About 30 minutes ago, while I was enjoying the relative peace and quiet of around midnight, I heard a fairly deep-seated ‘thunk’ emmanate from my kitchen. My garden window in my kitchen – the sloped top portion – spontaneously cracked. At this juncture, it’s fairly stable – most of the noise from the cracks creeping across have ceased – but I’m still a little freaked out by it.

It is the interior layer of a double-pane. We installed the window about 7 or 8 years ago when we replaced all the other windows in the house. This was the only one that required no retro-fitting or adaptation of the frame; it slipped in flawlessly, and has been my pride and joy every since.

We’re experiencing a first series of storms, with chilly winds and rain, but nothing unseasonable or out of the ordinary, so this is not the window’s first prom. I think the heater was running at the time, but there again, nothing unusual. So all I can reasonably explain is it must be the Ghost in the Glass.

The break pattern begins from just off (by an inch or two) of the lower left-hand corner, and extends across the pane like the silouette of a leafless tree branch (sounds romantic, doesn’t it?) or a feather. The shards are almost uniformly an inch or so wide, but some are well over a foot long. It’s gonna be a mess when clean up time rolls around.

I wish I could submit a picture, but that’s a little outside of my capabilities right now.

I’m hoping you might present me a palatable explanation, and if an incident like this could be covered under warranty (the theoretical life of the window, free from defects or owner abuse). I’m feeling a little cursed at the moment; who has a window that just spontaneously snaps?

Actually, any advice or counsel you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks you.