So, What do You do?

Whenever I meet people for the first time and they ask me what I do for a living I usually begin with something like “I’m a writer for a magazine.” Because then their response is something like, “Oh how exciting! Which one? Cosmo? Vogue? Time? Newsweek?”

“Goodness, no,” I say. “Something much more exciting that those pubs (by the way, that’s magazine talk for ‘publication’). I write for USGlass magazine.” Of course I next have to explain USGlass, and they start to think that maybe writing for a magazine isn’t so exciting.

“But you’re wrong,” I say. We have just as much happening in our industry than you could read in Time or Newsweek … lots of good stuff is happening and even the not-so-good … not everyone or every company is perfect, you know.”

“How true,” they agree. “So what have you enjoyed the most?”

Now, you might think this is something I would have to think a lot about, but I don’t. I say that as a writer, I have the opportunity to take a subject about which I know very little, explore it, research it and learn something knew. Then, I like the fact that I can take what I’ve learned and translate it into an article, people will read it and then (hopefully) they, too, will have learned something as well.

Of course the next thing people ask is, “So what have you learned?”

At this point you might think I try and shift the focus away from me and my job with a “Why don’t you tell me about what you do,” bit, but I don’t. Instead I think back to some of the articles I have written ... I’ve learned that architects like glass because it helps distinguish their designs, provides for energy-efficiency, safety and security. This is certainly something we hear a lot about today, but I wrote about it back in 2000 (http://www.usglassmag.com/USGlass/2000/0004/0004goingagainstgrain.html).

When I wrote this article some designers talked about installing plank glass flooring; today we’ve got a glass floor that extends over the Grand Canyon.

What else … how about energy … for years we’ve been talking about how coatings on glass can help save on energy costs. Those started out as passive; now we’ve evolved to glass products you can actually turn and turn off.

Speaking of changes regarding energy, just consider the fact that the Department of Energy (DOE) is working on revising ENERGY STAR criteria. At the last NFRC meeting in Nashville, Richard Karney from the DOE said one reason the criteria is being changed is because in some areas codes have superseded ENERGY STAR, and that ENERGY STAR performance needs to be above that of the codes.

So what does all this mean and what have I learned? I’ve learned that the glass industry is dynamically changing—and for the better. It’s not only trendy with sparkly, pretty products, but it’s trendy in that it’s a green industry, too. And you know how big that is right now.

By this point in the conversation with my new-found friends, they’re usually way into writing about glass. And I say, “Well if you think writing about it is cool, you really should talk to the manufacturers, fabricators and glaziers out there because they are the ones who are really doing all this exciting work.”

Be Prepared

The 2008 hurricane season starts just a little more than one week from today, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is urging everyone in those hurricane prone areas to be prepared and to have a hurricane plan. Thanks to stringent building codes and an increasing number of jurisdictions that have adopted them, the windows in homes and buildings in those areas are becoming safer, too.

And just what is the NOAA saying we can expect this year? A near normal or above normal hurricane season in the Atlantic basin. Near normal? Above normal? If you’re like me, reading that left you saying, “Huh?” So here’s what it means. The NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center Outlook indicates we can expect a 60 to 70 percent chance of 12 to 16 named storms, including 6 to 9 hurricanes and 2 to 5 major storms. And just in case you need a bit more clarification, a tropical system is named when it reaches tropical storm strength—winds of at least 39 miles per hour. Tropical storms become hurricanes at 74 miles per hour and major hurricanes when the winds hit 111 miles per hour.

With all of this in mind, what do you do to prepare for a storm? There’s a lot at stake and a lot to consider. So getting ready for a storm can be as simple as having cash on hand. For the “Steering Through the Storm” article in the July 2007 USGlass (http://www.usglassmag.com/USGlass/usgtoc/2007/July2007.htm) Norman Foxworth, owner of Dependable GlassWorks Inc. in Covington, La., talked to us about how his company survived Hurricane Katrina and some of the lessons he learned.

