Dear all,
I wonder if anybody's got any ideas about this (or whether something similar has previously been discussed)?
I have a 1930s semi with virtually all windows being casements. All are the originals: wooden (single-pane) casements and fixed frames dating from the 1930s.
I have ordered and had delivered a set of LandVac vacuum-glazing (double glazing) panes for about half of the 40-odd casements in the house. My plan is simply to replace all the single panes with these new ones. The thickness is slightly greater, and I have prepared a first small casement, by taking the casement frame out, taking the pane out, and then hand-chiselling to make the rebate of the casement slightly deeper and slightly larger. I'm quite happy to do this casement by casement by myself over coming months.
What has been messing with my head now for a few months is about the best way to weather-proof (and noise-proof) the gaps between the casements and the fixed frames into which they fit. Since the 1930s, due to movement, some of these gaps have become bigger than others but none is really enormous. It'd be nice to have a sealing system which provides some kind of flexibility as to gap sizes though.
I have a router and I was thinking about removing the single pane, routing a groove, fitting the vacuum pane, and pushing Aquamac 21 weatherseal into that groove. I've been dithering about this for a couple of months. Part of my reluctance is due to a wish not to mess up these venerable old casement frames.
But in addition to that I have a suspicion that a more intelligent answer may be possible: do no routing, but take advantage of some existing grooves present on the casement frame and the fixed frame. These are matching grooves which have existed since the house was built. They are quite shallow curved grooves, maybe 4 mm deep at deepest, which face one another when the casement is closed. They are about 6 mm / 1/4 inch across. On one forum a few months ago someone recognised what these were, and their original function/name, but I've forgotten.
Anyway my idea is to put a suitable, above all compressible, rubbery cylindrical tube into one of these grooves, probably the one in the fixed frame: the idea is that that closing the casement would meet with some degree of resistance, but hopefully this would produce a good thermal and acoustic seal.
There are two questions:
1) does anyone have any idea about whether such tubes are manufactured? they'd probably have to be quite small diameter, maybe 6 mm diameter... and they'd have to be squashable but reasonably elastic, i.e. able to spring back. They'd also have to be reasonably tough. Although in practice most of these casements remain closed from one year to the next.
2) if they can be found, does anyone have any idea about how these tubes could be attached into the bottom of this shallow groove? My idea is to make 2 holes, one on either side of the tube, at maybe 5 cm intervals and then drill into the frame (i.e. at the bottom of the shallow groove... and then use some sort of small-washer-and-screw arrangement to keep them in place. I wouldn't really have any faith that adhesives would do the job. But maybe there's a better way?
Thanks
I wonder if anybody's got any ideas about this (or whether something similar has previously been discussed)?
I have a 1930s semi with virtually all windows being casements. All are the originals: wooden (single-pane) casements and fixed frames dating from the 1930s.
I have ordered and had delivered a set of LandVac vacuum-glazing (double glazing) panes for about half of the 40-odd casements in the house. My plan is simply to replace all the single panes with these new ones. The thickness is slightly greater, and I have prepared a first small casement, by taking the casement frame out, taking the pane out, and then hand-chiselling to make the rebate of the casement slightly deeper and slightly larger. I'm quite happy to do this casement by casement by myself over coming months.
What has been messing with my head now for a few months is about the best way to weather-proof (and noise-proof) the gaps between the casements and the fixed frames into which they fit. Since the 1930s, due to movement, some of these gaps have become bigger than others but none is really enormous. It'd be nice to have a sealing system which provides some kind of flexibility as to gap sizes though.
I have a router and I was thinking about removing the single pane, routing a groove, fitting the vacuum pane, and pushing Aquamac 21 weatherseal into that groove. I've been dithering about this for a couple of months. Part of my reluctance is due to a wish not to mess up these venerable old casement frames.
But in addition to that I have a suspicion that a more intelligent answer may be possible: do no routing, but take advantage of some existing grooves present on the casement frame and the fixed frame. These are matching grooves which have existed since the house was built. They are quite shallow curved grooves, maybe 4 mm deep at deepest, which face one another when the casement is closed. They are about 6 mm / 1/4 inch across. On one forum a few months ago someone recognised what these were, and their original function/name, but I've forgotten.
Anyway my idea is to put a suitable, above all compressible, rubbery cylindrical tube into one of these grooves, probably the one in the fixed frame: the idea is that that closing the casement would meet with some degree of resistance, but hopefully this would produce a good thermal and acoustic seal.
There are two questions:
1) does anyone have any idea about whether such tubes are manufactured? they'd probably have to be quite small diameter, maybe 6 mm diameter... and they'd have to be squashable but reasonably elastic, i.e. able to spring back. They'd also have to be reasonably tough. Although in practice most of these casements remain closed from one year to the next.
2) if they can be found, does anyone have any idea about how these tubes could be attached into the bottom of this shallow groove? My idea is to make 2 holes, one on either side of the tube, at maybe 5 cm intervals and then drill into the frame (i.e. at the bottom of the shallow groove... and then use some sort of small-washer-and-screw arrangement to keep them in place. I wouldn't really have any faith that adhesives would do the job. But maybe there's a better way?
Thanks
