The Toronto Glass Architect Argument

When you're dealing with floor-to-ceiling glass, you're just dealing with one trade." Along Burlingtons's waterfront is the Discovery Landing Centre and Cafe, Rotary Centre Pond, and Spencers at the Waterfront.

Seeing the (wet) future in glass buildings: Toronto, Mississauga and the greater Toronto area (GTA) need their glass consciousness raised. Building experts say resiliency and energy efficiency are going out the window with all those floor-to-ceiling glass walls being installed in the city's towering condos. "There's only one reason why all these buildings have floor-to-ceiling windows: it's because architects and builders are lazy, " maintains retired architect and developer Lloyd Alter, who writes for Treehugger and teaches sustainable design at Ryerson University.

"If you have a building that's brick and glass, you've got to hire a mason, you've got to hire a window guy and you've got to co-ordinate them. When you're dealing with floor-to-ceiling glass, you're just dealing with one trade." Ted Kesik, a professor of building science at the University of Toronto and an outspoken critic of the condo development industry, says he, too, worries that condo developers care more about profits than ensuring their buildings last. "I feel sorry for people in buildings like that, because those windows are going to fall out in an extreme weather event. There will be water damage. It's just going to be a mess."
 

Even Toronto's new chief planner, Jennifer Keesmaat, allows there's a problem with the windows' efficiency. "I share those concerns, " she says. "We need to be talking about this more as a city: how do we ensure that we do build buildings that have resiliency over the long term?" It's understandable, almost desirable, that developers want to move as quickly as possible. Keeping city roads blocked requires permits and frustrates the public. Logistics are a headache, especially for some of the newer guys on the building block who lack experience. And "window walls," the system most developers are using, are not as pricey, durable or difficult to put up as "curtain walls, " which is how Toronto's commercial towers were built. Time is money. But how fast is too fast?
 

For Alter, the main problem is energy efficiency. The glass has almost no insulation capacity. "When you look at the size of the little window that opens - because the building code says you have to have a little window in there — it's a little slot that's the size of an ice-cream stand pass-through, " he bristles. "There's no cross-ventilation. So they're constantly fighting to generate air conditioning, to generate heat, all because they've built these incredible dense buildings and they've given them these terrible, terrible skins."
 

But Arash Beheshti, vice-president of construction for Concord Adex, which is behind CityPlace, says it has to be a marketable product. "People want glass because they want to look outside, " he says, adding there are "misconceptions" about floor-to-ceiling windows. "Brick doesn't necessarily have a higher insulating value than glass," he says, pointing out that usually only one side of a condo is exposed to the outside while the floor, ceiling and sides are not. "When you look at the heat loss per unit of a condominium, you're looking at way less than at a house."
 

For Kesik, it's also an insurance issue. "Premiums are already rising because of climate change," says Kesik, who predicts that condo owners will see increases of 500 per cent over the years. Beheshti rejects charges that glass walls are more vulnerable to weather: "The exterior building envelope is actually more watertight, weather-tight, when you actually don't have multiple segments of different products. If it's all glass, it's actually more sustainable to the exterior weather than if you have brick-block-glass-concrete-wood."
 

When it comes to claims that glass towers use less energy, Alter is totally dismissive. "When you take the entire population of that glass building, and divide it by the entire consumption of that building, they will say this is green; we're using less energy per capita, " he says. "It's a fallacy. "If you look at the building as a whole rather than per capita, it's using a huge amount of energy that wouldn't have to be used heating and cooling because of all that glass." Kesik, an authority on retrofitting older buildings, also says you can't just tear them down and start over because, as experts agree, the concrete structures underneath these blue-green glass exteriors are built to last. 

"I have always maintained that, when you're looking at those glass towers there, you're basically looking at the slums of the future, " insists Kesik. "No one will want to buy them because people will look at them and say, ‘Are you crazy? I don't want to buy something that leaks, that will cost a fortune to retrofit.' So when they can't get sold, they'll get rented. And they're not of a high quality, so they can't get rented for a lot of money. So who do you think is going to live there? I tell people, this is where your grandchildren are going to come to buy crack. "No one wants to talk about these things because it gets people scared, " he warns. "The guys in the condos don't want to talk about it because they're sitting there saying, ‘You can't talk like that, you're going to devalue my condo and, if you devalue my condo, I am going to sue you for having devalued my real estate investment.' "This is how bad it has gotten. It's that cruel a joke."