“You should start [preparing] at least two weeks before you know a storm is coming. You should check your supplies and check your generators and make sure you have the gasoline on hand to operate them,” Foxworth said. He also said employers should have enough cash on hand to take care of purchasing supplies, paying employees and buying gas, as after major storms, ATM machines are often shut down and a lot of gas stations might not be able to take a credit cards or personal/business checks. “The only thing that talks after a hurricane is cash,” Foxworth said.

By the way, next week is Hurricane Preparedness Week. The National Hurricane Center also offers advice for preparing for hurricanes, which you can read more about by clicking here: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/disaster_prevention.shtml.
Let us know how you’re preparing for the 2008 hurricane season by posting your comments.

Tower Talk

Ah, the city of Boston … home of the Celtics, the Red Sox, a famous tea party and Paul Revere’s ride. This week it’s home to the AIA Show, where I’m sure many glass folks are right now—and with good reason, too. It’s a great place to launch new products and innovations, and to really get those great ideas in front of architects, specifiers and designers.

Like many of the products on display inside the walls of the Boston Convention Center, the building itself is also a great display of glass and metal (check out the cover of the January 2005 USGlass by clicking here: http://www.usglassmag.com/USGlass/usgtoc/2005/Jan2005.html).
Architect for the job was HNTB/Rafael Viñoly and the contract glazier was the Canadian firm Ferguson-Neudorf Glass Inc. The job features a unitized curtainwall system, dry joint 1/8-inch plate panel system, a structural glass wall, as well as all glass revolving doors and entrance systems.

Boston definitely has a lot to offer when it comes to glass. Take the famous Hancock Tower for instance (thanks to www.freefoto.com for the image shown here). The tower is known for one of the most famous cases of glass breakage. For years it was a mystery … what caused all of those lites to break … windowpanes that plummeted hundreds of feet to the ground below? An article in the February 2001 USGlass written by Thomas A. Schwartz, P.E., principal investigator of the Hancock Tower glass breakage, says, “A gag order imposed on the parties to the resulting legal dispute prevented the release of the facts regarding the cause of the breakage—giving rise to many theories and myths, some of which exist to this day. Initially, many design professionals thought the reason for the breakage lay in the fact that the tower swayed excessively in the wind. Although it was indeed swaying substantially, this was not the reason for the glass breakage. Another hypothesis was that wind forces at hot spots, which resulted from the rhomboid shape of the tower, caused overstressing of the glass. Substantial hot spots did exist, but only a small percentage of the glass was subject to anything near the load for which it had been designed. Still another myth was that the windows broke because of the stress they endured from the settlement of the tower’s foundation.” Click here to read the entire article: http://www.usglassmag.com/USGlass/2001/0102/bad.html.

So what was the cause? It was the IG.
“The insulating glass units that made up the façade were fabricated with a thin lead tape spacer to separate the two [lites] of glass. The tape was soldered to the glass after the edge of the glass was coated with a film of copper to make it more receptive to the solder. This created a tenacious bond between the spacer and the glass, which constituted the product’s greater strength as well as the source of it demise.” The article goes on to explain that by the late 1960s, large-size glass with tints and reflective coatings were architecturally popular. “The large sizes and increased thermal loads associated with the tints and coatings caused substantial differential movement and increased stress along the glass-to-tape bond,” eventually causing the bond to separate. In some areas the bond was so strong that the tape ripped tiny pieces of glass from the surface.

So there you have it--the story of that famous glass breakage. While you’re in Boston, if you have time to take a walk, maybe you can see the Hancock Tower yourself and share this history tid-bit with some of the tourists passing by.

Surprising Surcharge

It’s pretty pathetic that the other day I got excited over the fact that I found gas for $3.69 (most other places around here are at $3.79). This feeling of jubilance was shattered the next day when I took a look at the receipt for my mom’s Mother’s Day gift (a lovely bouquet of cookies). Right between the subtotal and the shipping charge there it was: FUEL SURCHARGE! Are they kidding me?

