On 20/11/2019 22:11, petek wrote:
On Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 5:52:40 PM UTC, Adrian Brentnall wrote:
On 20/11/2019 16:58, petek wrote:
A friend of mine would like a stained glass window with a bespoke design at the top of her stairs to replace the existing window. Real stained glass would be too expensive, even if I was capable and were to have a go myself, so I was thinking of making it with adhesive lead strip and glass paints on a clear "plastic" sheet and then fixing this on the inside of the existing glass. I've seen a few links on t'internet for this kind of thing but have a few questions.
The existing window is a double glazed unit approx 500 mm x 1200 mm.
1 I'm confused re the different materials and what would be best for this. Polycarb? Acrylic?
2 Would 2 mm thickness be OK?
3 Whats the best method for cutting a sheet to the exact size of the existing glass? Score & snap?
4 I was thinking of fixing it to the existing glass by making it a few mm smaller all round and then using a narrow silicone bead to hold it in place. Any other ideas?
5 If I fix it rigidly in place as above, what about differential expansion? Would it buckle?
Grateful for any advice.
Cheers


Well - if you must..... grin - I work in 'real' stained-glass..

DECRA Led used to be the people who make this stuff, but they got taken
over - you could look at http://www.decraled.co.uk/

The double-glazing companies use the self-adhesive 'lead-on-a-roll' and
self-adhesive coloured vinyl sheet.

There are also glass paints (Pebeo) - which can produce a similar effect.

I'd imagine you'd need a base that wouldn't bend - possibly bog-standard
4mm glass would be best - and there are 'secondary glazing' systems that
would allow you to mount the glass relatively safely.

Depending on where the thing is to be fitted - you may need to consider
using toughened glass.

Sorry if I have offended any "real" stained glass crafts people out there! Cost is just too prohibitive, as well as my expertise as a first timer (although I have cut window glass many times). Thanks for the links to suppliers of materials.
As I said my first thought was to use a sheet of polycarb/acrylic but I don't suppose there is any reason why I shouldn't use a piece of ordinary window glass as you suggest. This would probably get over any differential expansion problems. I intend to fit it so that there is no gap between it and the internal glass of the double glazed unit to avoid condensation problems.
The window bottom is about 4ft high on the landing at the top of the stairs, so I would not envisage any safety problems.
Thanks again.


Not offended at all - only kidding!
I seem to recall that there were secondary d/g systems that used acrylic
sheet - possibly 2mm...

You won't get a perfect seal between the existing glass and the new
'stained-glass' panel - you will get condensation.
The way I do it with stained-glass panels, which are often fitted as
'tertiary' glazing, is to deliberately ensure an air-flow between the
stained-glass panel and the existing d/g panes - simply be allowing one
or two small gaps at top and bottom where the stained-glass framing
meets the double-glazing frame.

There are a lot of folks who make double-glazed units using the stick-on
lead on one of the glass sheets - you might find it cost-effective to
get one of these companies to make you a single sheet of glass (rather
than a d/g unit) but with the lead and plastic film already applied..

Another way to introduce the colour is with acrylic paints - Pebeo are
the well-known supplier. These paints need to be 'flooded' into the area
- but if you're using the stick-on lead then you could do that..

Simple timber 'picture-framing' profiles can be used to secure glass
panels to existing window-frames...