2400 dead birds, victims of window collisions in Toronto in 2012 on display at the ROM. Click to enlarge.

Birds killed flying into buildings on display at Toronto museum: Visitors stepped into the Royal Ontario Museum this week for a look at a piece of urban history — a layout of dead birds that had collided with Toronto buildings. The Fatal Light Awareness Program, or appropriately, FLAP, hosts the yearly exhibition using collected corpses of birds that were victims of window collisions. Sounds like messy work.

Next to artifacts from ancient Cyprus and historical architecture from China, dead birds seem like a bizarre choice for a museum. But there's a point to make here. It's that Toronto, not only its people but its very existence, is deadly to birds. About a million birds are killed every year after colliding with buildings in Toronto, according to research by FLAP. Since birds have no concept of glass, reflective windows trick them into thinking there's clear sky before them, when in fact there's an office tower. Birds also become disoriented because of bright lights shining through cities at night, according to the organization. The troubles of a migrating bird don't stop there. You try flying south across an entire continent while dodging wind turbines, condo buildings and Lachute, Quebec.

More blogs on bird-strikes here.

Window Cleaning News

Window cleaner and reggae singer Jack Curtis at the offices of the Courier singing to Donna Khellifi.

Reggae-loving window cleaner Jack Curtis whistles while he works: Next time you hear a window cleaner whistling while he works, it could just be Jack Curtis composing the melody for his next reggae song. Mr Curtis, 40, known as Jon off stage, has been a window cleaner in Tunbridge Wells for 18 years – but his passion for music goes back to the tender age of five. He told the Courier ahead of opening the three-day One Love Festival 2012 at The Hop Farm on August 10 – a camping reggae and dub event expected to pull in thousands – that ideas for his singing and songwriting were often sparked while up his ladder. "There is one I wrote called Polatrixion, that is a reference to being a window cleaner because I am talking to the tax man. "I definitely get inspiration when I am window cleaning in the town. I have written another one called Blue Skies. I got the oddest looks when I was doing the houses. People used to think I was talking to myself."

Mr Curtis said because he was white he "stood out" in the genre and was unusual because he could "toast" – rap in a Jamaican accent. He can also speak and understand a lot of patois. "I actually understand what they are all on about," he laughed. The father-of-two Mr Curtis of Auckland Road who is "born and bred Tunbridge Wells" and owns JWC Cleaning Services has come a long way since those early days when the strains of his dad Peter's clarinet and saxophone enlivened the family home. The former Sandown Court School pupil said he was "nervous and excited at the same time" about opening the One Love Festival 2012 which would be the latest in many performances, which include the Forum, Victoria Hall in Southborough and the Assembly Hall. He said: "This is my one chance to make an impression on the right people.

Many in the business community fear the ruling in favor of the Affordable Care Act will cost them and their employees a lot more. The National Federation of Independent Businesses were part of the lawsuit that brought about today's Supreme Court ruling. Jay Lunt owns Folkers Window Company in Escambia County. Lunt says the way he sees it the new law guaranteeing health coverage for at least thirty million more Americans will only mean more expensive healthcare for his company and his employees. And Lunt says the timing couldn't be worse. "We have twenty employees at the Folkers Window company, the last thing I need in a depressed economy is to bring my cost per employee up that just basically take more from the bottom line and the bottom line is already razor thin," said Lunt. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled on the health plan local accounting experts believe the business community will take its concern to the political arena. "Folks that had kind of gone quiet for the past six months or so and who may not have played a big factor in this election will now rally around this decision, against it," said Thornton. The business community has some time to figure out how to deal with the president's healthcare plan. The most controversial and expensive aspects do not go into effect until the start of 2014.

The Queen refers to Buckingham Palace as “the office” as it’s where she comes to work and carry out official and ceremonial duties as Head of State of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are the Palace’s longest residents. There are 775 rooms in Buckingham Palace, including 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. The Palace has 1,514 doors and 760 windows which are cleaned every six weeks. (I love these numbers but don’t want the cleaning job!)

