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Default Old double vs new triple glazing

I'm thinking or replacing some fairly elderly (20+ years I believe)
hardwood double glazing including a large set if hinged patio doors.

I'm thinking about good quality triple glazed units in both cases. Am
I likely to see much of an improvement given the extra layer and the
passage of time?

The patio doors in particular are draughty anyway so I'd expect to see
improvement there. Also are any of the modern alternatives to hardwood
any good?
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Default Old double vs new triple glazing

seani wrote:
I'm thinking or replacing some fairly elderly (20+ years I believe)
hardwood double glazing including a large set if hinged patio doors.

I'm thinking about good quality triple glazed units in both cases. Am
I likely to see much of an improvement given the extra layer and the
passage of time?


It's generally reckoned that upgrading from single to double glazing has
a very long payback time (very many years) so I would expect that
changing from double to triple would be far less cost-effective than that.

The patio doors in particular are draughty anyway so I'd expect to see
improvement there. Also are any of the modern alternatives to hardwood
any good?


Draughtiness is a different issue altogether and not down to the number
of layers of glass... can't you fix the draughts with methods other than
replacing the windows?

uPVC windows etc are usually very effective at sealing the place up
though there are other considerations, eg aesthetics; also compared to
timber frames they are pretty hard to adjust if ever you do need to, in
that eg you can't plane them, plug old screw holes with filler etc

David
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Default Old double vs new triple glazing

On Mar 13, 7:00*pm, seani wrote:
I'm thinking or replacing some fairly elderly (20+ years I believe)
hardwood double glazing including a large set if hinged patio doors.

I'm thinking about good quality triple glazed units in both cases. Am
I likely to see much of an improvement given the extra layer and the
passage of time?

The patio doors in particular are draughty anyway so I'd expect to see
improvement there. Also are any of the modern alternatives to hardwood
any good?



triple glazing has its uses, but not many. The gain over dg isnt a
lot. But your problems are evidently elsewhere. Draughts can often be
fixed with a bit of silicone, apply to the frame, place clingfilm on
the opener and shut the window/door. The silicone is then moulded to
the frame. And there are other ways. Generally you can forget about
retrofit dg or tg ever paying its cost back, only fit it if its
genuinely needed.


NT
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Default Old double vs new triple glazing

On Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:00:38 -0800 (PST), seani
wrote:

I'm thinking or replacing some fairly elderly (20+ years I believe)
hardwood double glazing including a large set if hinged patio doors.

I'm thinking about good quality triple glazed units in both cases. Am
I likely to see much of an improvement given the extra layer and the
passage of time?


You could consider just changing the glazing for Pilkington K glass
which is more efficient thermally than what you have and which will
cost less than what you have.
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Default Old double vs new triple glazing

NT wrote:
On Mar 13, 7:00 pm, seani wrote:
I'm thinking or replacing some fairly elderly (20+ years I believe)
hardwood double glazing including a large set if hinged patio doors.

I'm thinking about good quality triple glazed units in both cases. Am
I likely to see much of an improvement given the extra layer and the
passage of time?

The patio doors in particular are draughty anyway so I'd expect to see
improvement there. Also are any of the modern alternatives to hardwood
any good?



triple glazing has its uses, but not many. The gain over dg isnt a
lot. But your problems are evidently elsewhere. Draughts can often be
fixed with a bit of silicone, apply to the frame, place clingfilm on
the opener and shut the window/door. The silicone is then moulded to
the frame.


Don't forget to give the cling film a coat of cooking oil to act as a
release agent first though. It might also be a good idea to give the
window/door a thin coat, in case of creep of silicone.

Dave


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Default Old double vs new triple glazing

On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:10:03 +0000 Peter Johnson wrote :
You could consider just changing the glazing for Pilkington K glass
which is more efficient thermally than what you have and which will
cost less than what you have.


May or may not be worth it. Back in the UK my local glazier was
charging a £50/m2 premium for low-E argon units over regular DG,
probably reducing the U-value from about 2.8 to 2.0. I used to reckon
that reducing the U-value by 1 saved £1/m2 on the average house,
possibly £2 now, so that would give a 3.2% return, but that's cancelled
out if you assume a 25-year life for sealed units. If you can get the
low-E glass for a much lower price or energy prices increase
significantly then the economics would be better.

--
Tony Bryer, Greentram: 'Software to build on' Melbourne, Australia
www.superbeam.co.uk www.superbeam.com www.greentram.com

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