crazy stuff

Where’d my window go?

January 11, 2008 /

where'd my window go?

My window fell out of its hole last night. That sounds funny. But that is what happened. At 3 a.m. I woke with a terrible fright to the sound of five glass chandeliers falling onto cement. It was so loud. It was like a glass splat sound. Except there weren’t any chandeliers. It was my actual window falling out of its frame and breaking into a million pieces on the cement below.

What is it with us and shattering glass? Is it Toby’s smashing personality?

Maybe. It was Toby opening the window for a late-night smoke break that caused the sudden crash. It wasn’t his fault, it just happened. Our house is really really old and the window panes don’t really fit. I never knew they would fall out though. How many times has Baby Bug climbed up on that very same window and leaned all her weight on the glass?

escaping

looking out the window

Hundreds of times! It could have been Baby Bug plunging from the second story down to the cement below. I am totally freaked out about how many times I let her climb up to watch the trash truck going by or sing songs to the moon. We loved our window time. Phew. Not anymore.

Now we have no window. And to make matters worse, as Toby was downstairs sweeping up the shards of glass (so nobody got hurt) our neighbors called the cops on us. I can’t really blame them. It was three in the morning and maybe it sounded like we were having a raucous party or something but it was kind of a drag for Toby who has not been having a very good week. He was tired. He’d been up working all night and was just about to smoke his last cigarette and go to bed.

Then all this happens. But before the comments turn into a “Toby should quit smoking anyway” party, I want to let you know that he is trying. He has been trying for a while and I don’t want to give him any flack. Nobody wants Toby to quit smoking more than Toby wants to quit smoking. So let’s just not dwell on that subject. It’s a bit of a sore spot.

So now what? Well I guess we’re going to get a new window. Maybe one that fits this time! Toby’s been researching everything there is to know about windows on the internet and he might have figured out a way to make our house warmer and less noisy. So maybe in the end this will be a blessing in disguise. Because let me tell you first hand, our house is NOT warm or quiet. It is anything but.

40 Comments

  • Laura

    January 12, 2008 at 3:23 am

    Def a blessing in disguise! THANK YOU TOBY for breaking the window.. seriously!

    It could have been sweet Baby bug if he hadn’t so let’s all be grateful!

    My son also likes to push against windows and we live on a 3rd floor apartment. He would stand in his window frame and BANG on it. We were always terrified of him breaking it and crashing to his death. You could stop him sure, but he’s a MONKEY I swear and even at 18 mos old ne could climb the heater thing to put himself up there.

    Gosh I can totally relate to how freaked you must have been!

  • Lexi

    January 12, 2008 at 3:46 am

    Holy cow….and I thought my apartment was falling apart!

    So scary looking at those pics of lil baby bug leaning on it….almost makes a mama want to just grab her babies and not let them go. At least not near the windows.

    Glad everybody’s OK.

  • bethany v

    January 12, 2008 at 6:30 am

    whew, a relief in retrospect! I can imagine the replaying in your head of every time she’s leaned on it. shivers. SO glad it’s done that way, and boo on the neighbors for not checking first to see what was up! sheesh. and good for Toby trying, I envy that part! hugs to bug. our landlord insisted on windowguards when we moved in, despite the fact that we’re on the first floor and he doesn’t have to by law. now I’m glad! our windows rattle like crazy, are drafty and cockeyed, and fynn loves to climb on everything and go ‘side?’ all the time.

  • Aimee Greeblemonkey

    January 12, 2008 at 7:42 am

    Holy moly, I haven’t even heard of such a thing! Thank goodness Bug was nowhere near and everyone is OK! Oh my word.

    We replaced all the windows in our house about 5 years ago. It was expensive as hell, but worth every penny. They had been the ORIGINAL windows in our 1930 house. And we live off a busy street. The noise reduction with the double triple whatevers we put in was *amazing.* And even better, when we put our hand up to the window now, we don’t feel a gale force wind anymore.

  • deb

    January 12, 2008 at 8:28 am

    What a fright! I’m terrified of one of our skylights crashing. They’re very old and rickety and when it is windy out (like this morning) I can hear them rattling around. Shudder. I best not think about this. I’m so glad Bug was safely sleeping when it happened.

