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Investigators find maintenance and several failure modes behind March glass blowouts; DBI recommends five‑year visual inspections
Summary
An independent WJE investigation found that maintenance issues, thermal stress, hardware failures and contamination contributed to March glazing failures in several San Francisco high‑rises; DBI plans an information sheet for owners and proposed amendments to the facade inspection ordinance, including 5‑year visual glass checks for post‑1998 tall buildings.
A consultant hired by the City of San Francisco concluded that building maintenance issues — not a single systemic design defect — were the primary contributors to multiple facade glass failures during March storms, and recommended changes to the city's facade inspection program.
Neville Perera, deputy director of DBI’s permit services division, summarized the WJE Engineering investigation on Sept. 20. WJE reviewed seven buildings that together lost about 31 panes during severe windstorms. The firm attributed breakages to several causes depending on the building: thermal stress (including preexisting breaks that were dislodged…
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