[KevinH1990]

Sorry to hear about the damage. As a hardtop owner, I'm also interested in the cause of this problem and any possible preventive measures. I use a lift for mine, but it may not be the method of storage. While my first thought is that someone or something (pet?) must have struck or pressed down on the hardtop and caused the breakage, this reminds me of an incident from my youth.

My family was living in Savannah, Ga. in a ranch house built on a concrete slab. One winter day, my parents discovered that one of our toilets had cracked. The crack started in a hole that looked exactly like it had been made by a hammer.

They lined up my two brothers and I and questioned us in depth concerning who had broken the toilet. We were all younger than 7 at the time. They used all the techniques at their disposal (good cop/bad cop, bribing us individually to rat out the others) to no avail. No one would admit to having broken the toilet or turn state's evidence against the other two. I think they punished all of us as a matter of principle.

Fast forward about 30 years. During a holiday gathering, my Dad was discussing some freeze damage that a neighbor suffered during a cold snap. He said something to the effect of "it was like the time in Savannah when the toilet froze and cracked." After some questioning, he admitted that when the plumber was replacing the broken toilet he said that cracked toilets were a fairly common problem in the type of house we had. The cold outside temperatures were channeled to the plumbing fixtures by the concrete slabs. This caused the water in them to freeze and expand, cracking the fixtures. Of course my parents never took the time to tell my brothers and I that we had been fully exonerated.

So, it is a good idea to check if there is some other cause of the problem before accusing anyone. However, your husband probably did it.