When choosing windows for their home, the buyer often thinks about the thickness of a double-glazed window and whether it plays a role when choosing a window. This parameter should be given due attention, as it affects the technical characteristics of the windows. The weight of the glass unit and its ability to insulate noise and heat will depend on it.
Main types and tasks of an element
The thickness of the glass unit of plastic windows plays an important role, since it determines how strong the glass unit will be, how well it can insulate heat and noise, and how much the structure will weigh. The main functions of the window are assigned to the double-glazed window.
The types of these structures are as follows:
- Single-chamber double-glazed windows are the simplest and most affordable. The thickness of a single-chamber double-glazed window usually does not exceed 4 mm. It also happens that in one package there are two glasses, the thickness of which is different. It is easy to find out about this by reading the product labeling. The manufacturer resorts to this technique to make the window cheaper. This double-glazed window is suitable for warm climates; The middle zone and more northern regions of the country are not suitable for using such windows for installation in residential premises, since they are not able to withstand severe frosts.
- The thickness of double glazing is usually more satisfactory for the northern regions of Russia. Three glasses are installed in a double-glazed window, the thickness of which is on average 4 mm. Usually all the glass in the design is the same; due to the larger number of glasses, an additional air chamber appears. Due to this, condensation forms only at a temperature of -20 degrees, if the chambers are filled with air, and -25, if an inert gas is enclosed between the glasses.
- Three-chamber double-glazed windows are perfect for northern regions. For central Russia and the south of Russia, installing such windows is irrelevant. The thickness of the three-chamber double-glazed window allows you to easily withstand severe frosts, which do not occur in the middle zone. Such a window costs much more than a two-chamber window and has a larger mass.
If you want to save energy costs on heating, then you should know that the thickness of the glass unit is not the most important factor. The type of glass that will be installed also plays a role. For example, it makes sense to install energy-saving glass. It is covered with a special film that reflects heat, returning it back to the room. This results in energy savings. In summer, such a film will protect against excess ultraviolet radiation, making the room cool.
- Exclusive options. At the request of the customer, many manufacturers are ready to produce double-glazed windows with from one to five chambers; less often, six are offered. The thickness of the glass in double-glazed windows can also vary. For an additional fee, you can always install glass with a thickness of 6-8 mm or more.
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Work technology:
Removing old glass.
To remove the old glass, you need to remove the glazing beads. For this you will need a chisel. The chisel is carefully driven between the frame and the bead near one of the nails. You can start with the outermost nail, and then move on to the rest, or from the middle one - whichever you like best. In this case, first small rotational movements of the chisel are made clockwise and counterclockwise, and when the chisel enters 5-7 mm under the glazing bead, the chisel can already be used as a lever. If the glazing bead is not rotten, and the nails are thin and not rusty, then the glazing bead can be pryed off quite easily. Otherwise, the glazing bead breaks at the point where the nail is driven in and then it has to be broken out in pieces. If, after removing the glazing beads, the nails remain in the frame, then they must be carefully pulled out with pliers, while also making small rotational movements with the pliers.
Determination of glass sizes.
Since window sashes are not always rectangular and not even always parallelograms, to determine the size of the glass it is not enough to measure only the height and width. Usually the width of the glass is measured at the top and bottom, then the height on the right and left, and if the sash is crooked even by eye, then for reliability you can also measure the width (or height) in the middle. Measurements are taken from the side of the frame from which the quarter for the glass is selected (I did this just in case, you never know).
Additionally, the diagonals of the glass are measured. If the difference in diagonal sizes is less than 1%, for example 80 cm and 80.7 cm, then you can ignore such a difference and order or cut ordinary rectangular glass yourself. If the difference is greater, then this must be taken into account. As a rule, glass is cut slightly smaller to avoid possible problems during installation. For example, with an opening size of 50x70 cm and approximately equal diagonals, the glass is cut to dimensions of 49.5x69.5 cm.
The glass is measured using a tape measure. It is not advisable to use tailor's meters or school rulers for this task.
Glass cutting.
If the glass is ordered in a glass cutting machine, then everything is simple, just carefully bring it home. If you cut glass yourself, it is better to first practice on old glass, for example, broken glass. The peculiarities of working with glass are such that it is useless to give any advice here; only practice and a good glass cutter will help.
I will only add that cutting glass is accompanied by a corresponding sound, by which an experienced glazier will determine whether the glass has been cut or not. If a wide enough strip is cut, it can be broken off with your hands; to be safe, it is better to wear gloves first. The glass is placed beyond the edge of the table cover so that the cut strip protrudes beyond the edge of the cover by 0.3-1 cm. Then you need to grab the edge of the cut strip and press down with a sharp movement, as if trying to bend the glass. If the glass is not large, then it is advisable for one person to press the glass against the table with a ruler, and the second person to break off the cut strip. For greater reliability, before breaking off, the glass is tapped from below with a glass cutter. If the glass is cut well, then when tapped, cracks appear along the cut.
