I need to remove the cat flap (fitted to an insulated panel) in the back
door of our old flat and reinstall the sealed glazed unit as part of
getting the flat ready for letting.

I paid a bloke to put the board in when we got our cat, but I was not
there to see how he did it.

I have heard that the panels can be "snapped" out using a wallpaper
scraper along the longest edge of the beveled glazing strip but when I
tried it seemed that the scraper was going to bend or that plastic lugs
etc. might break first.

Perhaps I was just being a bit too cautious...

Is there a knack? Is there a tool made for this purpose? Should I be a
bit more brutal?

Thanks

Steve

Steve wrote:

I have heard that the panels can be "snapped" out using a wallpaper
scraper along the longest edge of the beveled glazing strip

Yup.


but when I
tried it seemed that the scraper was going to bend or that plastic lugs
etc. might break first.

The scraper will bend. Use a stiff one, and keep going. Start at one end
of a bead, not in the middle, and it will pop out.


Perhaps I was just being a bit too cautious...

Is there a knack? Is there a tool made for this purpose? Should I be a
bit more brutal?

Takes a lot of force.

Getting them back in without breaking the glass is the hard bit - but
I'll tell you about that some other time ;-)


--
Grunff
http://www.greendoug.com - a forum for all things environmental

In article ,
Grunff writes:

Is there a knack? Is there a tool made for this purpose? Should I be a
bit more brutal?

Takes a lot of force.

Are the units beaded or taped? If beaded, remove the beading from
the other side first, push the panel back into the space, and the
glazing strips should come out quite easily. If taped, then pushing
the panel against the tape (which is slightly compressible) will
achieve the same thing, although you'll find the panel is still
firmly fixed in place when you've got all the glazing strips out
(you'll have to cut through the tape with a knife or wire, clean
it off, and fit new tape).

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Grunff wrote:
Steve wrote:

I have heard that the panels can be "snapped" out using a wallpaper
scraper along the longest edge of the beveled glazing strip


Yup.

Thanks Grunff... time to try again!


but when I tried it seemed that the scraper was going to bend or that
plastic lugs etc. might break first.


The scraper will bend. Use a stiff one, and keep going. Start at one end
of a bead, not in the middle, and it will pop out.

Aha! I tried in the middle last time.


Perhaps I was just being a bit too cautious...

Is there a knack? Is there a tool made for this purpose? Should I be a
bit more brutal?


Takes a lot of force.

Time for an old scraper then.

Getting them back in without breaking the glass is the hard bit - but
I'll tell you about that some other time ;-)

Oh spoilsport! Go on, I know that you are dying to tell me really :-)

Steve

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
Grunff writes:

Is there a knack? Is there a tool made for this purpose? Should I be a
bit more brutal?

Takes a lot of force.


Are the units beaded or taped? If beaded, remove the beading from
the other side first, push the panel back into the space, and the
glazing strips should come out quite easily. If taped, then pushing
the panel against the tape (which is slightly compressible) will
achieve the same thing, although you'll find the panel is still
firmly fixed in place when you've got all the glazing strips out
(you'll have to cut through the tape with a knife or wire, clean
it off, and fit new tape).


I don't know.

I am told that he did it very quickly and there was no need to open the
door, which remained locked throughout. The job took him a few minutes
to fit the insulated board that he had measured and pre-cut.

Steve

Steve wrote:

Oh spoilsport! Go on, I know that you are dying to tell me really :-)

What you do is hold the bead in place then hammer it home. The problem
is doing that without denting/scratching/breaking the bead or the glass.

My solution is to use a small block of wood, around 2"x2"x4", with a
piece of A4 stiff card or thin plastic stuck to it. You place the bead
on the frame, then hold the wood+card gadget so that the block of wood
sits across the bead, and the card sits flat against the glass. You can
now slide your hammer against the glass and strike the block.


--
Grunff
http://www.greendoug.com - a forum for all things environmental

In message , Steve
writes
I am told that he did it very quickly and there was no need to open the
door, which remained locked throughout.
I *really* hope he did the job from inside the house if the door
remained locked!
The job took him a few minutes to fit the insulated board that he had
measured and pre-cut.

Steve

--
Clint Sharp

Thanks Grunff and Andrew - job done!

The first bead took quite a bit of force and slightly bent my wallpaper
scraper but the others were then dead easy.

I had no problem replacing the beads, a hard thump from the bottom of my
fist was enough to get them to click into place.

Cheers

Steve