I have wooden window frames and was wondering rather than replacing all with new double glazed glass whether it would be OK to cut glass the same size as each small pane and putty them against the existing glass in the wooden frame. Would that still give me a double glaze insulation effect? There seems to be enough room for two pieces of glass within the frames.
Cheers T.
Although I have double glazing in my property I am not totally up on it's manufacture, but I am lead to believe that the glass panels are actually sealed units that have had the air extracted from the middle of them to provide a vacuum, thus not allowing any condensation to build up in between the glass.
I suspect that if you do as you suggest, then you will be in for more problems than you bargained for.
-- the_constructor
Manufactured double glazed units are hermetically sealed with silica gel (to absorb moisture) between the pains.
Chances are if you follow this through there will no doubt be moisture trapped between the pains which will show as condensation during cold weather.
Dave
If you do that, do it from the inside and use beading rather than putty so that the inner pane is easily removable for cleaning. A better alternative is to buy made to measure sealed units to fit the frames.
If you have sash and case windows then you will still get draughts. I think fitting a complete extra unit inside the present frame would be your best option.
Thanks for your thoughts, I'll look further into the sealed units. Cheers T.
No. You need an air gap to make double glazing. The air gap also needs to be sealed and filled with dry air otherwise you will just get condnsation between the panes of glass.
Adam
I was actually thinking of cleaning out the putty on the inside of the glass and laying a bead of clear silicon and sandwiching it between the two sheets. I was hoping the silicon would seal the gap between the two sheets and that way retain the heat in an old building.
Cheers T.
If you do that in a very dry place (ie very low humidity) you may get some benefits.
Why not try it on one pane first?
Good luck
Adam
Good idea. Cheers T.
Double glazing is less effective if the gap between the panes is too small - though it'd still be better than single glazing.
You can get double glazing units made by the local glazier quite cheaply
- I'm about to get a load made for the conservatory.
If you do go down the home-made route, you'll need some way to cope with condensation - on commercial units you'll see the metal spacer is perforated. Behind the holes is silica gel to absorb any stray moisture. You may have to invent something similar.
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Ask the community — no account required