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steamy glass on inside

Started by Janette, 27 June 2007 12:28 PM

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Janette

Hello everyone,

I hope somebody can help. I appear to have a double glazed window that is no longer air tight. What I mean is that there is condensation on the inside of the outer window pane.

This is only affecting one window in my house. The Double Glazing is not under guarantee any longer, I suspect it was done years ago. It's a UPVC window. Is there any way of repairing them, either doing it myself or alternatively getting someone in to do it? If I knew what needed to be done it would save me being cheated when I got someone in to do it. Please don't say the window needs replacing - that's going to be out of the question financially. The glass unit is approximately 1.8m x 1.2m. It looks a complete mess at the moment and I can't put up with it anylonger. ???

Karl F

#1
Hi Janette

You will need to replace the glass unit to solve the problem. You could do this yourself if you are good at DIY  but I would recommend getting quotes from glaziers and upvc repair companies to replace it for you.  One of the most important things to inspect when the glass unit is removed from the window is the drainage in the frame. Water will always find a way into the uPVC frame where the glass unit sits so you have to make sure that any water that ends up there can drain out freely. This will prolong the life of the new glass unit.

Chris

#2
Just a bit more info to add.....

You will need to measure the thickness of the glass unit, normally 20, 24 or 28mm overall. Then you will need to measure exactly the height and width of the glass unit in mm. You can do this by removing the 4 plastic beads around the edge of the glass and removing the unit or estimate the size. You can estimate the size by measuring upto the upvc frame at the edge of the glass and adding 23mm onto your width and 23mm onto your height to take into account the glass that goes behind the frame.

To buy the glass unit in clear float (standard glass) you would expect to pay around £50. To pay a company to measure supply and fit it around £150-£200. If the beading is located on the outside of the property then security tape may have been used to bond the glass unit to the frame on the inside. To release the glass from the upvc window frame you will need to cut between the glass and inside frame using a thin blade/paint scraper. Once the glass unit is removed you will need to remove the rest of the security tape from the upvc frame and replace with same thickness tape. You can buy security tape from most glass unit manufacturers.

Karl F

I would just like to add that with some upvc profiles you need to remove the black gasket on either the inside or outside of the frame first before the plastic beading can be removed. :)

Janette

Thank you everyone for your help and advise. I think I will end up getting somebody in to do it for me but at least I know what they "should" be doing.