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[DavidC]

Our apartment building located in Victoria (first occupied in July 2020) comprises 18 north-facing units on 3 levels with four double-glazed panels (approx. 1.5w x 2.6h) between the lounge/dining area and the outside courtyard or balcony. The centre two panels are in sliding doors and the outer two panels are fixed. In November 2024, the inside pane of one of the fixed panels in a ground floor unit crazed without warning but remained in position. Subsequently (December and March) two more panels have failed unexpectedly in a similar manner – the outside pane of a sliding door, also on the ground floor, and the inside of a fixed panel on the first floor. Our insurance company paid for the first failure but the other two are pending and we are anticipating they will be rejected. The replacement cost of the two ground floor panels was around $5000 each; the first floor unit will be more expensive because of access limitations.

So far, the lot owners have been handling the consequences of the failures for their respective units, but we suspect that with three failures in five months we could be in for a rough time.

The mode of failure suggests it is most likely nickel sulphide inclusions rather than mechanical or thermal stress.

There are numerous actors in this scenario – the lot owner, the builder, the developer, the supplier and potentially the Owners Corporation, with a few Acts of Parliament to consider.

I’m sure we are not alone here. Are any of your readers prepared to enlighten us with their experiences?

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