I inspected a MI home in Nokomis, Florida yesterday and all the impact rated glazing was on the interior and on the exterior was standard tempered glass or regular glazing (double pane glazings). Has anyone ever ran into this issue and would you call it out on an inspection report? I of course did but now the buyer of this new construction is telling me that it is normal. If there’s an impact missile breaks the glass on the exterior because it is not protected the entire window would need to be replaced because it would lose its thermal barrier.
If it’s an assembly (glass cartridge) and its marked impact resistant on one side what makes you think the other side (it’s an assembly) is standard glass? Sounds normal to me. Whichever side gets broken or cracked they both get replaced at the same time (it’s a glass cartridge) cause the thermal seal is broken.
I’m not in Florida or an area that requires impact rated glass, so I don’t know the answer to your question.
But common sense tells me that if any pane should be impact rated, it would be the exterior pane for obvious reasons.
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Thank you for your reply
In my area, in the fire zones, the laminated layer MUST be on the outside, to meet the fire rating.
In your area with wind impacts, correct me if I’m wrong, but part of the point is to reduce glass hazards to other buildings. The configuration presented would still allow hurricane blown glass to impact neighbor properties, even if the interior layer remained intact.
That’s the way most of them are. The laminated pane position is determined by the manufacturer, not by any standard.
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They call the outer pane a “sacrificial pane” on this configuration. They don’t always do them like that.
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Yes. Although I am not in Florida, Impact-rated glazing, often referred to as safety glazing, is required in hazardous locations, primarily doors and windows, to minimize the risk of injury from breakage.
Safety glazing is required within 18 inches of the floor, within 36 inches of a walking surface, or if the glazing panel is larger than 9 square feet.
Not the same thing. And impact glass has nothing to do with safety locations.
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I see it done this way often. And sometimes I even see them done both ways on the same property.
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