Shattered Window in Bedroom (Renting)

Lkittymtd on 11/10/2020 - 11:57

I woke up this morning and noticed that one of the window panes in my bedroom is completely shattered. It also has a doggy door in the glass which we've never used, but has caused previous issues such as mould.

Being a Sunday, contacted the real estate agent's emergency repair line and sent through photos.

They advised to avoid the window and it would be fixed tomorrow.

My question is, is it reasonable to wait for this to be fixed? They stated it is safety glass and that it should be fine but I'm not entirely sure. I also have a pet cat who normally sleeps in the room with me and would be concerned of it breaking during the night and her getting out as she's an indoor cat. Also concerned about it shattering during the night and having broken glass on the carpet and a huge draught next to our bed. It gets cold here in Melbourne.

I did ask if we could organise someone to come today and we could send an invoice but haven't had a response from the REA.

Images below.

https://ibb.co/Ngv8zBw

https://ibb.co/yPSFD8z

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Nugs on 11/10/2020 - 12:06
    +18

    stick cardboard, wood or a cupboard in front
    .

  • avoidfullprice on 11/10/2020 - 12:08
    +4

    Barricade the area or cover the window with cardboard s /packing boxes . By the look of the photo you can take reasonable steps to avoid injury to yourself and the cat in short term. If after that one of you still get injured, forward bill to the real estate agent to pay.

    It sucks but doesn't not look urgent…

    • kittymtd on 11/10/2020 - 12:32

      Thanks I'll try covering it with something. Fortunately there's no rain forecast!

  • pinchies on 11/10/2020 - 12:09
    +4

    Perhaps add lots and lots of sticky tape for now? Like laminating it on both sides with tape?

    • xuqi on 11/10/2020 - 12:24
      +6

      "I did ask if we could organise someone to come today and we could send an invoice but haven't had a response from the REA."

      There is no point to paying extra to call someone out today. Tape it up as suggested ,and have it dealt with during normal business hours.

      https://www.bunnings.com.au/scotch-48mm-x-50m-heavy-duty-shi…

      • kittymtd on 11/10/2020 - 12:33

        Thanks for the suggestion!

  • AustriaBargain on 11/10/2020 - 12:11
    +5

    I've never seen a cat flap in a window before.

    • elgrande on 11/10/2020 - 12:14
      +10

      … and now you know why!

    • kittymtd on 11/10/2020 - 12:29

      It's a silly idea. Also let's water in on particularly wet days.

      • AustriaBargain on 11/10/2020 - 12:30

        Also, why not just use double glazed plexiglass?

        • Mechz on 11/10/2020 - 21:45

          Plexi is easy to scratch.

          • AustriaBargain on 11/10/2020 - 22:20

            @Mechz: Yeah I guess it’s cost more in the long run with replacements to keep it clear.

    • spersephone on 11/10/2020 - 13:21

      We have had a cat flap put in a large window pane at home - had to get the whole pane replaced at the same time to make it safe.

  • tsunamisurfer on 11/10/2020 - 12:23
    +7

    If the property belonged to the OP, he would wait until a working day to get it fixed.

    But since it belongs to someone else, everyone drop everything and save my indoor cat.

    • kittymtd on 11/10/2020 - 12:31
      +8

      1. I'm a girl

      2. Yes if I owned the property and didnt know what type of glass this was, I would be concerned. I've never had a broken window before so don't know how safe this is and wanted to get advice from others who might know more. Thanks for being a jerk and assuming I'm a selfish tenant.

      • bobbified on 11/10/2020 - 14:51

        I'm a girl

        Why are you telling us this? We don't discriminate here!

        • brokenglish on 11/10/2020 - 15:29

          Maybe you dont but others sadly may

        • loulou1 on 11/10/2020 - 17:44
          +9

          Because tsunamisurfer said ‘he’

      • try2bhelpful on 11/10/2020 - 17:11
        +3

        I can sympathise. When my other half was on overseas trips I would check that all the doors were locked, multiple times, and I never really slept well. It wasn’t helped by the cats looking around anxiously if someone sneezed three blocks away. However, if someone did break in they would probably break their neck when one of the cats ran straight in front of them.

        You need to understand that this site has more than its fair share of jerks. I take the zen attitude that they are only wasting their own time in answering.

        • kittymtd on 11/10/2020 - 21:22

          Yeah that's true, normally I'd just down vote and move on. I just wanted to check with others whether it was safe to leave it a day, hence why I posted this thread.

          This real estate agent has been good to me, but my previous one was so bad and never did anything that the landlord of that property ended up contacting me directly to organise maintenance.

