One for the chemists.

[Norman Verona]

The two huge double glazed windows I've put in the new porch have moisture in them.

 

I'm not bothered about the heat loss properties being compromised but would like to see out them!

 

So, I was thinking of drilling a hole between the two pieces of glass and pouring some Silica Gel inside.

 

Two questions.1) will this absorb the moisture which is spread across the inside. 2) will the Silica stick to the moisture as I pour it in (from the top) and not drop ro the bottom?*

 

 

 

* I was thinking of drilling, say, 5 x 8 mm holes at the top and pouring the silica in. The Silica is 2mm - 5mm in size.

 

 

Many thanks oh great ones of infinite knowledge. (Can we make an acronym of that - GOOIK)

[peterg]

Surely if you drill a row of holes in the glass then the moisture will be able to escape through evaporation after a few days in the sun and job done?

[SteveD]

Surely if you drill a row of holes in the glass then the moisture will be able to escape through evaporation after a few days in the sun and job done?

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

I wouldn't put the silica gel in until after it's dried naturally either. A hole at the top inside and again at the bottom will allow a convection current when the sun heats the assembly.  Remember that the gel, once saturated, is as useless as nothing so use it when the least moisture is in there. BTW it's probably physics as much as chemistry...

 

There are firms who claim to do this for you so it cannot be an entirely daft idea, can it?

[Norman Verona]

OK, I'll drill holes top and bottom. The "problem" is the weight of them. They're in place but not fitted with an outside frame yet so we can tip it forward to drill the top and then try and get the bottom out one side at a time to drill upwards. I've drilled a hole in the side at the bottom. Crow bar should be able to support the end as it's pulled away from the frame it sits on.

 

 

The other problem is  "when the sun heats" - what sun?

 

Thanks all.

[Norman Verona]

Just to clarify, I'm not drilling through the glass but through the rubber seal which bonds both sheets together.

[Welly Jen]

Hi Norman

I would seal the holes up afterwards. If there is an ongoing air leak in to the frame then eventually the gel will get saturated and stop working. Double glazing panels are filled with dry air during manufacture for this reason and should be sealed for life. You get misting problems when they leak between the panes. If there is an air leak that you don't know about then once the gel is saturated the outer sheet will  act like a single glazed window and mist up whenever the outside air temperature drops below the water dew point of the air between the glass. I have heard that double glazed boat windows are not very reliable for example as the engine vibration through the hull loosens the seals. Does anyone know if it is possible to get the glazing units seals repaired at a reasonable cost?

 

Jen

[Stuart]

Unless they are unusual or huge then they don't cost a lot to replace.  I've just replaced a few sealed units at my home - a good quality normal sized side opening window sealed unit is about £20 (just for the unit - fitted my me).  I've also got the local glass company in next week to replace two in my conservatory that are too big for me to handle - to come out, measure up, supply and fit 2 toughened glass units is gonna cost me £200. 

[Norman Verona]

Stuart, these windows are 2.3 metres by 1.4 metres. Not going to get these for a few hundred quid, let alone get them to France.

Jen problem is that they are so heavy that we had to lift them into position with the engine crane.

I'll drill holes top and bottom and not put the silica in.

Let you know how it goes, Jacob is supposed to be finishing the porch next week. Only taken 9 months! Can have a baby in that time!

[corsechris]

Got any welding gas handy norm? Once you are happy it's dry inside, pop in the silica, purge it with Argoshield then seal it.

 

Had a couple of minor double glazing adventures recently. Tarting the house up for sale so finally(!) got round to a few jobs that have been pending for a while. First one was to replace a window entirely. Old frame came out no bother, new frame fitted perfectly (to the mm - amazing given I measured it...), put glass in, for some reason, opted to put the top bead in first - brain fade I think. Came to put the next one in.....got half way then 'tink' - huge crack in the shiny new sealed unit. dangler. My improvised glass packers had let me down. As I had put the top bead in, the bottom of the glass had kicked out, split the packer and droped a wee bit. Of course, I didn't spot this, next bead then forced the glass back into the frame until it came up against the split packer...and that did for it.

 

The other one....an couple of old sealed units had blown out, I'd measured up and ordered new ones. Had to remove the opening light from the frame as the beads were on the outside, strip the glass out...only to find I had cocked up spectacularly when measuring and no way would the new units fit in the holes. Put it all back together and threw the new units in the skip. Damed annoying as the hinges on the opening opening lights are pop-riveted into place. And, of course, these were upstairs windows, so I'm standing on the window sill doing this job, trying not to drop the window

[Welly Jen]

Hi Norman,

I think it will just be like single glazing if you leave the holes open. OK in summer, but misting up when it is cold. I like Corsechris idea. One hole, put some silica in, then purge with dry bottled inert gas. If you put a rubber bung in the hole it can be purged again as required.

 

Jen

 

Edited to add: Just imagine spiders getting in through the open holes and dieing inside!

 

t be

Jen problem is that they are so heavy that we had to lift them into position with the engine crane.

I'll drill holes top and bottom and not put the silica in.

 

[Norman Verona]

Jen, I think we'll put up with bit of misting in the winter. I'd love there to be spiders in there, they only live in dry conditions. Chris has a good idea, but it's not worth going to that sort of trouble as the glass on the inside is now dirty.

I'll drill 5 holes top and bottom (this is over 2.3 metres) and see what happens.

Bear in mind that I'm on my own and it's not easy taking windows half out for maintenance every year or so.

[alexander72]

Good Luck with it Norman, Hope it goes well, i mean 2.3m bits of glass, Norm working alone, levering glass about - what could go wrong (just genuinely hoping you dont have an accident Norman) 

 

good luck

 

James 

[Stuart]

Norm the 2 I'm having replaced combined aren't small - cumulatively 2.9m x 1.2m.   But as you say, that's in UK not France.

[Norman Verona]

There doesn't seem to be much second stuff in france. There's web site called bon coin (good corner) but it's full of old tat.

Lets try the holes and see what happens.