Laminated Glass Skylights

A few days ago, I went to see my cousin in her home in San Diego. Although she had lived in her house for a few years, that was the first time I was able to visit. The house was quite impressive, including features such as laminated glass skylights in the living room. When I commented on her skylights, she told me a pretty scary story from a few months before.

There was a big storm pounding San Diego. The wind was howling and the TV signal had gone out, so my cousin and her husband decided to go to bed early. Despite the thunder and lightning, they had managed to fall asleep, when suddenly they were woken by a loud crash on the roof. Running to the living room, they discovered that a neighbor’s lawn chair had landed on one of the skylights, cracking it. They expected the glass to fall, but they were surprised to see that it didn’t. As they were still in the middle of the storm, no one could safely go up on the roof to remove the lawn chair. There was nothing they could do at the moment, so my cousin and her husband reluctantly went back to bed.

The next morning, my cousin called an emergency glass service. They came right away to inspect the damage, remove the damaged glass, and board up the now-empty window frame. After adjourning to the shop to custom-cut the new glass, they returned to fix the skylight. My cousin mentioned her surprise that no glass had fallen, and the glass technician explained that most skylights are made of laminated glass, which is designed not to break into pieces when hit. Because of its special bonds, laminated glass only cracks but remains intact. My cousin was grateful for this feature. Although big storms are rare in San Diego, my cousin and her family now know that they will stay safe should history repeat itself.