Replacing single glazed glass with Double Glazed - Wooden Windows

[Simon]

Hi there,

The downstairs bay windows in my house (double bay 1920's) were replaced with Double Glazed units some years before I bought the place. There are a few remaining single glazed windows that I would like to replace with double glazed glass, but want to keep costs to a minimum.

Could I simply replace each single pane of glass with a custom made sealed double glazed pane in each existing wooden framed window? The windows have been well maintained over the years and are in v good condition.

Would I just use putty or beading to hold the window in place? Would I also be ok to do this to replace the glass in the first floor bay?

And lastly, if I'm ok to do the above - can anyone recommend a supplier in the Cardiff area?

Thanks in advance!!!!

Simon

[Mary Fisher]

Yes, we've done our entire house like that. It's cheaper and less disruptive than getting the plastic boys in, you can do each pane at once and at your own pace. We spread the labour and cost over two or three years and hardly noticed it.

We did - a round bay with five big and five small lights.

I'm looking now, it must have been silicone 'putty'.

No, look in Yellow Pages for glass suppliers and ask them if they do custome made units. Our local one, luckily, is only a mile from home and very, very helpful.

Mary

[Simon]

Mary,

Thanks for your comments - sounds like I'm going to save a bundle on replacing our windows! Anyone else had any experience replacing single glazed glass with sealed double glazed units?

Simon

[Cicero]

================ You need to check that the rebates are deep enough to accept the DG units. They're usually a minimum of 11mm thick which is quite a bit thicker than standard glass (4mm). Beading is quicker and easier than putty and looks much neater unless you're an expert with the putty knife. You'll still need a seal between glass and beading, applied with a mastic gun.

Some older windows have nailed-in sub frames or opening lights which can be removed completely to accept much thicker DG units. It depends on what appearance you prefer.

Cic.

[Mary Fisher]

It also reduced the area of glass by quite a lot, thus negating one of the benefits of using the original frames..

Mary

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You need to use a flexible way of mounting the DG panels in a wood frame. Traditional putty doesn't flex, and movement of the wood will cause the DG unit to fail early.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You must have *very* small windows. ;-)

[Stuart Noble]

You can get sealed units where the front section is bigger and sits in the old rebate. The rest protrudes into the room, which can either look okay or a bit naff, depending on the thickness of the wooden frames and the units .

[Simon]

thicker than

Sounds interesting - I suppose I could get a decent gap between the glass this way - do you know of any suppliers or should a standard glazier be able to sort me out something like this?

Thanks