Glass cutting !

After 24years the 'double glazing' in my house is 'blooming' between the glass..

As usual the builders fitted the cheapest ,with only a 10mm gap , as a thermal insulator it is next to useless. No problem with that.

What I would like to do is remove one pane ( i.e make it single glazed ) without

interfering with the installation. That is, in situ.

Now, how best to ' break the glass' ?

On the inside ?

On the outside ?

Use a single point diamond tool ( my grinding wheel dresser ) ?

Conventional glass cutter ?

What to use to dress any ragged edges back ? I have a die grinder.

Panes are not big , approx 20"x 16".

Ideas welcome.

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!

We had leaded lights replaced with clear panes a while back.

The glazing firm had wide rolls Sellotape material they stuck to both sides of the glass.

They then removed beads and put a flat blade in to release pane

Often the pane broke but the sellotape stopped any glass going anywhere.

BB

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

Replacement double glazing panels are surprisingly affordable. You may be doing yourself a favour by looking up the cost and comparing to the cost/faff of converting to a single pane.

I've got about 26 units that need attention, so I'm going to try the starter kit for £210 which does 12 units.

If all is OK, then I'm doing the rest the same way, as (predominantly south facing) new units are bound to fail eventually anyway.

Martin.

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 replaced several double glazed units in a conservatory that i'd built many years before.. again suprised by how relatively little they cost to have made up by a local double glazing place - ready to pick up in a couple of days.

Also i dont know if they still do them but wicks (uk) used to stock timber frames and double glazed glass in standard sizes and one could just buy the glass if they had a size to fit.

Lastly if the units will come out easily then any drilling might be possible from the side between panes for those that want to play at fixing them. That mght avoid some mess.

pgk

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

As said, buy new double glazed panels. Most will be standard sizes, if not ask round some local firms and get prices. The most I paid for about a metre square was £40 2 years ago. When you measure up allow about 6mm less ie. 3mm all round and state " glass size ". Get some good clear silicon mastic and away you go.

Many thanks for those ideas and suggestions.

I should have mentioned that I still have the original wooden window frames.

There is a humorous side to this.

Since I am the only house left on the development that hasn't had all the frames replaced by plastic I always get

the undivided attention of the various 'reps' trying to sell plastic/double glazing. Pain,pain.

So far, they have believed my story that my house is covered by Heritage status and cannot be changed.

An important thing to remember when fitting DG panels if you are using a sealant is to make sure you get a neutral PH, specifically one for glazing. If it smells of acetic acid (vinegar) the units will soon have condensation inside them.

DAMHIKT!

Martin

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.

JH - the usual method is to say you are renting. Short discussion....

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

Speedy Builder,

Simplest, cleanest option for me I think.

Thanks for that, Spring /Summer job sorted.

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

How will you bring the unit back to the correct thickness?