Reglazing Windows

[niemeyjt]

I am considering options to reglaze wooden windows - without replacing the wooden frames.

One option is a sort of acrylic plastic units 11mm thick stuck on inside leaving original glass in place.

But has anyone tried removing the glass and putting in a double glazed unit - assuming there is sufficient depth - and if so any recommended suppliers or other hints and thoughts? The thinnest I have found so far is 14mm (2x4mm + 6mm gap)

TIA

 

[deema]

To get deeper DG units in you can slim down the glazing beads or just deepen the rebates if there isn’t a moulding in the inside.

 

[Tris]

It used to be possible to get a 'stepped' unit that could fit in a single glazed frame. Not a great look but one possibility

 

[Fitzroy]

You can get 12mm units quite readily,4/4/4. However the thermal performance is not great, I built a window a few years ago with these and it’s nowhere near as good as the 22mm or 24mm thick units in other windows. Recently got a thermal camera so can now see the difference.

How thick are your window frames? As Deema said you can likely use a router to deepen the rebate for a thicker DGU.

Fitz

 

[Ollie78]

It is the sightline that is most important. If there is room for an 8mm rebate in the bars then you can use 6.5mm sightline heritage units.
Anywhere from 11mm to 18mm thick with krypton gas. If you have the sightline then adding the extra depth is pretty easy.
I have done this numerous times with success.
However, it is very messy and time consuming, which is why I normally just make complete new casements or sashes so I know it is a nice crisp job and will last longer, it is also easier to glaze and paint.
There is also the convenience of being able to make and almost finish the new windows before having to remove the old ones so no boarding up temporarily or anything.

 

[redp]

It really depends how deep and wide the existing rebate is.

I double glazed a door recently, and luckily the rebate was quite deep (about 28mm) and wide (about 15mm) so I was able to get a standard 4-10-40 unit in, and still have 10mm of depth to get some beeding in. With DGUs you need think about how you are going to fix them in - my preference at the moment is double sided foam tape as it gives a good fix and also provides a good seal.

Last year I reglazed a slit window (like a mullion window but made of brick). The openings are only approx 100mm wide x 400mm high so adding rebates of any width would have significantly impacted on how much you could see out/let light in. For these I used Fineo glass (vacuum glazing). The sightlines on these is about 6-7mm (similar to heritage double glazing) but with the thermal performance of triple glazing. Downside is the cost (about x6 standard DGUs) and (possibly) the microdot pattern (I don't notice it). The reason I did it this way was more to do with the flexibility on how to seal in the units (no issues with just silicone or putty, unlike DGUs), as I couldn't get a wooden frame in.