Over the years I’ve written a number of news stories talking about how glass companies are handling the fuel surcharges with which they’ve been faced. I’ve talked to many of you in the industry asking for comments as to how you’re coping with the surcharges that are passed on and passed on and passed on. More often than not, you tell me, you either pass it on to your customers or absorb it. Well, I certainly can’t pass the $4.93 surcharge on to my mom (not after everything I put her through growing up), so it looks like I’m just gonna have to absorb it. And while I know that my $4.93 surcharge may seem like peanuts compared to the ones with which you’ve been faced, let me tell you, I’m still feeling your pain.

With all this talk about increasing costs and surcharges, I decided to look back at some of the fuel-related articles from USGNN.com I went back to 2004, the beginning of our online archives, and searched for “surcharge.” Three stories came up—two were announcing suppliers’ surcharges; another talked about how Desert Glass Products in Las Vegas was adjusting its prices as a result of surcharges from float glass companies (http://www.usgnn.com/newsdesertglass051704.htm). Just for the heck of it I next looked up what the average cost of a gallon of gas was in 2004 … $1.85. That’s half of the $3.69 for which I rejoiced just the other day. This has to stop soon … doesn’t it?

But then again, if certain analysts’ predictions are true, maybe current gas prices aren’t so bad. I heard one group forecasting $200 a barrel prices for next year, which would mean $6 or $7 a gallon for us. Yikes! I don’t know about you, but if that’s what we have to look forward to I’m going to be spending a lot more time on my bike!

Stormy Thoughts

It may seem a bit early to talk about hurricanes, considering the official season doesn’t begin until next month, but it’s already a discussion topic. Last week during Glass Fabrication in Vegas several presentations touched on the subject and just today I was assigned two articles relating to hurricane glazing. Next, a Google search brought me to this link: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/09/tech/main4004068.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._4004068, which says we can all expect a stormy 2008 season with at least 15 named Atlantic storms projected. Speaking of hurricane names, here’s a look at what the NOAA is calling this year’s batch: Arthur; Bertha; Cristobal; Dolly; Edouard; Fay; Gustav; Hanna; Ike; Josephine; Kyle; Laura; Marco; Nana; Omar; Paloma; Rene; Sally; Teddy; Vicky; and Wilfred.

I know lots of people who’ve lived through major hurricanes. It’s not easy, I know. I was living in Raleigh, N.C. in 1996 when hurricane Fran pounded the coast, even making it’s way north and across the center of the state. The storm was downgraded to a tropical depression by the time it passed over Raleigh, but it still resulted in massive damage and flooding. I was lucky enough to be without power for only three days; there were others without it for nearly two weeks. In the days immediately following the storm, stores were closed, restaurants were closed, there was no ice and no water.

If you’re not familiar with exactly where Raleigh is located, it’s a good two hours drive time inland from the beach. It just goes to show, you don’t have to be in a coastal location to be affected by a hurricane, as the impact can be far-reaching.

We’ve certainly seen the use of impact-resistant windows in use along the coast as code requirements are continuing to evolve. One of my favorite HGTV programs is “My House is Worth What?” If you’ve never seen it, it’s a show where homeowners have a real estate agent come to their house to determine for how much they could list it, should they want to sell. They do a walk through and look at the features, the upgrades, the good and the bad. For example, a house with only one bathroom isn’t going to be big with home buyers, but a giant, luxurious master suite can add serious value. With the homes in South Florida, one thing I hear a lot is that the homeowners upgraded their windows to ones that are hurricane resistant and the real estate expert always, always, always says that doing so is a huge plus.

Everyone always learns from his or her experiences. It would be interesting to hear what you have learned from your own hurricane experiences. Feel free to share your thoughts here.