    However! Ironically, it was just two days ago that I read about noise-canceling windows on Manhattan Users Guide. Of course, they mention a NYC company, but they have got to be worth calling to see if they can either ship or make a recommendation for a vendor in your side of the country. http://citiquiet.com/ Hope that helps.

  • Gingermog

    January 12, 2008 at 8:35 am

    Not giving Toby any flack here as I have a hub with a similar habit but who is doing really well at the moment.

    Oh my god over your window falling out, thank heavens no one was hurt, especially BB. I used to live in a very old house with orginal windows (1906) that were rotten and popping out of the frame, it was obvious though and we had to be very careful shutting them and from the photos I see of BB, that doesn’t seem the case as I can’t see obvious gaps.

    As your renting wouldn’t it be your landladies responsibility to replace?

  • sizzle

    January 12, 2008 at 9:05 am

    that’s so scary! i’m glad everyone is ok.

    quitting smoking is really hard. i know- i did it! more power to toby for trying to kick that habit. he’ll feel worlds better once he’s past it. but i bet he knows that.

  • The Traveling Vineyard

    January 12, 2008 at 9:50 am

    OMG, my heart stops just looking at the pictures of Baby Bug near the window. Thank God nothing ever happened. It’s so scary how many things can go wrong in every day life and change things forever. Thank you Toby for smoking! (Now it’s time to quit ;) )

  • Jenifer

    January 12, 2008 at 10:20 am

    First, very scarey indeed. We had something similar happen with a glass shower door exploding. No me gusta!

    Second, your arm in the first pic looks rotoscoped (sp), very nifty shot indeed.

    Third, what are you doing for covering the hole in the mean time?

  • The Chatty Housewife

    January 12, 2008 at 10:52 am

    How scary! Praise the Lord that the window never fell out during those times BB was visiting it. I am glad no one is hurt. That’s silly that the cops were called, but I guess if I heard a noise that strange I might have thought a crime was going on too. I don’t know!

  • margalit

    January 12, 2008 at 1:19 pm

    Honey, it isn’t up to Toby to replace the window, it’s up to your landlady. And every single day that you don’t have a window, you can deduct a percentage of your rent. If you have 5 rooms, it’s 20%. She must do it immediately. If she refuses or balks, you call the health department on her. To not have a large window and a 2 year old in the house is DANGEROUS. Plus, there is that robbery factor.

    I don’t know what it is with your landlady, but she isn’t very responsible for the upkeep on your house, is she.

    And as far as OLD is concerned, there isn’t a house in California that is near as old as some of the houses I’ve lived in, and I’ve never had a window just fall out, even in our house built in 1798. So that is NO excuse.

    She needs to replace any and all windows that are aluminum. They’re not safe for little kids.

    OY VEY!

  • august

    January 12, 2008 at 1:50 pm

    That would totally freak me out too. Thinking of “what could have happened”. Whew… well, at least it didn’t and now the problem will get resolved. Your place might not be warm or quiet but from all the pics you have posted, it sure is cute ;)

  • nicole

    January 12, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    Wow … wow … wow. I cannot even begin to tell you how much that would frighten me. Listen to margalit. You need to demand a nice double paned window and possibly for the others to be replaced especially the ones Baby Bug can reach. Good luck and stay warm.

  • ioi

    January 12, 2008 at 6:53 pm

    Yeah, what is up with your landlady and her part of keeping the apartment rentable? It always sound like you guys are doing the upkeep part for her or if she does it, it’s either ugly, or not done right.

  • Annika

    January 12, 2008 at 7:50 pm

    Quitting smoking was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. It’s been three years and I still want to smoke. I tell myself that I am allowed to start again on my 75th birthday (I also plan to have pink hair and drink cocktails all day when I am 75). So anyway, Toby has all my sympathy and good wishes.

  • Uncle George

    January 12, 2008 at 8:49 pm

    Their landlady is a psycho. She’ll pick the worst possible window, and have the scuzziest, lamest inept contractor install it wrong. And then raise the rent. My heat is out here, and I won’t call to have it fixed…Up goes the rent. Toby will handle this best. I wear thermals and pile on blankets. Renting sucks.

    BB needs a parachute! J/K. And it DOES get cold here on the coast at night (For us!).