Man sought in burglary investigation: Scarborough police are looking for a man they would like to speak to following a burglary in the town. Sometime between 6.25pm and 7.15pm on Friday 29 June 2012, a house was broken into on Woodlands Ravine. The suspect gained entry by breaking a ground floor window and took an iPod and a clarinet, which was found discarded in the garden of the property. Around one hour prior to the incident a man was in the area asking residents if they needed a window cleaner. Officers would like to trace this man to establish whether he had any involvement in the burglary. He is described as white, around 30-40-year-old, 5ft 5in tall, with a slim build. He was wearing dark clothing and a woolly hat. Officers, who have been making house to house enquiries in the Woodlands Ravine area, are asking for anyone who can help the investigation to get in touch. PC Gemma Tate, of Scarborough police, said: "It is important that we trace the man who was offering his services as a window cleaner in Woodlands Ravine just prior to the burglary. "It may be that his intentions were genuine and if that is this case we need him to come forward so that he can be ruled out of our enquiries.

'Loathsome' burglar who preyed on OAP jailed for five years: A Burglar was jailed for five years for a ‘loathsome’ raid on the home of an 83- year-old woman. Part-time window cleaner Ashley Hextall broke in while the victim watched Emmerdale because he knew she had lots of cash in her handbag. When drugged-up Hextall kept shouting: “Your bag, your bag,” the woman replied: “You what?” She left the living room to raise the alarm but discovered Hextall, 27, had cut her telephone lines, Derby Crown Court heard. He got away with her £1,600 life savings, which were not recovered, and left her scared of a repeat visit. She later told police: “I am hoping in time I can recover— but it doesn’t feel like it. “I still feel vulnerable and am constantly looking up my driveway to see if anyone is coming.” Judge David Pugsley ordered the woman’s identity should be protected and regretted being unable to order compensation for her.

The judge said he hoped people would rally round and told the court: “Donations would be something marvellous. To take someone’s life savings at that age is terrible.” The judge told Hextall, of Shiloh Close, Woodville: “You committed a loathsome offence — a cynical, callous exploitation of the vulnerability of age. “She has been made to feel a prisoner in her own home.” Alex Wolfson, prosecuting, said the raid took place on May 13 at the woman’s home, in Bretby, where Hextall had cleaned windows in the past. After Hextall left, the pensioner went to a neighbour’s home and police were alerted. He had previous convictions for two house burglaries and was in breach of a suspended prison sentence. Kevin Waddingham, defending, said Hextall had alcohol and drug problems, including the use of crack cocaine and heroin.

Stranger washing window blames cult figure for peculiar behavior: Seven Hills Police Blotter - A Cleveland man was arrested shortly before 7 a.m. in the 700 block, where police found him wearing underwear, a tank top and appearing to be washing a window. The man said he was trying to beckon his mother to the door. But the resident there said she did not know the man. The man, 19, was carrying a guitar, a bottle of wine, shorts and shoes. Because he told police his father was the leader of a large cult who had been giving him drugs, police took him to a hospital.

Martha's Vineyard gains "A" new gallery: Six months ago both Ms. Augoustinos and Ms. Westby were thinking about packing up and leaving the Island. Ms. Augoustinos quit her "motley" (her word) crew of jobs, and Ms. Westby, who operates Crystal Clear, a window-cleaning business, was ready to have a manager oversee the company. They credit "2012: Time for Change," a documentary film about how to regenerate what has become an unsustainable world, with inspiring their attitude change. "No guts, no glory," says Ms. Westby. In the meantime A Gallery has a chock-full schedule; its proprietors are busier than ever and enjoying it.

RAMSEY-based business Day Tree Services is on course to increase turnover by 50 per cent in the current year in spite of the depressed economy. Managing director Malcolm Day started up the business in 1978 after becoming disillusioned with working for other people and, in spite of successive recessions since then, has managed to operate a successful tree-work and property maintenance business for more than 30 years. The tree business, part of Dayclean LLP, has just launched an online presence. “Running a business has been a challenge over the last three or four years,” said Mr Day. “Yet, despite the economic downturn, we have recently taken on new employees and have decided to invest and grow the business. “Times are hard for everyone, but rather than spend our days worrying, we have accepted this as a challenge and are working harder than ever before.

We are aiming to increase our turnover by 50 per cent this year, and are currently on track to do so.” Mr Day’s son Mark, who is the family firm’s general manager, said the expansion had come out of the blue for the company, which had originally started as his father’s window-cleaning round. “It had been hard for a few years, but we won a contract to help out a company from south London with some property maintenance work locally and then realised there was a lot more of that sort of work needed, so we did some marketing and won new clients. “As a result, we’ve been able to increase the workforce by around two-thirds. Some of our new employees had been looking for work for some time.”

