OT double pane windows

I have a couple of windows in the house that have become cloudy. They are a cheaper off brand and about 8 years old. My question is can I drill some holes in the top of the sash so I can put in some bleach or cleaner to clear out the mold or whatever in between the panes? I would make sure they were dried well and then seal the holes with caulk. I want to replace the windows eventually, but I want to do them all at once so they match. Anybody got any constructive suggestions? Thanks, John S-B.

Your seals have failed when you get condensation in between the panes of glass. Nothing you do will fix it, besides replacement. I would just live with it until I could afford to replace the windows.

If your windows have removable glass retainers, why not just order replacement glass? I wouldn't necessarily go to the window manufacturer. Most glass places will do it also. Local outfit for me was cheaper than the window builder when I had the same problem.

Some of the very low-end windows do not have removable retainers.

Good luck!

Anthony

In Canada, where we must have energy efficient houses, or freeze, or pay a lot for heat, double pane windows have been obsolete for 30 years. Triple pane is now normal. They can give trouble too. BTW triple pane has it's advantages at both -40 and also at + 100 degrees.

Do you use storm windows over the outside of the triple pane windows?

Thanks.

I have replaced a couple, look for a glass shop. Or from the people who sold them to you.

No storm windows, that was the old way, even before the double panes. Still lots of storm windows on older homes, storm doors too. A great many very old houses have been retrofitted to make them more heat/energy efficient. However some just cut more wood and sit closer to the fire. Not my way, though. We have all metal clad doors (wood between the metal). They are about 1 1/4 inches thick. One door does it. A plain insulated door with frame costs 300 CDN. One's with triple pane windows about 100 to 200 more depending how fancy (32 to 34 inch wide doors: 28 to 30 is cheaper).

Years back, when I worked in the lumber yard, we had a nice fellow who ran the glazing/window shop, I used to help him when there were no deliveries, and besides new wood sash from the mill, he'd get all kinds of repair jobs come in, some of which remind me of what you describe.

You can break the bead around the panes and separate, clean, dry and seal up with butyl, he used to do this often, taking your time to clean all 4 surfaces of the glass, when looking at insulated glazing, you have the #1, #2, #3 & #4 surfaces. I'm not sure if once cleaned, dried and carefully sealed, that these were impermeable to moisture again, but the sealant was good quality. The metal piece that creates the space between the 2 pieces of glass used to have these small round ball grains to absorb moisture, from the factory, so I assume once exposed, they too could dry or absorb moisture, which could fog a window pane when it got hot or cold, more so in extreme temperatures. There is a lot to know about glazing, that is for sure.

I'd probably not use that method, thought this guy was an old timer who spent many years working for Marvin windows, he did it to help those that could not spend a lot of money for a repair.

If you can de-glaze the sash, measure what is called the "day light opening" and allow for some space between the new glazing and the sash frame, the old lite (glazing)will provide you the measurement to order new glazing from a glass supplier, probably best to just re-glaze the sash.


A lot of people replace windows in some circumstances that don't necessarily require a whole new window unit, depends on what you have and how it was installed, old double hung wood sash. with single panes are obviously not a high performance window, however if you are in a historic or landmark district, you may be required to keep them. I've seen people at planning and zoning meetings who have gone so far as to buy new replacement windows but were prohibited to install them due to historic zoning regulations, and now have a stack of windows that they can't use (ususally in urban and or city areas) having bought them thinking that the old windows could not be repaired, and somehow they could get an approval because no one deals with wood sash anymore, they are what they are, but any decent craftsman can repair those, we used to do a lot of wood sash repair at this place.

If your windows are a decent type and are installed correctly, glazing replacement is cost effective, if they are poor performers, then it's wise to replace.

I reglazed a wood bow window with 12 lites about 8 years ago, totally rebuilt the arc radius sill, and even made up 2 new bottom rails for the 2 bottom operating lites, once reglazed, and set with glazing compound, no air infiltration, lites were insulated and the repairs to the bottom rails of the operating lites came out precise, I made them on a table saw after one try, local contractor said the unit had to be replaced, I said BS, I know it could be repaired and did it myself, I used pressure treated wood and painted it, on the west side where all the weather and sun is dominant, 8 years later, I am sure happy with it.

John, this is unrelated to your question but I thought that I would give out an Anderson window hint. I have some casement Anderson windows from back in the eighties when the panes were spaced closer together and not as energy efficient. I found out that the newer windows are the exact replacement in the frame. I went to an Anderson dealer that had some of the newer more efficient windows that he had removed and saved when changing out windows. I was able to purchase eight of these windows for $20 each and now I have cleared up the water condensing on the window in the winter problem.

They came with the house when built, shoulda upgraded to Anderson or something. Can't find the manufacturer anywhere, probably out of business like the parent company of the builder, Oakwood homes.

These are cheaper vinyl windows, I don't think the lites come out.

I am putting in new windows and they are the double pane, haven't found tripple pane and they are all going to have storm windows on them. Found some from dealer and using standard storm windows but for one window had to order custom size and window maker offered storms as an option so that is what I took. And when built on a different house several year ago looked at Anderson and they were junk, this past year when doing windows again they were the worst of the lot again. And at that time they were all wood, now aluminm clad wood. I put in a couple of vinal windows only because they were avaible but they are not over 2' X 2' square or 15" wide by 28" high and I had aluminm storm windows on hand that fit and worked on those double hung vinal windows. Can't find any storms to fit those 2 x 2 sliders but they need them.

well here goes I have never saw a window that didn't come apart some how if it is vinyl the glazing bead holds it in aluminum has screws. Yours being vinyl the strip on the inside holds it called the glazing bead they also use glazing caulk on the other side so they are hard to remove without breaking unless you have the tools to do it. Are yours the solid glass with the strips inside to create a segmented look? if you could take a pic. and send it to me I could more than likely help you figure out where they come apart.

I installed double pane windows in my house in 1990. Guaranteed 10 years. Brand name GAPCO! Should have told me something. They almost made it the ten years. I tried using a glass cutter on one to make it a single pane. Change your's out to a high quality triple pane. David............