Secondary glazing

Asprilla · 29 Dec 2014 at 12:32

What do I need to know about secondary glazing?

We've got some original victorian leaded windows on out stairs and the kids play room as some lovely original sash windows in there.

I don't want to get rid of either and I can't afford (I assume) to have the sash ones replaced with new double glazed ones (they are 2x 1mx2m) so I'm looking at having secondary glazing either internally or externally.

Both windows are on the side return so I'm not too bothered about external looks and I'd prefer to keep the internal look as much as possible, but I'm having difficulty finding anything external so I'm assuming there is no such thing or it've very rare (and thus expensive).

Anyway, any guidance would be useful. Cheers.

Lumeycom · 29 Dec 2014 at 22:19

Fitted some for my grandparents many moons ago from Granada secondary glazing (quick google shows they are still going).

Measure up and order off them and they come pre build and can open etc any way you want them to.

I've not heard of external secondary glazing tbh, while its robust enough for indoor use it certainly wouldn't be up to the job of standing up to the elements. Upside of this is that the frames are very small in profile so do not stand out like a sore thumb.

Asprilla · 31 Dec 2014 at 16:07

That's a pity.

As you can see there is plenty of room externally for another frame, but nothing internally. Same goes for the lead light on the stair. Tried to get someone round to have a look but all the local glazers / double glazers are on holiday until the 5th.

Lumeycom · 31 Dec 2014 at 20:15

see what you mean about fitting internally, would be a shame to spoil those windows.

jl10000 · 31 Dec 2014 at 20:35

Are the box sash windows draughty? You can buy staff bead and parting bead with a plastic strip machined into it that takes a draught excluder, you can also get a meeting rail seal. The beads are nailed on so are quite easy to replace.

It is possible to modify the existing sashes to fit a double glazed unit, which can be as thin as 9mm. It all depends on how much deeper you can take the rebate, a quick look at that picture looks like you may have room. If the sashes are moving freely then you may need to add weight after putting in DG, which means opening the pocket which can be a pain if its in the middle of the box.

If you're thinking about buying secondary glazing I would consider getting some quotes for two new sashes with DG to fit the existing box frame.