Window cleaner claimed benefits despite £90,000 bank balance: A window cleaner who had £90,000 hidden in secret bank accounts cheated the taxpayer out of £12,000 in benefits. Kevin Power committed benefit fraud when he told Worthing Borough Council and the Department for Work and Pensions that he worked just as a window cleaner. The 52-year-old failed to tell them that he was also a car dealer and had an extra £90,000 in undeclared cash in bank accounts. Between 2008 and 2011 the 52-year-old bought and sold 26 cars at auctions, Worthing Magistrates’ Court was told. Power, of Marine Parade, Worthing, admitted two counts of dishonestly furnishing false documents and one account of dishonestly failing to give prompt notification of a change in circumstances, contrary to sections 111A(1A) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992. The court was told he wrongly received more than £12,000 in benefits for council tax and jobseeker’s allowance. He was jailed for nine weeks.

Bike floats through glass at Corona del Mar Florist: Corona del Mar Florist’s latest window display features an old-school bicycle with a wire basket stuffed with red, white and blue flowers — half in and half out of the shop as if it was riding through the glass. “People are stopping,” said owner Karen Yould. “They walk by, they look at it, they turn back and look again. We get a lot of Junior Guards riding past, and they just smile. Some people put their hand up to the glass window to see how it could be going through.” The answer to that is a brother who can weld, said Yould, who decided to make the display after seeing an image online several months ago. She bought the old-fashioned girls bike on Craigslist, and her brother cut it in half and then helped make the stands for the display. Yould, who has owned the shop since 2007, said that coming up with creative window displays has become a signature.

You know you’re a bad wife and mother when the window cleaner tells you to take care of your husband and the youngest goes to school without a packed lunch on his birthday. The window cleaner, having spotted the husband lying prone on the floor with a bad back, saw him again a few days later hobbling down the street and rang on the doorbell to tell me to come and assist him. This is a macho window cleaner, full of blokey banter, not someone usually given to fretting over the health of clients. “You want to come out and help him,” he admonishes me. This is my kind of scene. One man brandishing a cleaning cloth, the other unable to move. A feeling of power rushes through me before I remember where I am. This is my doorstep and people are beginning to stare. I help my husband inside and thank the window cleaner for keeping my glass so clean everyone knows what’s going on inside. Perhaps I should re-think my aversion to nets?

Joe celebrates his birthday in freestyle: Joe Neale will celebrate his 75th birthday in ‘freestyle’ – swimming a mile off of Chalkwell beach in the Ray Gut. The former window cleaner takes his daily dip by walking across the famous Thames mud to the creeks, via the stone paths, created by cocklers more than 100 years ago. “It’s the best place in the world when the tide is out,” said Joe, who celebrated his birthday yesterday (Wednesday). “There’s nowhere I know as peaceful as this. And it’s the second warmest water in the UK too! Southampton is the warmest, but the surroundings are not as beautiful.” Joe has been exploring the Thames creeks since he moved from east London as a teenager 60 years ago. He still meets with a hardcore of perennial wild swimmers, but many of his old friends have passed away.

Richard Meyers found joy in feeding the hungry and made it part of his life's mission. "He knew his mission.  He knew his purpose.  He knew the reason why he was here," said Shayne O'Brien, pastor of Meyers' RockPointe Church in Leander. When RockPointe opened its food pantry two months ago, O'Brien says it was right up Meyers' alley. "He would be out on the patio behind a grill flipping burgers, laughing with people, making sure that everybody got something to eat, not just the food they would take away, but actually a meal while they were here," said O'Brien. But Tuesday afternoon, Meyers was stabbed to death at his Liberty Hill home, according to Williamson County law enforcement authorities. The suspect is 20-year-old Zachary Price who lived in the home Meyers shared with Price's mother.  She was also the mother of Meyers' two youngest sons. He just treated people with dignity.  It didn't matter where you were or who you were or what you had done or hadn't done; he just treated you with dignity," said O'Brien. Above all, O'Brien said Meyers was a devoted father who worked hard to support his sons through his window cleaning business. "He loved those boys.  They were his life and that's a hard loss," O'Brien said.

Friend Elaine Sackett said that Meyers, who owned a window cleaning business called Squeegee's Windows, doted on his sons. He arranged his schedule so he could be there when the boys came home from school or needed him to drive them somewhere. Sometimes, Meyers struggled with financial problems, Tripp said. But no matter what challenges he faced, he kept trying to help other people. "I think that's what's so hard for everybody now," Sackett said. "You don't want this to happen to anyone, but it's even harder when it's someone so extraordinary."