  • WreckTangle on 11/10/2020 - 12:34
    +5

    Agent has been made aware and taken steps to fix. If you hire someone yourself because you can’t wait a reasonable time then you get to pay the bill

    • kittymtd on 11/10/2020 - 12:37
      +1

      Thought this might be the case, thanks for clarifying!

      • brokenglish on 11/10/2020 - 16:37
        +1

        Yeah, that's actually pretty good response time. I'd be lucky if my agent replies on a Sunday let alone arrange a fix for the next day.

        • kittymtd on 11/10/2020 - 16:47

          I had to call the emergency mobile a couple of times before I got through to someone, but yeah she was pretty prompt at letting me know what would happen. I'm lucky this agent has been very good throughout our 4 year tenancy.

  • try2bhelpful on 11/10/2020 - 12:37
    +2

    As others have said board it up with cardboard/wood it will be fine, just don’t let your cat near the glass shards. You will need to make sure whoever is fixing the window cleans up all the glass shards.

    We have a window with a cat door in it but the window is laminated so, although the window glass has some cracking, it is not in danger of shattering. Our cats have been known to “crash” through the cat door at full tilt when they want to. I, certainly, wouldn’t recommend a cat door in a standard window.

    • kittymtd on 11/10/2020 - 12:41

      Thanks for the advice!

      Haha you made me laugh with the crashing comment, our cat sprints through the house too so I'd fully expect her to crash through it if we let her. We've never unlocked it as she's strictly an indoor cat, and she doesn't know what it is anyway.

      • try2bhelpful on 11/10/2020 - 17:04
        +1

        We have a warehouse we’ve converted so we have multi levels for the cats to run around the house, including the original beams. We keep explaining vet bills are expensive but they aren’t listening. We have created several ikea hack cat perches using the Ivar system. We got some small angle brackets and offset the shelves. The cats work their way up to the top and survey the house. We’ve screwed on some carpet at each level which allows them purchase to get to the next level and makes them comfortable. You will need something heavy at the bottom to anchor it.

        • BOGOF on 11/10/2020 - 18:18
          +2

          We’ve screwed on some carpet at each level

          Too much information.

          • try2bhelpful on 11/10/2020 - 21:43

            @BOGOF: Yeah, I know but we tried horseshoe type nails and they pulled out. TMI again.

        • kittymtd on 11/10/2020 - 21:25

          That sounds amazing, what lucky cats! I know when I get my own place I'd like to have a cat run that goes outside.

          • try2bhelpful on 11/10/2020 - 22:16
            +1

            @kittymtd: We have an enclosed courtyard garden which is two storey. The have inside, the courtyard garden and under the house. They can’t get out unless they go out the front alcove gate. We had to Colditz the front entrance way because one of our girls is the reincarnation of Houdini. She likes to sit on the letterbox and chat to passers by, she is an absolute tart.

  • mbck on 11/10/2020 - 12:39
    +2

    Personally I would not touch anything. Anything you do will be your responsibility so unless you are good enough to do whatever, safely, then I would suggest not touching.

    The only reason I say this is because I remember in the past (ozbargain forum) someone KNEW some glass were broken from their Amazon delivery and still PROCEEDED to touch the broken glass. Lo and behold, they got injured. Then they posted and argues Amazon is at fault.

    So my suggestion is leave it, it's the rea problem.

    • payton on 11/10/2020 - 13:40
      +3

      I remember in the past (ozbargain forum) someone KNEW some glass were broken from their Amazon delivery and still PROCEEDED to touch the broken glass. Lo and behold, they got injured. Then they posted and argues Amazon is at fault.

      lol now I remember that greedy idiot, the tahini artist.
      Frivilous and vexatious lawsuits are the cancer of modern society.

  • BuyoTheCat on 11/10/2020 - 12:44

    the cat did it!

  • [Deactivated] on 11/10/2020 - 12:54
    -1

    it would be fixed tomorrow… is it reasonable to wait for this to be fixed?

    No. Of course not.

    Anything short of sirens blaring and tire tracks on the grass is travesty!

    PS. I'm sure if you offered to pay the weekend penalty and callout, the landlord will pay the basic costs. Of course if it's not worth the expense to rush it by a day, then you have your answer.

  • Ocker on 11/10/2020 - 16:33
    +2

    Yep, it certainly looks like safety glass

  • kittymtd on 11/10/2020 - 16:44
    +13

    Ended up doing this for now. Thanks for the helpful suggestions everyone!

    https://ibb.co/k9BjsPT

    • bobbified on 11/10/2020 - 18:20
      +4

      Pretty good job you did there!

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