First let me say that I am not a trades person, just a home owner, but very handy around the house. Earlier this winter my son, playing with a piece of bamboo and a rock broke out the glass (one of the panes of double insulated) in an Anderson Frenchwood Door. This unit is center hinged with one side stationary, he broke the “active” panel side. So I go to the builder that originally built the house (house is only 5 years old) and talk to him about getting it fixed. He stated that the glass in these can not be replaced, and that I would have to replace the whole panel (half of the door). He could get the panel in 3 weeks, but would not have time to get someone out there for 6-8 weeks. He had seen some of the work that I had done during the building of the house ( I installed 980 sq ft of hardwood floors) and actually talked me into doing myself, even gave me a break on the cost of the replacement, $635.
Well a week ago while operating a weed eater, it throw a rock, and you guessed it broke the same door again, this time the stationary side. I really don’t want to spend another $635 on a door. Can only the glass in these be replaced? Has anyone done this and were the results good? Will I have problems with leaks or humidity between the panes of glass?
Thanks for any help.
Mike
Replies
While it is potentially possible to do this, you will end up wishing you hadn't tried.
Is you homeowners insurance a high deductible?
Excellence is its own reward!
I checked on the insurance the first time around. Deductable is $500, my rates would probably go more than the $136 that I would get back from making a claim. Piffin you are probably right, I could end up with more headaches than I would save anything. But when I talked about replacing the glass, I ment that I would have a local glass company do it. There is a lot of things that I will try to do myself, but this is not one of them.
That's what I figured about the deductible but didn't know if you had considered it.
comparing you replacing the whole Andersen door with your own labor to having a glass shop replace with a generic panel, the cost difference may be negligable but the quality difference wqould be disappointing. Too much chance of seal failures or color difference in the glass..
Excellence is its own reward!
The way HO insurance is today you should probably have at least a $1000 deductable and better a $2500 or $5000 deductable.
Because you don't want to file for any thing less anyway.
For example if he had say a $100 deductable and filed for those 2 different occurances the would most likely not be renewed at the end of the policy year.
And then pay hell trying to get replacement insurance.
If you want Andersen glass, you'll need to order the replacement stationary panel. However, if you just want to replace the glass you'll need to find a source for insulated glass. The glazing beads that hold the glass in pop off with a putty knife. Next you'll need to cut the silicone glazing from the other side. I use a deglazing tool ($50.00 from C.R.Laurence) or you could sharpen the edge of a flexible putty knife. Squirt soapy water around the perimeter and cut the bond with the knife. Now push the glass out (or what's left of it). Replace glass with same specs.........if your glass says HP or High-Performance in the upper corner remember to order the replacement the same. It's also called Low-E. Could also be Sun II ...but not likely. A Frenchwood Door is tempered glass as well. The shade of Low-E may be different the the generic unit....so you may see a color difference side by side.
It'll be cheaper replacing the glass with a generic insulated unit, but nothing beats Andersen Quality when it comes to glass.......nobody! IMO
jocobe
I'm not familiar with Anderson 'Frenchwood' doors, so I may be off base--but try this out to see if it'll work for your situation.
If the glass panel is not trapped in a dado cut into the door rails and stiles, you should be able to remove either the glazing material (putty or silicone; more likely the latter) or the wooden moulding strips that hold the glass in place. Once that's done, it's not that big a deal.
You can order the replacement glass from your local glass supplier; it'll take a week or so usually to come in because the thermo-pane has to be custom made to your size, especially if it's tempered glass (the tempering has to be done after the glass is cut to size; you can't cut tempered glass, as far as I know).
Do be careful with your measurements: best is to remove the old glass first and measure it if possible. Measuring the opening leaves you guessing how much to reduce the size of glass you're going to order. Generally, I reduce the measure of the clear opening by 1/4" side to side (leaves an eighth each side) and 3/16 top to bottom (the glass will sit on the bottom of the opening;the extra 16th is in case you need to put a 'pad' of foam tape or something similar under bottom of the glass to prevent the pane from rattling when the door is shut. Remember these measurements are general rules; a lot depends on the size of the pane and what the rails and stiles are made from and how much difference you've got in temp and humidity from one part of the year to another. Like I said, try to measure the old glass if at all possible.
