repairing fogged double glass

[Nick Hull]

I have some double glass windows that are fogging up inside. Is there any practical repair?

[The Streets]

AFIK once the seal is broken there is no other repair than replacement.

[hallerb]

a local glass shop can make a replacement unit.

pittsburgh window and door does that here. make appointment take windoiw in by 9 pick up at 3.

they disassemble the window unit, make and install a new glass unit and reassemble the entire thing. 3 ft by 3 ft picture window under 70 bucks:)

[bigjim]

[bigjim]

[Malcolm Hoar]

Not really. Just get them replaced. Replacing the sealed units is not terribly expensive -- a *lot* cheaper than replacement windows.

I had a bunch of mine done by a local glass shop. They measured up and came back a week later to install the new glass. It was quick, painless, and I was totally satisfied with the materials, installation, and price. No more fog.

[Jeff Wisnia]

If you are really stuck for cash.......

You can do a hack job that will get you by for another year or two simply by drilling two or three 3/16" diameter holes through the OUTER glass pane just above the lower framing. You can buy carbide glass drills cheaply.

The fogging will go away in a couple of days.

Not quite as good insulation as a new double pane unit with low thermal conductivity gas in it, but pretty close.

That will turn your double pane window into the equivalent of a single pane window with a "storm window" over it. Millions of homes used to get by with those in the winter before they invented double glazing.

A drilled unit will get "scummy" on the interior after a couple of years, and AFAIK there's nada you can do to fix that when it happens.

There's a service based in Canada which "repairs" fogged double glazed windows by drilling them, flushing them out and snapping "dirt filters" into the drilled holes so the windows can still breathe, but much of the stuff which causes them to film up gets kept out. I don't think they've got many US agents yet.

Whatever you do, DON'T try and drill a tempered glass panel like those found in patio doors unless you want to experience seeing a network of cracks propogating up it for about one minute while making a crinkling sound like something out of a horror movie. (DAMHIKT)

Jeff

[Nick Hull]

The business that made them 25 years ago is out of business.

There are 30 panes about 2ft x 16", odd sizes to fit.

[mm]

I"m busy at 3. Could I come on Wednesday?

[Tom The Great]

IMHO:

Replacement sounds like the real answer. Check with the window's manufacturer.

hth,

tom @