Earl Dean Taylor was born in Kennet, Missouri on December 19, 1936. He was the son of the late Lindis Taylor and the late Etha (Grizzard) Taylor. He married the love of his life, the former Alvie Owens, in Virginia in 1964. They moved to this area from Chicago in 1989. Earl was self-employed for more than 30 years as a window washer for high-rise buildings, and he belonged to the Window Washers’ Union. Earl was a good husband and loving father. He was a wonderful man who was loved by everyone. Those he held close to him were so important that he would do anything to help them. Earl always wanted to teach those around him, but he had little patience for them to get it right. You could say his unspoken motto was, “My way or the highway”. Earl Dean Taylor, age 75 of Flat Rock, passed away at 11:51 a.m. on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at Oakwood Southshore Hospital.

Does the Landlord Do Windows? Question: I am a rent-stabilized tenant. Who is responsible for cleaning my apartment’s exterior windows? Answer (JAY ROMANO) “While the owner of a rent-stabilized unit is obligated to provide certain ‘required services’ like painting, the cleaning of windows is not expressly included under the law,” said Jarred I. Kassenoff, a Manhattan real estate lawyer. A tenant could argue that window cleaning is “maintenance,” if that service was previously provided by the landlord as of a certain “base date,” which will vary depending on when the building became subject to rent stabilization. The tenant should make a written request to the landlord to perform the work and, if denied, make an application to the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal for a determination as to whether this service is legally mandated.

Crawley MP Henry Smith: I believe that assisting Crawley’s corporate constituents is important too because our local firms not only create wealth and expand our economy but also provide essential employment for my resident constituents as well. Therefore, I regularly visit and meet with Crawley based companies, from international leading corporate brands, such as Virgin Atlantic headquartered in Manor Royal, to local sole traders, like Piranha window cleaning services of Broadfield, and all types of enterprise in between.

Board may transfer responsibility of window cleaning to owners: Question?: Exterior window cleaning for our highrise condominium is the obligation of the corporation. Management advised that cleaning the exterior of windows that open onto balconies is an exception and is the responsibility of each unit owner. Is that correct? Answer (Gerry Hyman): Declarations for highrise condos nearly always provide that windows are part of the common elements. The Condominium Act provides that common element maintenance is the obligation of the corporation but also provides that the declaration may transfer a maintenance obligation to the unit owners. That is likely what your declaration does in regard to maintenance of exterior windows opening onto balconies.

Jewelry Theft: Jewelry valued at $19,900 were stolen from a home in the 80 block of Indian hill between June 23 and 27. The resident told police he had a cleaning crew and someone clean the inside of his windows during the time frame of the theft. Among the items stolen were a diamond ring, gold necklace and earrings.

More than anything, I wanted to wash all the windows.... That left the windows. To get to the top windows on the front of the house, I put the extension ladder in the box of the old Ford Ranger, extended it to its full height and crawled to the very end. Oh my. The ladder wobbled. My knees wobbled. I am scared of heights. I looked down twenty-five feet and froze. Fire departments get kittens out of trees, but do they ever rescue amateur window washers from the top of a ladder? Eventually, I struggled down, drenched in sweat. I couldn’t reach the top, so I put the rag on the end of a pancake flipper, crawled back up and tried to reach the highest spot with that. Didn’t work. Enough! I said. I am going to hire this done. Considering my record with the charbroiler and the satellite cable, I was probably due to fall off the ladder anyway. That evening, those dirty windows stared down at me and I had to try it again. By sunset, I had all but finished the outside. I would do the inside in the morning.

Life in prison for Dobbs murder: The three people convicted in the 2007 murder of a Tsawwassen man in California were last week sentenced to life in prison. On Friday, Jackie Lynn Dunson, Fernando Antonio Benavidez and Ronald Wesley Handwerk were sentenced in Riverside County Superior Court to life in prison with no possibility of parole. All three were convicted earlier this year after a 10-day trial. Bill Dobbs, 48, was found murdered on the side of the road in Indio, California in November 2007. Dobbs had a family-owned window cleaning and janitorial company, Excelsior Buildings Maintenance. Previous blog here.

