The glass in my door broke and the glass shop won’t sell me a piece of regular glass to replace it. They say I need ‘safety glass’ … are they trying to rip me off?
No. Glass shops must comply with federal regulations to keep you, your kids and your pets safe. Quality glass shops know that glass in doors must be a safety material, even if the original material was not. Plastic, tempered or laminated glass are good examples of safety material. Other ares of the home that require safety glass are sidelights, openings less than 18” off the ground and skylights.
My door didn’t have safety glass in it when it broke. When did this rule go into effect?
July 6, 1977 was the effective date of The Consumer Product Safety Commission Rule: 16 CFR 1201.
I want stained glass in my home, but where would I put it?
From a grand entranceway to a sun catcher to hang in a window, there are many options to choose from. You may want to dress up your kitchen by adding a decorative cabinet door, exchange drapes for a beautiful piece to obscure what is seen through a window. Rick has 36 years experience designing custom stained glass windows.
Is there anything that Watsontown Glass Company won’t do?
Watsontown Glass does not do the following:
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- Automobile glass (except side mirrors and flat glass for antique vehicles), including chip repair on windsheilds
- Commercial storefront and commercial contract installation
- Shower enclosures
- Stained glass classes
- Stained glass lampshades (we do repair them)
- Pella Brand insulated window (all others OK – Pella not meant to be repaired)
- Skylights
- Resilver mirrors by chemically stripping.
My rearview mirror fell off – do I have to pay car-dealership prices to have it fixed?
No. Reattaching a rearview mirror yourself is relatively easy and cheap.
Tools needed: a single edged razor blade, a marker, a small container of denatured alcohol (rubbing or isopropyl will also work) a rearview mirror glue kit (Loctite or equal-you can get this at a hardware or auto supply store) and a screwdriver or allen wrench as needed.
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- MOST IMPORTANT PART: When the mirror bracket fell off it left a tombstone-shaped spot of glue on the windshield. Use the marker and DRAW THE SHAPE OF THE GLUE SPOT ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD.
- Now, using the screwdriver or allenwrench, remove the tombstone-shaped metal plate which was glued to the windshield from the mirror bracket. USE THE MARKER TO MARK THE SIDE WHICH DOESN”T HAVE ANY GLUE ON IT. Put the bracket in the back seat.
- Use the razor blade to scrape the glue from the windshield & the metal plate.
- Clean both surfaces with the alcohol. You will note that the only memory of where the plate went & its relative direction is the marks you made in step 1&2.
- The glue kit consists of 2 parts, a primer and a glue. The primer usually has a 2 part tube that you break. Coat the windshield area and the plate & let dry. Follow the directions.
- The glue is a type of superglue. Follow the directions. The easiest way to screw this up is to use too much glue, or to glue the wrong side of the metal plate to the windshield. But you marked the non-glued side in the first step, right? Hold the plate against the windshield for the required time.
- Let the glued plate cure for a couple of hours.
- Retrieve the mirror bracket from the back seat and slide the bracket over the metal plate. Tighten with allen wrench or screw driver.
- All done. If it falls off, you may have missed a step-go buy another kit, or pay the dealership to fix it.
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