I flipped through and added up the jobs from just the first three years. The number hit me because I remember how nervous I was cutting my first few panes for a bathroom window. Now, after fifteen years, that many cuts means I've probably handled miles of glass. It's wild to think about all those windows and doors. Anyone else ever add up their old work and get a surprise like that?

Tried a cheap glass cutter from the big box store versus my old Fletcher

The box store one just chipped the edge on a 36-inch piece of 1/4 inch tempered, but the Fletcher ran smooth as butter. I wasted a whole sheet learning that lesson. Anyone else have a tool they'll never cheap out on again?

Finally got my shop's glass waste under 2% for a month straight

PSA: A drop of dish soap in your water sprayer stops those tiny glass shards from sticking everywhere.

I was cutting a 48x60 piece of 1/4 inch tempered for a storefront job and the cleanup was taking forever. Has anyone tried this with a different soap or is Dawn the only one that works?

Found a 1920s glass catalog in my grandpa's attic with prices that blew my mind

I was cleaning out his place in Toledo and found this old trade catalog from a company called 'American Window Glass'. A single pane of 1/4 inch clear glass, 24x36, was listed for 85 cents. Adjusted for inflation, that's still under $15 today. I can't even get the raw material for that. Has anyone else come across old pricing that makes you appreciate modern supply chains, or just feel a little jealous?

Question about old leaded glass repair in a historic house

Got a call for a job in a 1920s house in Pasadena. The front door had a leaded glass panel with a cracked piece. Looked simple. I figured maybe an hour, two tops. The old lead cames were so brittle they crumbled when I tried to lift them. Had to cut out a whole section without wrecking the rest. Then I had to find a glass shop that could cut a custom piece to match the old, wavy texture. That took three days just to get the glass. Putting it all back with new lead and soldering without making a mess? Another full afternoon. What I thought was a quick fix turned into a week long project. Anyone else run into this kind of time trap with historic work?

Pro tip: I switched from a standard glass cutter to a Fletcher-Terry pistol grip for big storefront jobs

Honestly, my scoring was way more consistent on a 10-foot tempered panel last week, and my wrist didn't ache after. Anyone have a different brand they swear by for thick glass?

I bought a cheap glass cutter from a flea market and it cost me a whole pane

Found this glass cutter at a swap meet in Phoenix for five bucks, thought I scored. The wheel looked okay, but it was duller than a butter knife. Tried to cut a simple 24x36 piece of clear float for a shed window, and it just scratched and chipped the edge. Ended up cracking the whole sheet halfway through the score. Wasted about forty dollars in glass and an hour of my Saturday. Ever have a tool fail so bad it just makes you laugh?

My uncle told me to always use a diamond blade for tempered glass and I thought he was just being extra

He said it last year when I was helping him with a storefront job in Springfield. I figured my regular abrasive blade was fine to save a few bucks. Cut to last month when I tried to trim a piece of tempered for a shower door and my blade just burned out, leaving a chipped edge. He was totally right, the diamond one went through it smooth with no heat cracks. Anyone have a favorite brand for their wet saw?

I finally stopped using the old-school putty knife for glazing compound after a job in Denver last fall.

Switched to a 4-inch flex knife for the whole pane and it cut my time in half, plus the finish is way cleaner. Anyone else make the switch and notice less wrist strain?

Tried a different cleaner on some old leaded glass and it went weird

Had to clean a 1920s leaded glass panel in a Denver house last week. Used a standard glass cleaner first, but it left a weird white film in the grooves. Switched to a mild vinegar and water mix, just a capful of vinegar in a spray bottle, and wiped it with a soft toothbrush. The film came right off and the lead looked darker and cleaner. Anyone know why the regular cleaner did that? Is it something in the old glass cement?

Showerthought: I was sure that new UV-cure sealant was bulletproof until a whole bay window failed in a week.

The install looked perfect, but the bond just gave up under direct sun in Phoenix. Anyone have a sealant they'd trust for a desert job like that?