Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast brought to you by Mitre Brands University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sheri Conner and I am your host.
[00:00:19] Speaker A: I've been in homes, I've been in multi family jobs as well. We're right up against a major highway and when you open the window, you could hear all the noise and traffic. When you close that window, it's quiet.
Realize that you're near a highway. And same thing could be said in a residential application. You know, in a home where you need peace and quiet, whether it's for work, if you work out of your home, whether, you know, people use their homes as a safe haven for relaxation and stress release and quiet environment helps create that stress free environment.
[00:00:55] Speaker B: So good morning. We are here on the Clear Impact podcast and today over the phone we are chatting with Micah Lynn. Welcome back.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: Thank you, Sheri. Glad to be back.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: Yeah, I was hoping we could do this in person. For those that may have missed the episode that you did with Big Cat a while back. Give us a little bit of your background, your experience, your current role and responsibilities and maybe your territory as well.
[00:01:20] Speaker A: Absolutely. And again, thank you for having me on. I'm excited to talk about the topic today, but yeah, I am senior sales representative for Miter Brands with regional responsibility for the South Atlantic region. That area consists of the states of Georgia, north and South Carolina and eastern Tennessee. I've been working in the building materials industry for, gosh, now over 28 years.
[00:01:47] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I know. Doesn't feel that long, but when you, when you look at it on paper, seems like a long time. And of course, I've been with Miter Brands in various roles over the last 16 years.
[00:01:58] Speaker B: Nice.
So you bring obviously a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge.
So we're largely going to be talking about glass today and kind of answering the question, why laminated glass? Why insulated glass? What kinds of glass options do homeowners see? You know, and I'm a homeowner, you're a homeowner. How often do you replace your windows? Not very often. So there's a lot to it and you want to make a wise choice. They're not the least expensive thing you're going to do to your house. So you want to make sure you're doing your due diligence and your research. And so we want to talk about glass. So what kinds of glass options do homeowners tend to find when they start researching windows and doors?
[00:02:39] Speaker A: Yeah, and to touch on that, in my 28 years of experience, we've seen an evolution in building materials products, but really it seems to have taken off or ramped up over the last 10 years. And so when you look at all of these options, when it comes to what do I want out of a window, you recognize quickly that there are a large variety of options. Right. Single pane, insulated glass, double pane, triple pane, insulated glass configurations.
And even in those configurations, there are a multitude of, of varying levels or options that you can choose from that help both in the performance and efficiency of the window. You know, there are varying low E options, argon gas options, laminated glass options, which is one thing we'll touch on today. The tempered glass, obscured glass. And all of these options serve specific purposes, especially when it comes to energy efficiency enhancements or sound dampening code qualities, or increasing the safety, security, or protecting against severe weather conditions that would create wind borne debris environment like a hurricane. You know, something that you guys are very commonly familiar with down in Florida.
[00:03:54] Speaker B: Oh yeah.
[00:03:54] Speaker A: So there are a multitude of options when it comes to a window. And ultimately as a homeowner, you want to step back and decide what are my needs, what am I looking for out of that product? And then what is the environment around me, the conditions around me, if that drives what I'm looking out for, A window specifically.
[00:04:14] Speaker B: Sure. And every area is different. Right. So like what might work for somebody 20 miles away from the coast may not be the same thing as somebody who's right on the coast. And again, are you near an airport, are you near a highway? Who are your neighbors? You know, there's a lot of different considerations.
[00:04:32] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:04:34] Speaker B: And so laminated glass is one of the options that we provide, both MI and pgt. And so let's talk about the benefits of laminated glass in a coastal setting.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. And again, it's paramount for these coastal regions where hurricanes are prevalent, because again, you've got what they call wind borne debris, where high wind area picks up material or anything really that's not tied to the ground. Depending on the wind associated with that hurricane, or not just a hurricane, but a heavy storm can set material up and launch it like a bullet at your house. And so this laminated glass, which is a critical component of making what we call an impact window, this laminated glass is needed in order to help meet the testing industry standards that allows us to certify that window as an impact rated window. Right. And so as part of that certification process, our product undergoes what we call a missile test, which simulates those scenarios that I was Just describing in a storm where we'll take a cannon in a laboratory environment and we'll shoot a two by four projectile, I guess it's a two by four, and we'll launch that thing at our window. And that in essence is simulating what that wind borne debris would be in a severe weather like a hurricane or a tornado or storm. And so laminated glass is engineered to withstand that impact and ultimately prevents the window from breaking, which in that environment for the coast, it's about pressurization. And so by not breaking the exterior envelope of your home with that laminated glass holding intact, you end up not depressurizing the house, which can cause catastrophic issues for your home. And essentially it's what creates a lot of the damage that we see when a hurricane comes through and hits a populated city. You know, when we see homes leveled, roofs blown off, that's due to the pressurization change inside of a home. And so these impact windows help mitigate that from occurring. So that's what makes laminated glass so important as it pertains to those coastal environments where heavy windstorms or hurricanes are more prevalent.
[00:07:07] Speaker B: We are sharing our expertise around all topics relating to the window and door industry. Whether you are a customer selling our products or a homeowner doing research, the Clear Impact podcast provides helpful content that makes an impact. Subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.
Right. And just to clarify, it doesn't mean that the glass isn't going to break, because the glass will break if something hits it hard enough, but it doesn't penetrate through.
So, you know, people do a pretty good job of cleanup. Right. And we bring in all of our house plants and we bring in our lawn furniture and everybody does their best to prepare. But it's the tree limb, that snapshot, or the piece of gutter that falls off, or something along those lines that no one can really prepare for. And those items become then those missiles, so to speak. And so they can hit your window and it might break your window, but it's not going to come through and create that opening where that depressurization happens.
