The method of holding the glass in the frame governs how you do it, in between the glass is a dessicant strip so this must remain inside the system so you will have to take out the rear pane of glass. Old glass is hard to cut so you need a new glass cutter. use a lubricant like soapy water and run around the edge of the frame and then maybe across each corner, tap in the middle and you 'may' get a clean break.. Nothing is guaranteed, you may get hell of a mess or it will go like magic. How to clean up the edges is another story!

Mine have blown too (20mm units), but I'm going to try this method.

Martin.

Edited By blowlamp on 03/03/2018 11:39:35

Last time I handled a double glazed panel it shattered into diamonds when a corner touched the floor !

Every area should now be well covered by specialist double glazing repair men, get a man in

What height is the panel situated at and what size, chances are it may be toughened and you won't cut that just end up with thousands of bits all over the carpet.

10mm gap was considered good 24yrs ago and 6 was more common.

Edited By JasonB on 03/03/2018 13:21:33

I wouldn't do it; depending on the exact construction it could get very difficult and messy. Even done well the results will be inferior to doing the job properly. However, if you fancy a go why not?

Removing the outer pane will expose the inside of the frame to the weather: expect corrosion and unsightly puddling. I'd go for the inner panes.

The glass will probably be tempered. I suggest the best way to remove it is to shatter it with an automatic centre-punch. The bits will fly everywhere, so use sheeting to contain it.

Early and upstairs fittings may be ordinary glass. All my attempts to cut ordinary glazing in situ with a cutter have ended in tears. Perhaps I don't have the knack! Ordinary glass is nasty in that it breaks into razor sharp shards and grinding the edges is time consuming and liable to break the glass again. You can't leave razor edges on the inside of your windows.

I don't know how difficult it will be to tidy up where the glass meets the panel side. My double glazing is a sealed unit and the edges may glued in solid.

Perhaps the best thing is to investigate the cost of replacement panels first. If that's off-putting experiment on a single panel to see how easy it is (or not!) to remove a single pane. One thing to watch. If replacements are priced like windows, it will be much cheaper to have the whole house done at the same time rather than to do panes piecemeal.

Dave

As an example of cost I've just had a replacement double glazed unit fitted with toughened glass, size was 900mm x 800mm, total cost of unit plus fitting £80.

John

Edited By Sandgrounder on 03/03/2018 15:31:06

Be brave, take the DG panel out and saw thro the mastic / aluminium spacer with a circular saw – then you will have two panes of glass for each window !!
BobH Ps, wear protective gear.

I had exactly the opposite experience, I drew up a list with all the window sizes and took it to a local firm, he gave me a quote of about £2500 and I asked him to come and have a look at the job to discuss details, he refused and said he'd only look at it if gave him the order, I went somewhere else.

John

I just paid £35 for a unit 900 x 550, and fitted it in 2 or 3 hours, the worst bit is cleaning out the old putty. This was bought from a local small glazer, I found the companies that advertise on the web much more expensive.

Chris Gunn

If I bought a house with single glazing it would be on the expectation of having to replace them all with double glazed units – this would come off the price. I'd also wonder what else the previous owner had turned his fists of ham to. Removing them all, bodging them as proposed and refitting them will cause more damage and loss of value than if you did it properly. Find a local glazing panel manufacturer and get a proper quote rather than run the gauntlet of the salesmen – I think you'd be surprised how affordable it would be. Conversely I'd suggest you couldn't afford not to.

Murray