Secondary Glazing UK - Double Glazing Links

Secondary glazing

A house with no windows would as ridiculous as it is unthinkable. However glass is in many ways a poor choice of material for anything other than letting in light. It’s a poor insulator; letting heat out and letting noise in.

Ask anyone who lives near Heathrow and they’ll testify to the poor sound proofing qualities of a single pane of glass. Similarly there are plenty of us who have watched their curtains billowing on a stormy winter’s night; despite the fact that the window is closed. Cold breezes have a nasty habit of cutting through gaps in window-frames and crumbling putty. Inadequate insulation also encourages condensation and waking-up to find your bedroom windows in floods of tears is a miserable way to start to the day.

Double-glazing is the obvious answer; offering a simple way of cutting down on sound, saving energy and avoiding condensation. However, double glazing isn’t the answer to everyone’s problems, as anyone living in a conservation area or a listed-building will tell you. Any alterations to period properties must be in-keeping with the original structure and local planning departments frown on double glazing. Similarly, homeowners may not want to rip out a perfectly good set of windows simply to cut down on noise pollution. Fortunately secondary glazing provides a discrete and cost effective solution.

Secondary glazing involves installing another pane of glass behind (or in front of) the existing window. If you want your secondary glazing to provide sound insulation you’ll need to make sure that there is a gap between the panes of at least 10 mm. Today’s marketplace is awash with different frames and opening mechanisms and you’ have to think about which best suits your needs, although the current favourite seems to be a simple horizontal sliding system.

Secondary glazing is an entirely different ball game to double glazing and most people with solid DIY skills should able to install it themselves. If you aren’t confident, enlist the skills of a local builder or handyman.

 

 

 

 

© The Pink Fridge Online Magazine 2008 - Double Glazing

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