Hi,
My understanding is that these units have the glass fitted so it can only be taken out from the inside (i.e. to stop baddies prising it out from the outside). Is the rubber beading thicker on the side you can take it out?
TIA
About the same I think, but the rubber seal is part of the pvc beading on the inside
So what should I look for to differentiate between inner and outer side? (I suspect things have been fitted the wrong way round.)
TIA
I dont think it would make any difference, it is very hard to get the glass out with the rubber beading inside as there is no space to force out the plastic edge strips, and it is also very dificult if the bead is outside, as the edge strips do need some force to get them out, which can only be done from the inside. Any burglar will just force his/her way in, they wouldnt bother with taking out a window when it can be (fairly) quietly broken. There was a discussion earlier this year about locks, and whether it would be worth buying good quality expensive locks - undoubtedly not worth it, IMO, as every break-in I have attended has either had a window broken, or the door has been forced open, or had a panel kicked out of it. The patio doors I fitted last week look to be welded in when the glass was fitted, they were just the same both sides, and the doors could be fitted either way - inward or outward opening, so the makers are not worried at all about security or weather protection, they think both sides are equally good. Alan.
on ours there is a 15mm quadrant that's removed to take the glass out
Look closely at the frame moulding. One side will be one complete bit of plastic from the glass seal to where the frame disappers next to the wall. The other will have a clip in quadrant of some sort from the glass seal to the face of the frame. The glass is fitted from the side with the quadrant.
AFAIK uPVC windows of any size and shape can be obtained with the sealed glass units designed to be fitted from the inside or the outside - nothing to do with whether it's a French window or not.
These days externally fitted units are usually held in place with glazing tape on the inner faces; this adhesive on this stuff is incredibly strong and makes it pretty well impossible to demount a fitted unit. When I was humming and ha'ing over which sort to choose, the window farbricators (who supplied both types) reckoned that it's the
*internally* glazed units which are the less thief-resistant, since after administration of a half-brick the broken unit can easily be removed to give a 'clean' point of access (especially important these days due to the undesirability of leaving and blood/DNA at the scene), which is not possible with externally glazed units.Externally-glazed uPVC windows usually have a narrower, less unattractive frames too.
So if you're worried that your own windows may have been fitted 'wrong', then it's certainly not necessarily the case.
David
Burglary seems to have gone out of fashion round here. The only things worth pinching are mobile phones, laptops, and credit cards, which are unlikely to be left on the premises.
Thanks Dave.
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