There are a great many windshields replaced in Houston every day. A large majority of them are done at the customer's location of choice; such as their home or office. This saves having to physically travel to an auto glass shop location. Having to replace a windshield or any glass in your automobile is not something any of us relish the thought of; but if you have to do it, Houston, Texas is one of the best places in the USA to do so for several reasons.
Houston is the fourth largest port in the United States. Since auto glass is a world wide commodity, the resources for acquiring glass in Houston, Texas are almost limitless. As a consequence, consumer costs are not as high. Houston also has hundreds of retail glass shops to choose from. All auto glass shops are not created equal; but with a little research, you should be able to find a shop that has a very competitive price and will not compromise your safety.
The climate in Houston is also very conducive to auto glass replacement. Some important reasons for replacing a windshield in a climate such as Houston are the temperature and the humidity. The average annual high temperature in Houston is almost 80 degrees and the average low is 58 degrees. The other key factor in the equation is the humidity. The average annual AM humidity in Houston is 90% and the PM humidity is 63%. Since a great deal of windshields are still replaced with a conventional moisture cure adhesive urethane, the higher the temperature and the humidity, the faster the safe drive away time is reached. The average safe drive-away time for a conventional moisture cure urethane with a temperature range 40-50 degrees and 30-50 percent humidity is 24 hours. In comparison, with higher temperatures of 60-70 degrees and humidity between 70-90 percent, the safe drive-away time is reached in 5 hours.
In other words, consumers should not drive an automobile that has had a windshield replaced until the safe drive-away time has been reached. Most reputable auto glass shops will have a chemical cure urethane that will allow safe drive away time to be met in as little as 1 hour regardless of weather conditions. If you can not wait the time for conventional adhesive to cure, insist on the shop using a chemical cure urethane.