Former Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion talks exclusively to Elizabeth Grice as he embarks on a new role at the head of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. There has also been a brush with death. Fifteen years ago, he was diagnosed with a tumour on the spine. “I thought: I am doomed. It was annoying and sad. There was still so much to do.” He tells a bleak story of how he picked up the phone to tell his father. Outside was a man on a ladder cleaning windows next door. Motion heard a scraping noise. When he looked out he saw the window cleaner on the paved front garden with blood coming from his ears. “A hand had reached out from heaven. The lottery finger. The Black Spot. You. Not you. I knew then I would not die. The thunderbolt had passed my ear.” The tumour was benign.

Training, technology help US cut casualties caused by IEDs - Almost afraid to say it out loud, lest they jinx their record, U.S. troops in Afghanistan achieved one small but important victory over the past year: They found and avoided more homemade bombs meant to kill and maim them than a year ago, thanks to a surge in training, equipment and intelligence. Bomb-planters have picked up the pace during the summer months, planting improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, along roads or footpaths. But the explosives are no longer the leading cause of death and injury in Afghanistan. In the first three months of this year, only 5 percent of the bombs planted across Afghanistan hit their mark, according to Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero, director of the Pentagon's Joint IED Defeat Organization. That's down from 10 to 12 percent over the same three-month period a year ago. The IED organization focused last year especially on equipment to help foot patrols, because so many troops were losing limbs, Barbero said. They rushed hundreds of devices into the field that are like a window washer's telescoping pole, repurposed with a hook on the end, to probe for hidden bombs.

Nestlé's Quest for Perfect Air Bubble - Some of the world's biggest consumer-goods companies are pumping thin air into their research-and-development efforts. On Friday, Nestlé SA announced its latest push to understand the science of air bubbles, such research can help perfect the froth of a cappuccino, the fluff of an ice cream or the texture of a skin lotion. The science of air bubbles may also lead to new methods for developing healthy food products. Nestlé, which makes Nescafé coffee, Dreyer's ice cream and KitKat chocolate bars, partnered with the European Space Agency to learn more about foam by testing how a water and milk-protein sample responded in zero gravity. Nestlé researchers sent the samples on a space-simulation plane commonly known as the "vomit comet," which flies in parabolas at a maximum height of 28,000 feet to replicate zero-gravity conditions. In flight, a machine tested the stability of the sample's bubbles.

Valuable uses for air bubbles in the consumer sector aren't limited to food. Procter & Gamble for instance, relies on air bubble-related technology to research laundry detergent that dissolves at lower temperatures for energy-efficient washing. "For powder detergents, you want something that has the right density—not too dense, but not too light," says Charles Bragg, research and development director for P&G in the U.K. and Ireland. Detergents must have exactly the right amount of air to dissolve quickly in cold water. "It's not quite air bubbles in the way you're talking about with foods," Mr. Bragg said. "But it's actually quite similar—a beneficial use of air in a consumer product."

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The windows are grubby, but the view is clear: Phil Dryden, SSI UK chief executive tells Business Editor Andy Richardson about the behind-the-scenes struggle to revive Teesside iron and steel making and his bold plan for the future. The windows of Phil Dryden's office could do with a wash. But peer through the layer of grime and you see a hive of activity outside. These are tough times for the steel industry. A slump in construction and manufacturing has seen steel prices plummet dramatically. SSI's business plan expected slabs to be worth about £379 per tonne by now, instead they fetch as little as £334 per tonne. The potential losses are huge. Cost cutting is uppermost in Mr Dryden's mind - hence his reluctance to pay for a window cleaner. Mr Dryden concluded: "I say to everyone who worked on the project - you should feel very proud. I was an unbelievable thing to have done. "When I look around the offices they don't look as sharp cosmetically as I'd like it to but we have to cut our cloth to ride this storm. The windows haven't been cleaned, but I can still see the blast furnace, and it's going like the clappers. That's what matters."

Curb appeal - Wash your windows: Nothing brightens the mood of a house -- inside and out -- like a thorough window washing. "You don't realize what you are looking through, and then, once you wash them, it's like, 'Oh, my gosh! The whole world is out there!'" It has a similarly dazzling effect on the outside of a house. Many people go five, 10 or even 15 years without washing their windows and have no idea what they are missing and how much better the house could look, Pardee says. Cost: Ranges from zero, if you do it yourself with materials you have around the house, up to $150 to $400 (depending on the size of your house) if you hire a pro. "Hire a professional," Pardee suggests. "It will change the way you see the world and how the world sees your house."