[00:08:09] Speaker A: That's right, that polyvinyl butyl, and that's a big word there, but that PVB inner layer that we sandwich in between those, that glass pane is the component that helps keep that glass intact as much as possible.
[00:08:25] Speaker B: Yeah, we dubbed the phrase some years ago and I think it might even be trademarked for us. It's the grilled cheese sandwich.
[00:08:31] Speaker A: Yep, that's right, we did. I think that's my favorite part about learning about these impact products are the sandwich phrases.
[00:08:38] Speaker B: Yeah, it is. But it is true. Once that goes through the heat process and those two pieces of glass really form a bond with that inner layer, it's very difficult to penetrate that. And as you mentioned, there's some pretty rigorous testing that needs to happen in order to pass those codes. Because otherwise you have to put shutters up or you have to put some sort of fabric over which I don't know that I trust those completely. Or you're putting up plywood. And good luck finding plywood when a
[00:09:07] Speaker A: storm is approaching that putting up the plywood to buy into that piece. I mean, imagine if you're having to put this on a second and third story window, so you're having to climb up a ladder with that said plywood. And if it's a large window, it's a large piece of plywood. And climbing up two, three stories on a ladder to try to secure that piece can be dangerous even.
[00:09:31] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and can you like, are you physically able to do that? And do you have time? Do you have the tools, you know, do you know how to do it properly? And then you have bolts or holes on the outside of your house as a reminder of where you put the plywood or put the shutters up. So the laminated glass is just a great solution for those specific areas.
[00:09:52] Speaker A: That's right. Nice and simple too.
[00:09:54] Speaker B: Yes. But we've really been talking about this a lot internally and I think externally as well. There are a lot of benefits of having laminated glass, even if you don't live in a hurricane zone or coastal region. And so let's talk about some of those benefits.
[00:10:10] Speaker A: Absolutely. And part of this evolutionary process in building materials have learned that some additional benefits, qualities of this polyvinyl butyl inner layer that we've got in this laminated glass can help strengthen glass from a safety and security standpoint. And equally as important for us is sound dampening. So we have noticed relatively quickly that laminated glass can offer some significant sound dampening benefits when applied even in a window that is not impact tested or designed for impact use. We've used laminated glass and our non impact products to help in an environment where noise reduction is a priority for either that residential home or we've seen it really take off in a commercial setting.
[00:11:05] Speaker B: Oh, right, that makes sense.
[00:11:07] Speaker A: Yep. In environments where, like you said earlier, high traffic areas, near highways, there are communities that we know where the neighborhoods or the communities are set up near landing zones of airports and so there are sound dampening requirements that by code have to come into play. But we've also found, as you mentioned earlier, applications where that sound dampening helps enhance quiet quality inside your home so you don't have to hear your neighbor when they're out there mowing the grass. Or if you're in a community, large community, where children are playing. I mean, it's pretty amazing how quiet once that glass is installed in your home, how much it reduces noise transmission. After that application, it's significantly noticeable. I've been in homes, I've been in multifamily jobs as well. We're right up against a major highway and when you open the window, you could hear all the noise and traffic. When you close that window, it's quiet. You wouldn't realize that you're near a highway. And same thing could be said in a residential application. You know, in a home where you need peace and quiet, whether it's for work, if you work out of your home, whether, you know, people use their homes as a safe haven for relaxation and stress release and quiet environment helps create that stress free environment.
[00:12:31] Speaker B: Sure. Well, and I know this is probably common along all of the southern regions. I know the population seems to be migrating further south. What was once, you know, where you were out off the beaten path and you were out in the country and you could hear, you know, the crickets. Now you're hearing a four lane road. And what was nice and peaceful and quiet 50 years ago, 40 years ago is not the case anymore.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: That's right. And we're seeing builders gravitate towards the sound dampening qualities because increase in building cost. One of those large costs associated with construction is land.
[00:13:09] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:13:09] Speaker A: And so we're seeing builders pick what would traditionally not be an ideal lot to build a home on, because it backs up to a highway or backs up to a baseball park or whatever. We're finding builders purchase those lots that gives them some affordability on that home and they're substituting that affordability with laminated glass, sound dampening glass to help mitigate that sound, to make the home a more pleasant environment. So there are a multitude of reasons where the sound dampening qualities of this laminated glass as it pertains to our window come into play.
[00:13:49] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. And so there's some other benefits like security. Can we talk about that?
[00:13:54] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely. So the security similar to what we described in a wind borne debris application, where a two by four is flying through the air or a missile is flying through the air at this level laminate glass we recognized pretty quickly, and it didn't take a lot of science to back this up when you're shooting a 2x4 projectile at a at the window to see what it can withstand. But we've noticed the security application of this glass almost instantly. To provide folks with a peace of mind, we've used this glass and security applications again. That PVB material, when it bonds to that glass, you know, holds all that glass in place and makes it a more difficult thing to penetrate, or would be robber or assailants trying to get into your home. They are certainly more frustrated when they're trying to break through laminated glass than if they were just smashing through a normal window pane.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: Oh, for sure.
[00:14:55] Speaker A: Peace of mind. I mean, I travel for work or if you've traveled with your family on vacation, and I like the peace of mind knowing that I don't have to worry about the security of my home or the safety of my family because like I said, that glass is a deterrent.
[00:15:11] Speaker B: Tune in to the next episode to hear the second half of our conversation with Micah.
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