If a narrow strip of glass is being cut, it is better to break it off with a glass cutter. The glass cutter has special slots for this purpose for glass of different thicknesses.
Any fairly flat board or block can be used as a ruler; metal profiles are not advisable for this purpose. Before cutting, the glass is wiped from dust and dirt at the cut site.
Checking the frame.
In poorly made windows, the quarters chosen for glass may not be in the same plane, i.e. There may be a difference in depth in the corners. If such a difference is large enough, then during installation the glass may bend and crack. To prevent this from happening, the quarters need to be trimmed if necessary. To do this, use a zenzubel or a folding plane, but you can also use a regular plane, but you will still have to trim the corners with a chisel. I’ve never had a false-gebel, but I do have a zenzubel, it looks like this:
Checking glass dimensions.
After the glass is cut to the required size, it needs to be inserted into the frame. If the glass fits well into the quarter, then you can proceed with further operations. If the glass on one side or in one of the corners does not fit into the frame by 1-2 mm, then you can increase the quarter using the same zenzubel. If the glass turns out to be slightly smaller than required and does not overlap the top block of the frame by 1-2 mm in height, then for the glass you need to make linings under the bottom with a height of 3-4 mm.
Cutting glazing beads.
Glazing beads are usually cut at an angle of 45° to make them look nice. To do this, use a hacksaw and a miter box. However, instead of a miter box, you can use an ordinary construction angle for marking and cut along the markings, but with a miter box it is still more convenient. It doesn’t take long to make the simplest miter box yourself; all you need is 2 bars. A miter box looks something like this:
Accordingly, it is enough to mark the required length on the bead and then make the cut:
As a rule, the glazing bead is cut off on one side first, then it is inserted into the frame and a mark is transferred to it, and a second cut is made along the mark. Properly cut and even glazing beads are held in quarters and without nails. After the glazing beads are cut, it is advisable to mark them with a pencil, for example: B, N, L and P, which means: top, bottom, left and right. Then, to simplify the process of attaching the glazing bead, it is advisable to attach nails. At the same time, you can immediately see at what angle the nail will go. Sometimes I even drill holes for nails with a thin millimeter drill, but as a rule this is not necessary.
Glass installation.
Before installing the glass, a quarter of the perimeter is coated with putty. To do this, you can use a special window putty or any acrylic sealant. After applying the putty, the glass is inserted and pressed against the quarter so that the putty comes out. If the putty is not enough, you can coat the perimeter again after installing the glass. Then the glazing beads are nailed. The beads should be pressed tightly against the glass. To avoid scratching the glass with a hammer, 2-3 layers of electrical tape are wrapped around the striker. In general, this procedure looks like this:
That's all.
How to understand product labeling?
If you carefully examine the product, you will notice a set of numbers on it: for example, on single-chamber double-glazed windows you can often see the following values: 4-16-4 - this means that the package includes two glasses, the thickness of which is 4 mm. The distance between the glasses is 16 mm.
The following markings are typical for double-glazed windows: 4-10-4-10-4. This means that the design includes three glasses, the thickness of which is 4 mm, and the distance between them is 10 mm.
Flat glass grades according to GOST 111-2014.
According to GOST, sheet glass is divided into grades according to glass purity from M7 to M0. The smaller the number after “M”, the higher the purity of the glass. The most popular brands of sheet glass are M0 and M4. This is due to historical reasons: previously the M4 glass brand was considered the best, but over time the quality of glass has increased greatly and now M0 is the most popular brand. In fact, at the moment, glass of the M4 brand is not produced separately, but is a reject from the mass high-quality M0 brand.
Differences in thickness
The thickness of glass in double-glazed windows can be from 4 to 8 mm, depending on whether you install a standard double-glazed window or order an individual double-glazed window. Most often, the entire structure has a width of 32 mm if we are talking about a two-chamber structure. The standard width of a single-chamber window is 18-24 mm.
Thickness may depend on the manufacturer. Inexpensive windows usually have glass thickness of about 3 mm, as this makes their price more affordable. Better quality manufacturers produce glass with a thickness of 4 mm. Professional expensive windows have a glass thickness of 6-8 mm.
At the same distance from glass to glass, the glass unit that is filled with inert gas will be warmer. Gas not only retains heat better, but also protects windows from fogging up if the temperature inside and outside differs sharply.
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How to buy sheet glass from Russian factories.
The capacity of Russian glass factories currently completely covers the market needs for colorless sheet glass. It is quite difficult to buy low-quality glass made in China, especially in central Russia. The needs of the Far East may be met by supplies of glass from the Middle Kingdom, but local businessmen have extensive experience working with China and will not deliver low-quality products. So, from the colorless glass available on the Russian market, you can buy any grade M1-M4, since the quality of all factories is approximately the same.
