Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Omg shower door just shattered into a million pieces

69 replies

whosthathowsthat · 06/09/2021 17:49

As above really..!

Just finally sat down after running around all day and heard an almighty crack and bang. Ran upstairs to see what it was and the shower door has literally shattered into thousands of tiny pieces but it's all mainly in place.
No idea what caused it?! The kids are out, it's just me in the house.
Thank goodness no one was using it - it's the main bathroom that the kids use 😫
Bloody hell how am I going to explain that to my (difficult) landlord
Anyone had this happen before ??

OP posts:
Original poster
whosthathowsthat · 06/09/2021 17:52

It's tempered glass surely this shouldn't happen!

OP posts:
Ijustreallywantacat · 06/09/2021 17:56

Report it ASAP and tell the truth. Tempered glass is designed to shatter in to small pieces rather than large dangerous chunks.

Apparently you're not the only one!
www.thespruce.com/glass-shower-door-shattered-by-itself-3972517

Mamette · 06/09/2021 17:56

This sometimes happens, I am guessing the pieces are small cube-type things?

Can also happen with those glass coffee tables that are just shaped from one piece of glass.

There’s nothing to do except sweep it up, take down the remaining part of the door and speak to whoever supplied it about a (hopefully better) replacement.

Carboncheque · 06/09/2021 17:58

It’s actually designed so that if it breaks it shatters into a million pieces. It’s safer than big shards of glass.

It probably had a tiny flaw or chip. That plus temperature changes eventually made it ‘explode’.

WallaceinAnderland · 06/09/2021 17:58

It's not that uncommon. Can be caused by vibrations such as passing traffic. Landlord should be insured.

LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow · 06/09/2021 18:00

Happened years ago to friends of my parents, mum's friend heard such a bang she thought the garage had fallen down or been crashed into!

If the glass is under pressure at the edge it can just go.

purpledagger · 06/09/2021 18:02

I used to work in a DIY store and a customer asked for a shower screen. I found one out back, took it out of the box to show them and it shattered into a trillion pieces. Both me and the customer were speechless as I wasn't rough.

Winterwonderland2244 · 06/09/2021 18:06

Happened to my car window at the petrol station scared me so much just completely shattered out of nowhere

romdowa · 06/09/2021 18:08

I've had this happen to a glass patio table. I was told it was caused by the heat but it frightened the life out of me.

Tooembarrassingtomention · 06/09/2021 18:16

Previous damage
Hot day

I once came home to find a vase shattered - we had been out all day

IndecentCakes · 06/09/2021 18:19

At least it was safe! I'm lucky to be alive after a non-safety glass window (badly installed in my rented flat in the nineties) fell on my head! Terrifying.

Geamhradh · 06/09/2021 18:19

Mine did some years ago.
Same thing, walked in after work to find twenty five billion pieces of glass.

Comedycook · 06/09/2021 18:20

This happened to my sister... unfortunately she was in it at the time. It's a thing that can happen apparently though. Bloody terrifying

TheHouseILiveIn · 06/09/2021 18:23

@Comedycook

This happened to my sister... unfortunately she was in it at the time. It's a thing that can happen apparently though. Bloody terrifying
Did she get hurt?
skodadoda · 06/09/2021 18:26

We had this happen to a glass surface protector in the kitchen. The pieces went everywhere. At the time we had episodes of vibration in the water pipes and thought it could have been a resonant frequency.

Comedycook · 06/09/2021 18:29

@TheHouseILiveIn

Yes she was, but I think the worst part was probably the shock of it happening

MrsRobbieHart · 06/09/2021 18:31

Just report it to your LL. they will have to replace it. You haven’t done anything wrong so don’t be worrying about telling them.

TheHouseILiveIn · 06/09/2021 18:33

[quote Comedycook]@TheHouseILiveIn

Yes she was, but I think the worst part was probably the shock of it happening[/quote]
Oh gosh. I'm sorry to hear that. How frightening

Housemum · 06/09/2021 18:36

Apparently tempered glass has a 3 month "memory" - spookily I was told last week by my kitchen fitter about an episode just like that. The shower screen manufacturers told him this and that the customer may well have knocked the shower screen but it actually shattered a couple of months later

MuckyPlucky · 06/09/2021 18:37

Happened on me whilst I was in shower a few years ago. I’d completely forgotten about it until I read your thread title. It was quite a surprise but I wasn’t injured and the landlord replaced it.

enjoyingscience · 06/09/2021 18:40

We had this on the internal glass in a meeting room once. It was a huge pane, we came in in the morning and it was shattered all over the place. So weird!

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 06/09/2021 18:41

Not a shower, but a glass panel in a meeting room at work. Sudden bang and the whole thing shattered. No one had touched it - we were all shocked.

Chewbecca · 06/09/2021 18:42

A panel in our conservatory roof shattered like this. The way it shattered meant it wasn't the sort to give a cut from it. It's a vaguely normal occurrence it seems.

magicstar1 · 06/09/2021 18:43

It happens a lot to oven doors too. My coffee table exploded one day into pieces. It’s very common with toughened glass.

Somanysocks · 06/09/2021 18:44

Our oven door shattered, wasn't even on and fortunately no-one was in the kitchen.