We had some double glazing installed a few years ago.
While it was being installed, we noticed a large gap, around 2 inches, above a large window frame and the brickwork. This was covered front and back with some plastic type strip, sealed with silicon gunned in between the strip connection the strip and frame/wall(?). Nothing was placed behind these strips, so there was in effect a large gap. Should this have had something insterted between, will it have been insulated, why would the frame be selected if it was 2 inches too short?
After installation we noticed several things, the silicon between the walls and these plastic strips peeling on some units, a strange noise on the above window when there was wind and a door with a window (about 2/5 the size of the window) starting to meet the lower frame when closing and requiring a gentle pull upwards. Do these sound like problems with installation, or are they normal and to be expected?
We did notice on some of the units tiny gaps, visible by the fact if it was dark inside, you could see the light on the outside.
We've recently had the house gutted, and noticed a few extra things.
After removing the floor tiles, the internal pane of one of the units, which goes up from the floor (with a plastic lower half, window upper) gradually started cracking. We did have dehumidifiers installed at the same time, anybody have any ideas what may have caused this?
After the removal of an internal stud wall (a small hall) housing a large window, which was at a 90 degree angle to a front door/window unit (about 2 metres long), the front door and window is totally unstable and if the door opens, the whole unit moves inwards about 2 inches. You can apply a small amount of pressure anyway on the door or window and the whole thing moves a good couple of inches. Should the unit have been depending on this stud wall? Would you expect the above symptom after being removed? The whole thing appears to be secured by 2 or 3 screws either side, nothing on bottom or top? If I recall correctly, the thing was put up as two bits, should it have all been one?
Around all of the windows, there appears to be no insulation of any type withgaps between them and the walls. All have been covered up with a plastic strip and small amount of silicon around the strip. Some of them give movement when you apply pressure. I don't know if they were like this prior to the works.
All the units are sealed double glazed units with PVC-U(uPVC) frames. The original window cills, wooden, where left in place. Damage caused to the external walls was fixed up with cement by the installers. The units were installed 3 years ago and no work has been done on them or the structure in that time.
We need to know what the cause of the above could be, either installation, the materials, the gutting process or simply expected behaviour, so that we can get on with rebuilding the inside of the house.