Window glass replacement?

[Joe J]

Is this possible...I have an octagon window approximately 20" across. It's dual pane and has lost its seal so there is moisture inside. Would it be possible to pull off the interior wood trim and somehow remove the glass and replace it w/o removing the entire frame? The outside is mounted in 6" wood-siding, heavily caulked and I don't have any matching paint. I'm assuming the outer nailing strip lies under the siding, not just the wood trim around it, right? Thanks,

[Ed Pawlowski]

That would be the normal method.

[hrhofmann]

Have something ready to fill the opening once you remove the old window, it may take a week or two for a local glass shop to take the old window and send it out to have a new one made up. Most local shops outsource thermopane style glass fabrications.

[willshak]

Joe J wrote the following:

Those windows are pretty standard. You might be able to get another and just replace the window without removing the frrame.

[Sonny]

Once you remove the moldings and pane, look for a number or other type identifying letters/numbers/code somewhere along the jams. If you know who made the window, that code or number is used to make an identical window, pane, moldings... whatever needs to be replaced.

On double hung sashes, casement windows, etc., the numbers are "tattooed" on the edges of the sashes (usually the side edge), as well as either on the jam and/or on the outside of the unit's frame.

This identifying of window units is standard for the major companies like Pella, Jelwen, Kolbe, etc. and identifying a unit is essential for a particular product/unit under warranty.

If your window is not too old, it may still be under warranty. Kolbe's warranties used to be transferable to new home owners, when a home would be sold... the units were warrantied, no matter who the homeowner was. I'm not up to date to know if Kolbe's warranties are still that way.... and I've never known about Pella's or Jelwen's owner-transfer policies, at all.

Sonny

[hallerb]

In pittsburgh theres a local window place that builds new sealed units on site:) drop window off in early AM pick up new unit after 3 PM, pretty cheap too.

there are window people who will come out and measure you existing glass then return later no fuss no bother a little extra money......

[krw]

Before we sold our last place I had a few done by a local glass company. They had a two or three day turn (so may have sent it to someone else). IIRC,

18"x39" casement windows were something like $35 each. I made a plywood filler and moved it from window to window as I had each repaired.

[Malcolm Hoar]

Yes, when I first encountered this problem, I feared I could be looking at a bill of several thousand dollars per window for replacement *windows*.

But having just the sealed-units replaced by a local glass shop cost me only a couple of hundred dollars per window. I was very happy about that ;-)

I really hate handling glass so I had the whole job done for me. Took the guy 10 mins to measure up. A couple of days later, he replaced half a dozen units in about an hour or so.