Falling glass forces closure of Stephen Avenue, Calgary: Falling glass from a downtown highrise closed part of the Stephen Avenue pedestrian mall over the dinner hour Tuesday. The fire department was called to the 300 block of 8th Avenue S.W. for reports of falling glass at about 5:30 p.m. It is not clear what caused the glass to break and fall, officials said. “We don’t know if it was wind or some other reason for it falling out,” said battalion chief Don Huska of the Calgary Fire Department. “It was windy, gusting quite strong at the time, but we don’t know if that’s the cause.” When crews arrived, they found that a piece of glass had fallen from a broken window. The area was secured and closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic between 2nd and 3rd streets S.W. No injuries were reported. The area was reopened about two hours later.

Woman showered in "hail storm" of glass at Cwmbran shopping centre: A Newport woman, days away from her wedding, has spoken of her fear as she was showered in a "hail storm" of glass at a shopping centre. Susanne Dunkert, 37, was getting supplies ahead of her wedding on Saturday with her friend Leeaan Rose-Smith, Leeaan’s two daughters, Jasmin 14, and Georgia, nine, and her own three-year-old Mia. The group had just arrived at Cwmbran shopping centre and were near Primark at around 1.30 pm on Monday when shattered glass rained down from above them. Miss Dunkert, said: "We heard a pop and then a crack, as though someone had shot the window and then it was like being in a hail storm. "There was so much glass, it was only afterwards you think how lucky you were it wasn’t worse. We are all very shaken up." Mrs Rose-Smith, who was left with cuts on her head, ankles, legs, and arms, said she was left with a terrible headache the following morning, but was relieved it wasn’t worse. She said the panel of glass was around eight feet by six feet and was re-enforced glass.

Yikes: A beam that was being lifted at 4 World Trade Center accidentally hit windows between the 45th and 46th floors, sending glass on the ground below and forcing pedestrians to take cover. No one was injured, but dozens of firefighters responded to the scene. Tishman Construction's statement says, "A sudden gust of wind caused a steel load to impact a curtain wall panel on the south side of Tower 4. As a result, some pieces of glass fell onto Liberty Street. Fortunately, the street was closed at the time, and the Liberty Street sidewalk is protected by a construction shed. We have suspended steel lifts pending an investigation, are inspecting the entire façade of the building, and are reviewing protocols for evaluating weather conditions." Yesterday, a construction worked impaled himself on some rebar at 4 WTC. Also here.

Window Cleaner Rescue Update - San Francisco

Two window washers dangled by their safety harnesses, above, before they were both rescued and hospitalized with minor to serious injuries. Raul Aguilar suffered cuts on the forehead and Benito Aguilar injured his arm and leg.

A defective steel support pole that gave way atop a Mission Bay condominium tower left two window washers dangling high above the ground Thursday, with only their safety harnesses keeping them from plunging to their deaths, authorities said. Raul Aguilar and his nephew, Benito Aguilar, were pulled to safety after their scaffolding outside the top floor of the 16-story Arterra condominium complex at 300 Berry St. collapsed about 8:30 a.m.

The scaffolding was suspended from two davits, steel arms attached to the building's roof. One of the davits gave way and plummeted to the courtyard below, leaving the scaffolding in a vertical position, said Mindy Talmadge, a Fire Department spokeswoman. The men are alive because they were wearing safety harnesses, which were attached both to the remaining davit and the scaffolding. One of the workers was pulled up to the roof and the other was pulled in through an open window on the 14th floor, Talmadge said. Both were treated at San Francisco General Hospital for unspecified injuries that were described as moderate to serious. No one on the ground was hurt when the davit fell.

Rick Dickerson, head of the building's management company, said the steel arm had collapsed when a weld gave way. Cal/OSHA is investigating the cause of the accident, and will look at both the company that employs the window washers and the building's management, agency spokeswoman Erika Monterroza said. Such investigations are usually completed within four months. The men have worked as window washers for 15 to 20 years, the last five at Capital Building Maintenance Group LLC, said company owner Eric Huber. He said the davits are part of the building and that it was the building management's responsibility to maintain them.