    Yow, how crazy, B!

    What is smoking?

  • josephine

    January 12, 2008 at 9:18 pm

    Thanks everybody. You guys always have my back. :)

    Our landlady has actually been really cool lately. She’s just getting older and she doesn’t want to deal with tenants anymore. I heard that we are her last tenants. She got rid of all her other properties but keeps us around because we cause so little trouble. So yeah. We don’t make a peep when things happen if we can because we have really cheap rent. Our house is falling down but we get to live in a neighborhood that we could never hope to afford.

  • Alissa

    January 13, 2008 at 12:07 am

    I’m so glad no one was hurt. How scary! We have double glazed windows (http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/home_improvements/home_insulation_glazing/glazing) which has reduced road noise and provided more heat insulation for our house. In Scandanavian countries triple glazing is quite common. I imagine the pane of glass and your actual window frame are quite old and so obviously unsecure and unsafe. The safety standards weren’t the same then as they are now and I think you should rest assured that your new window and frame will pose no risk to BB.

  • m

    January 13, 2008 at 6:09 am

    how does that happen? seriously. who would ever expect a window to fall out with no one pushing it or throwing something thru the window? now i have one more thing to worry about which i never knew was even a possibility.

    ps…do you have ghost in your home? just a possible explanation. perhaps you should politely ask the ghost to turn it down a notch and break less important objects.

  • Oopsy Daisy

    January 13, 2008 at 6:15 am

    How scary! If Toby needs any advice on windows, my husband is the manager of a high end glass shop that does windows, mirrors and shower doors.

    On another note, I have to say (you knew it was coming) that if Toby wants to smoke, by golly he should be able to smoke. I smoked for ten years and I got so sick of being treated like a criminal because I wanted a puff. I wasn;t smoking in anyones space, I would go out of the way to do it, but still, I get sick of the way people treat smokers. I have been smoke free since 2001 and am glad about that, but still, I say to Toby “smoke ’em if you got ’em!”

  • Oopsy Daisy

    January 13, 2008 at 6:26 am

    By the way, I just showed your post to my hubby and he said that it was probably put in there with putty and that putty will tear down over time, especially if you are in an area near the Ocean with salt air.

    Then he went on to tell me ALL of the times he has heard about this happening, which was surprisingly quite often. High rise buildings don’t use putty to install windows, but older homes with single pane glass sometimes do.

    Then there was the time one of our garage windows fell out ten minutes after the hubby put it in. (He sells it, not installs it).

    Good luck with your glass adventure!

  • BeachMama

    January 13, 2008 at 6:21 pm

    Brenda! Just looking at that photo is making me queasy. I know the whole window thing will and probably is a pain in the butt for you to deal with. But, Thank you Toby for needing a smoke! There is a reason quitting hasn’t happened yet, and maybe this was it.

    I didn’t read through all the comments, but if you get double pain windows (or triple even) it will help both with heat in summer and cold in winter. Ours are all double up here, my parents triple, saves on heating and cooling costs too.

    Thank goodness no one was hurt :).

  • Beck's Mom

    January 13, 2008 at 9:33 pm

    We’ve had good success with retrofit vinyl double-pane windows – installed by experts as well as by ourselves. We did several a couple weeks ago. CA law is that if the window is lower than about 18 from the floor (or within about 24 inches from a doorway), the panes must be tempered glass. Several of the ones we installed were tempered.

  • Nila

    January 14, 2008 at 2:50 am

    New windows are great. Our lives changed when we replaced our very old windows on our very old house with new double paned glass windows.

  • Sam

    January 14, 2008 at 3:42 pm

    Very scary stuff. And hey, my sweet husband quit smoking around a year ago, and I’m so thankful for it. But it absolutely had to be his decision, and on his terms. (Though I was adamant that he HAD to quit before the baby came.) What really helped is when he broke some routine triggers, changed workplaces (where everyone smoked!), etc. Oh, and those lozenges. Sending good wishes to Toby, the glass smasher!

  • OMSH

    January 18, 2008 at 6:35 am

    OH MY GOODNESS!
    AAAACK!

    Seriously – that is horribly scary in hindsight. I’m so thankful it wasn’t BB.

    I just want to say OH MY GOODNESS over and over and over and over.