sealed glass window failure

This topic has 16 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 23 May 2018 at 16:28 by the artfull-codger.

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20 May 2018 at 08:21 #354730
michael howarth 1
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@michaelhowarth1
I am lucky enough to have sealed glass windows in my workshop but both have failed over the winter. I have heard of a means bringing them back by drilling a hole and sucking out the air and resealing. Anyone tried it?

Mick
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20 May 2018 at 08:21 #25987
michael howarth 1
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@michaelhowarth1
20 May 2018 at 09:19 #354734
Journeyman
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@journeyman
Mick, there was a *** recent thread *** on similar lines has a few links and a video of what you are talking about.

John
20 May 2018 at 16:15 #354761
Howard Lewis
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@howardlewis46836
There firms about who will replace / repair failed units. (Often the failure is because of a screwhead protruding and stressing the bottom of the unit).

Howard
20 May 2018 at 19:34 #354785
Phil Whitley
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@philwhitley94135
If they are upvc, much easier to tap the beads out with a scraper, then take them down to your local glazier and get two new ones made, they are not expensive, in fact, little more than the cost of two sheets of glass where I get mine done, and I dont get special rates!
20 May 2018 at 21:07 #354793
michael howarth 1
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@michaelhowarth1
Thanks all for the advice.

Mick
20 May 2018 at 21:33 #354797
Adam Mara
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@adammara
I covered my windows with frosted vinyl, my machines are in full view of any unwanted visitors. Also have heavy mesh and a grill over the wooden door. Paranoid, that's me!

Richard
20 May 2018 at 21:41 #354798
John Rudd
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@johnrudd16576
Posted by Phil Whitley on 20/05/2018 19:34:15:

If they are upvc, much easier to tap the beads out with a scraper, then take them down to your local glazier and get two new ones made, they are not expensive, in fact, little more than the cost of two sheets of glass where I get mine done, and I dont get special rates!

Gets my vote too….

I've replaced a couple for our house and done one for the m-i-l….didnt break anyones bank..
21 May 2018 at 09:18 #354817
Samsaranda
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@samsaranda
Replaced a large double glazed unit in my workshop, over a metre square, as it was for use in a workshop and not domestic the local company that made the replacement didn’t use toughened glass as required in domestic units. Unit was ordered in the morning, collected in the afternoon, can’t get better service than that, and I was amazed how cheap it was, can’t remember exactly how much, memory not so good these days. Easy to remove and refit once the glazing beads are popped out using a paint scraper.

Dave W
22 May 2018 at 20:48 #354985
Georgineer
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@georgineer
I asked our local (and first-class) double glazing repair man about this yesterday and he reckons the 'damp cures' are at best a temporary expedient while you sell your house to somebody else. He is regularly approached by the purveyors of such systems, and has never seen one that he believes in. He also told me that some local firms he knows have been persuaded to act as agents for the various systems, and he knows of none who haven't regretted it.

George
22 May 2018 at 21:10 #354987
blowlamp
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@blowlamp
Posted by Georgineer on 22/05/2018 20:48:26:

I asked our local (and first-class) double glazing repair man about this yesterday and he reckons the 'damp cures' are at best a temporary expedient while you sell your house to somebody else. He is regularly approached by the purveyors of such systems, and has never seen one that he believes in. He also told me that some local firms he knows have been persuaded to act as agents for the various systems, and he knows of none who haven't regretted it.

George

"In the UK many Housing Associations and Corporations now use this as their preferred method of dealing with failed units."

There's always a flip-side
22 May 2018 at 22:10 #355001
Muzzer
Participant
@muzzer
Agree – it's amazing how cheap it is to get a glazing company to measure up and replace the glass units. They are commodity items of course, so it shouldn't really be a surprise. Given how many houses have these things and the fact they have historically a 10(?) year life, there's a big, low margin industry servicing it. Thank god the life is increasing somewhat these days….

Murray
23 May 2018 at 13:28 #355033
richardandtracy
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@richardandtracy
When I made a pair of double glazed sash windows from scratch, I used 3mm thick horticultural glass (which was double that of the 100yo glass that was in the windows that came out of the hole) and used two panes separated by 25mm beading. The outer pane was glued in with silicone on the inside & putty on the outside, and I just tacked beading around the inner pane. This allowed breathing of the space between & it never steamed up.

The first took me 3 weekend to make – starting with pallet timber – and the second with a small design change took just one weekend. 26 bits of wood in each, explains why sash windows went out of fashion.

Regards,

Richard.
23 May 2018 at 13:42 #355035
Andy Carruthers
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@andycarruthers33275
When replacing failed sealed units I would go for laminate glass on the outside pane and toughened on the inside pane, I would never use float glass anywhere, it shatters into large chunks and is very dangerous

Replacement sealed units are cheap and false economy to repair, if you know where to go, they can be made on the spot

Edit – measure unit inside of bead to inside of bead and add 10mm in both dimensions then you don't have to remove the old one until you have the replacement in-hand

Edited By Andy Carruthers on 23/05/2018 13:44:58
23 May 2018 at 14:48 #355038
pgk pgk
Participant
@pgkpgk17461
Wicks used to (may still but none local to me) stock wooden window frames and the double glazed units for them in a range of stock sizes. I was lucky when doing some upgrades to an old house to find glass panels that fitted the holes i owned.

Also when renovating a conservatory with blown/steamed units I found the local glass place cheap and fast.

pgk
23 May 2018 at 14:52 #355039
Andy Carruthers
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@andycarruthers33275
Slightly off topic – but I think relevant

Every double glazing manufacturer has spare windows available often with glass, these are a consequence of mis-measures by either the ordering company or more usually the fabricator. If making a workshop or replacing a window it is worth asking around to see if anything available is a close enough fit, same applies to doors too
23 May 2018 at 16:28 #355047
the artfull-codger
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@theartfull-codger
One of the main reasons [apart from faulty manufacture] is water ingress and the unit standing in water at the bottom of the frame,the unit seal won't take it, the main failures were wooden frames & units not filled in all round with butyl putty,[latterly tape & silicone] & beading not sealing, with pvc & alloy the unit stands on spacers & when the water gets in it drains out through the weep holes [drained system] as long as they're not blocked up with drillings or worse forgotten to put in.
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