Dickerson, president of Maynard Rich Management, said the davits and other equipment had passed inspection within a month before window washing began on the building. Under Huber's ownership, Capital Building Maintenance Group has been cited once by Cal/OSHA, for a 2009 violation involving the way the company attached a boatswain chair, a device that allows workers to pull themselves up while sitting, to a building's safety lines. The fine totaled $200. Maynard Rich Management has not received any citations within the past seven years. Huber and Dickerson both said they believed this to be a freak accident. "It was a one-in-a-million-type situation when equipment like that would fail," Huber said. "These are big steel pieces. They should last for a long, long time." Huber, who visited the two men at the hospital, said both were doing well. "They're a bit shaken, but they wore their safety harnesses and ultimately that's what saved their lives," he said. "They have minor scrapes and bruises, but are in good spirits."

Window Cleaners: How Much Do They Earn? ​"Equipment Failure" Nearly Killed Two Window Washers - Despite Recent Inspection: In the pre-Internet days, randy young men fantasized about the joys of being a window cleaner -- where all you do is spy on nubile young women all the live long day. That and nearly fall to your death, as a pair of San Francisco window washers employed by Capital Building Maintenance did yesterday.

Just how much are window cleaners paid to undertake a vertigo-inducing job where minor mishaps can translate into a nightmarish death? Less than you'd think! Jason Trobaugh, the owner of Clear View Window Cleaning, says most non-union San Francisco window washers are earning $15 to $17 an hour. Eric Huber, the owner of Capital Building Maintenance, says his union employees take home more than $20 an hour. Huber called yesterday's incident at 300 Berry Street in SOMA an "equipment failure." The building-mounted arms that hold the washers' scaffold and lower it are called "davits," and the left davit's weld to the structure apparently failed yesterday. The davit crashed 17 stories to the courtyard below; secured by only one rope, the washers' scaffold went vertical. Had they not been wearing safety harnesses, they would have fallen along with the davit.

Prior to the washers taking the weeks-long job, a third party -- hired by building management -- was required to inspect the facilities and present the window washing company with a certificate, Huber says. "I am sure that inspector will be in hot water," he continues. SF Weekly's calls to McGuire Real Estate, which owns the building in question, have not yet been returned. Veteran window washers Raul Aguilar and his nephew, Benito Aguilar, were hospitalized. Huber visited them and predicted both would be up and about within days.

Surely there must be some sort of state certification involved before one dangles off a highrise, saved only by his safety harness -- right? Actually, no. Unlike, say, a truck driver, window cleaners are not regulated by the state. "You need to be trained by an experienced and competent window cleaner -- a very detail-oriented person," says Trobaugh. You need to follow the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and American National Standards Institute requirements. But you don't need to take a course with an OSHA or ANSI instructor.

Union washers, meanwhile, typically serve as apprentices for nine months before becoming journeymen.  In his 18 years rappelling down buildings, Trobaugh can't recall any fellow cleaners dying on the job here in San Francisco. The statistics back him up: "building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations" die at a rate of 5.8 for every 100,000 workers. This is a fairly low fatal injury rate for a job with such an obvious safety element. Finally, in his time dangling off skyscrapers, Troubaugh hasn't seen any naked ladies, either. "No, no, no," he says with a laugh. "My guys have seen a couple of naked guys, though. Just sipping coffee, standing there, butt naked."

San Francisco Window Cleaner Rescue

SAN FRANCISCO -- Two window washers were rescued this morning after their scaffolding broke and left them dangling outside a high-rise condominium building in San Francisco's Mission Bay. Raul Aguilar and his nephew, Benito Aguilar, were working on a platform outside the top floor of the 16th story Arterra condominium complex at 300 Berry St. when the scaffolding collapsed at about 8:30 a.m., said Mindy Talmadge, a Fire Department spokeswoman. The platform ended up in a vertical position, but the men didn't fall to the ground because they were wearing safety harnesses, Talmadge said. One man was pulled to safety from the roof, Talmadge said. The other man was pulled into the building through a window on the 14th floor.

Both men suffered serious to moderate injuries and are being treated at San Francisco General Hospital. Tony Aguilar, Benito Aguilar's cousin, said he had been washing windows at a different building when he heard about the accident. "I came over here and saw the scaffold hanging," he said. One of the two booms that secured the scaffolding apparently came loose, Talmadge said. Half of that boom was left hanging from a rope, while the other half fell into a courtyard, she said. The boom that remained on the roof was bent. The men are employed by Capital Building Maintenance, officials said. Cal/OSHA is investigating why the scaffolding collapsed.