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Double glazed window seal query


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Hiya.

 

I wondered if anyone here can advise me if my new Double glazed windows are able to be saved. I picked them up second hand and have fitted 3 of them. There are 4 more to go. However, after fitting I noticed there is condensation in between the panes and it appears someone has attempted to reseal with sealant that hasn't cured in places. 

 

Is it possible to simply scrape out the old sealant and redo on both panes of glass at the edges. Or does the glass need to come out completely and replace the rubber bit that separates both panes as well. I've also seen a method of drilling small holes to let the moisture out. However it's toughened glass I think so not sure if this method is possible. 

 

Advice gratefully received. I spoke to a window maker who i thought might know. But he only makes them new to order. Which is very expensive and im trying to do things cheaply. Have included some pics. Thanks.

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The only thing you might try is to attempt your resealing on a really warm day,and put a small amount of silica crystals into the gap between the panes, never tried but it might work.????

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These look like they may be the Channelglaze ones, same as I have. Give them a call and ask, they’re usually helpful, but one of mine failed just inside the warranty and it had to be reglazed with new glass because they couldn’t get the thing apart without breaking the toughened glass panes. A couple of others of mine sometimes go a bit misty, I just wait for the sun to come out and live with it.

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I have read of someone drying out the air between the panes by drilling a couple of tapped holes through the edge spacers, attaching pipe fittings, tubing, an air pump and a tube containing a dessicant. Allow the air to circulate for a few hours, then remove the pump, tubing and pipe fittings and insert sealed plugs. Googling might find more details of how to do this. Not sure how long it would last.

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11 minutes ago, Ian F B said:

The only thing you might try is to attempt your resealing on a really warm day,and put a small amount of silica crystals into the gap between the panes, never tried but it might work.????

You can do this with caravan windows if, like you say, you get a really good hot day, but because they're moulded plastic they are quite easy to fix (once you get the hang of it) and they don't require much of a vacuum. I can't help thinking that the glass ones would be a little more complicated to separate, dry out and reseal again and to do it all fast enough to prevent moisture getting back in. Having said that you have the windows and you can't really make them that much worse so I would give it a go - though I might not be the best person to listen to cos I'll give anything a go. :D

 

 

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45 minutes ago, AndrewIC said:

These look like they may be the Channelglaze ones, same as I have. Give them a call and ask, they’re usually helpful, but one of mine failed just inside the warranty and it had to be reglazed with new glass because they couldn’t get the thing apart without breaking the toughened glass panes. A couple of others of mine sometimes go a bit misty, I just wait for the sun to come out and live with it.

Great. Yes I'll give them a call. If it helps here is another photo of the windows wigh less shadow

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42 minutes ago, David Mack said:

I have read of someone drying out the air between the panes by drilling a couple of tapped holes through the edge spacers, attaching pipe fittings, tubing, an air pump and a tube containing a dessicant. Allow the air to circulate for a few hours, then remove the pump, tubing and pipe fittings and insert sealed plugs. Googling might find more details of how to do this. Not sure how long it would last.

Hiya. Do you mean drilling through the aluminium frame too. Getting to the middle part from the side? See photo. That's a great idea. I've seen the kits you can buy with the piping and pumping some kind of chemical all around the inside. I think to reseal or treat the rubber bit that is treated with a chemical and probably gone now due to the water. Then leaving the holes open but sticking some kind of filter over. One of the holes high and one low. I saw a YouTube video on it. But for a house window of course

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39 minutes ago, Tumshie said:

You can do this with caravan windows if, like you say, you get a really good hot day, but because they're moulded plastic they are quite easy to fix (once you get the hang of it) and they don't require much of a vacuum. I can't help thinking that the glass ones would be a little more complicated to separate, dry out and reseal again and to do it all fast enough to prevent moisture getting back in. Having said that you have the windows and you can't really make them that much worse so I would give it a go - though I might not be the best person to listen to cos I'll give anything a go. :D

 

 

Definitely worth a go. Im not sure taking it all apart is a good idea though. Putting it back together may be an issue. I didnt pay alot for these windows so definitely worth trying to salvage.

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9 minutes ago, SadieF said:

 

Definitely worth a go. Im not sure taking it all apart is a good idea though. Putting it back together may be an issue. I didnt pay alot for these windows so definitely worth trying to salvage.

I can't advise on how you would do it with your specific windows, they all look pretty solidly sealed, but I usually find if I stare at something long enough I come up with something, and if nothing else it's a learning curve. Youtube seems to be full of videos of folk fixing double glazing so perhaps something is doable, though I didn't see any on boats. 

 

Good luck with what ever you do about it. :D

 

 

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Toughened double glazed sealed units are very cheap to have made for domestic windows but you must go to a manufacturer and not a double glazing company. I replaced several blown 6ft panes in our conservatory a couple of years ago and it really didn’t cost much at all. However, to replace them on those boat windows presents two problems as I see it - firstly how to dismantle the frames and secondly the fact that they have radiused corners which I think would limit the number of companies who could supply. 

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11 hours ago, WotEver said:

Toughened double glazed sealed units are very cheap to have made for domestic windows but you must go to a manufacturer and not a double glazing company. I replaced several blown 6ft panes in our conservatory a couple of years ago and it really didn’t cost much at all. However, to replace them on those boat windows presents two problems as I see it - firstly how to dismantle the frames and secondly the fact that they have radiused corners which I think would limit the number of companies who could supply. 

This is good to know. I do need 3 more smaller windows. It might be worth getting domestic windows and cutting the curved part of hole into a right angle so it fits. 

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1 hour ago, SadieF said:

This is good to know. I do need 3 more smaller windows. It might be worth getting domestic windows and cutting the curved part of hole into a right angle so it fits. 

Only a personal opinion, but I think that domestic uPVC windows on a narrowboat look awful.

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12 hours ago, dor said:

Only a personal opinion, but I think that domestic uPVC windows on a narrowboat look awful.

I dont mind the look. But would prefer some alumium frames to match ones I already have as close as possible

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8 hours ago, SadieF said:

I dont mind the look. But would prefer some alumium frames to match ones I already have as close as possible

I appreciate that you want to keep the costs down, and I think your right about sticking with aluminium frames if you can, but I would be very carful about cutting the boat's windows aperture to accommodate domestic windows because once it's done you can't put it back and it's really not a good look, while you might not mind it it will do horrible things to the value of your boat. 

 

I did try to find a piccy that wasn't too scruffy but this one was all I could find, if you close your eyes slightly, squint a little bit and imagine the whole boat is painted then this is the look you may end up with. 

iu.jpeg

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