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[Mom2Dogs]

My husband always insists that we bring in the patio chairs and  table that has a plexi glass top....it is not real glass so I am assuming it is plexi glass...to protect it from the snow and wet weather we get in Ohio....he thinks the 'glass' will crack/break. I know the patio covers don't protect from the harsh cold but does anyone know if the plexi glass will really crack in the cold weather?  I really hate brining all that stuff on to my back porch for the entire winter.

[proudlyfromNJ]

Don't know about the plexi glass, but mine is real glass and I cover with a cover from plow and hearth with no problems. I live in the northeast with cold weather and snow.

[docsgirl]

mom,

I don't know where in Ohio you are.  I am in the Northeast (Trumbull County) and winter last year was long and brutal.  We had so many snow days to make up.    They are predicting a winter pretty much the same as last year.  I wish I knew the answer to your question because I, too, have a plexiglass table and I get one of my neighbors to carry into my garage for me.  I fear leaving it out even with a cover on it.  I'd love to buy one of those covers that Jill showed but don't know if it would enough protection. I hope someone else can offer suggestions.

                             docsgirl

[Nataliesgramma]

I am in NE Ohio and we covered our glass top table and it was fine for 10 years so far. I think you need to keep  water freezing on it....

[shaggygirl]

I'm not sure if mine is glass or plexiglass but I do keep it covered and outside over the winter and we had a wicked amount of snow and ice last winter. However, I also hook enough bungee cords together to tighten it around the legs because if we get strong winds even with the pull cords attached to the cover to pull it tight wind still gets under it and starts to balloon the cover up and I've actually had the table start to move. One year during a heavy wind and rain storm it moved enough to almost topple over onto the pool cover, that's when I started using the bungee cords to get it good and tight. So far so good. I get my covers from The Cover Store and they hold up nicely.

[ID2]

We had a real glass patio table with 4 metal/cloth chairs. We always carried all down our basement for the winter. I surely wouldn't worry about plexi-glass being outside in the cold/snow.

[Mom2Dogs]

I am only guessing the top is plexi glass...I had no idea that patio tables would have 'real' glass for outside use..either way I would have to replace the entire table if the top cracked...something I don't want to do, that is why we take it in for the winter........my point was to not have to bring the table in so that is why I am interested in a patio cover.

[Nataliesgramma]

Our table was tempered glass...

[Nomore]

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@Mom2Dogs wrote:

My husband always insists that we bring in the patio chairs and  table that has a plexi glass top....it is not real glass so I am assuming it is plexi glass...to protect it from the snow and wet weather we get in Ohio....he thinks the 'glass' will crack/break. I know the patio covers don't protect from the harsh cold but does anyone know if the plexi glass will really crack in the cold weather?  I really hate brining all that stuff on to my back porch for the entire winter.

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We did have a tempered glass table top for over 13 years, but we always brought it into the garage for the winter. What I was told, that it won't necessarily crack if left out, but if there is water frozen onto it, it could possibly crack, even more so, as it gets older in age. Also, depending on the weather, a quick rise in temp for the day can crack it while outside. We have temp swings 40+ degrees in one day so we just stored it away until temps were above 50 regularly. 

We don't have it anymore, it was such a comfortable table/chairs set.  We bought a wrought iron set, made in Alabama, so we wouldn't have to worry about the temp swings anymore. It should last forever, we paid a pretty penny for it. Oh, and I do use a patio cover found at Costco a couple of years ago; it's very similar to the qvc one and it is lasting.

[Mominohio]

Another Buckeye here, from the north central region, and I think that plexiglass could indeed crack from the extreme cold and ice building up on it. I think it might make it hazy as well. The cracking would probably be more like the crazing seen on ceramic dishes after sometime. 

I know it is a hassle to bring in the outdoor stuff, actually the room it takes up in the garage or basement is the real hassle, but if you want to keep it looking nice, I'd say continue to bring in the pieces you want to stay nice.

Ohio winters are so hard on our outdoor things. While there are places that get more snow and colder temps than we do, we often get a lot of ups and downs in the temps. All that freezing and thawing, and wet in between is really hard on things, gets moisture in the cracks and crevices, and causes expansion when refreezing again.

If you'd rather replace it in a few years (because you are tired of it, or it has seen better days) then just get some kind of cover and take your chances.