The cost of the thermo-glass panel is an awful lot lower than most homeowners think, especially if you shop around and find a glass supplier that deals with the trades (he'll have a better price at the supplier). Putting in the glass is no more complicated than installing a regular pane of single glass; it's just heavier and thicker. Most glass installers today use silicone caulk for installing glass; the brand I use for modern windows is Mulco Flextra, which has a 20-year service life and lays in very well. If you can keep a constant bead coming out of the tube, you shouldn't even have to tool it. If you know someone with an air-powered caulking gun, or if you can rent one, it makes running long beads of caulking a lot easier.
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
I agree with what you say, and can add that you might find the stops on one side of the glass are pinned on. Get a small diameter punch(rather than a nail set) and drive the pin(or whatever they used)right through the glass stop, and then remove it. You may need to coax it out with a knife if they caulked it in. I think you will find the pinned on stops on the interior side.
I've been told by glass suppliers I only need allow 1/16" space on each edge, but using a cushion on the bottom is a good idea. The glass may have self-stick cork or rubber pads stuck all over the surface that can be used.
What ever you do, I'm told, is to never use silicone caulk to bed thermo pane because it attacks and destroys the caulk used on the panel, breaking the seal.
Clean the rabet, run a neat 1/2" bead of latex caulk in the corner and set the glass in, squishing the caulk out for a good tight seal. Leave the squeeze out to cure, and slice it off later with a razor. Squeeze the interior stops in place, and try to get a good caulk seal there also. Pin the stop in place, being careful of nail orientation if using an air gun. Let the caulk dry, and slice it off later.
I don't bed the thermo-pane panel in the caulking; I just set it in the rabbet as if it were an ordinary pane of glass, then stop it in place with glazier's points before I put the wood stop bars back. The Mulco Flextra I use goes on the outside and simply seals the glass to the door frame to block drafts. It never touches the rubber seal between the two panes of glass that make up the unit.
I feel that spec'ing to a 16th of an inch is a bit fine for someone who doesn't do it all the time. If it turns out to be just a tad too tight, you're gonna have to relieve the rabbet which is a pain and then your stop bars won't fit well. If it's a bit undersize, you just stick those little cork pads you mentioned on each side to keep it centered and the extra space will be hidden by the stop bars. But like I said, the best is to be able to measure the old pane. It's an outside measure, and glass is pretty stable stuff: you should be able to hit it spot on. Then if the delivered unit is off, you can send it back.
Your trick about driving the pins through the stop bars is a good one. When I build windows and doors, I cope-cut the stop moulding so that it can be pried out when necessary (which you can't easily do with mouldings with mitred corners), but I know that not all manufacturers do that.
Dinosaur
'Y-a-tu de la justice dans ce maudit monde?
WOW some really good ideas from people that obviously have little to no experience with thermopane glass .
Here's one that works for me stretch 6 mil poly over the opening and staple it real good , then get a can of that arrogon gas and squirt it between the plastic. should wurk real good. Er better yet get a windshield outta a 1973 frieghtliner and lots o silicone. Wurked fer me but I'm blind in 1 eye and can'r see out de udder.
Geez latex caulk and glazing points if your going to go stone age might as well start a fire and get some sand to make your own glass.
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If you were arrested for being a quality builder would there be enough evidence to convict you?
Edited 6/4/2003 10:05:00 PM ET by GEOB21
Geeeeeeeeessssssss...................Geo, Right to the point!
jocobe
Replacing with Andersen gets you a warranty.You'll be lucky to get 5 years out of a local glass shop then what when the unit fogs? Replace it again. Going cheap may be the most expensive thing you do.
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What size is the door?
If it's a six foot door, just buy another door and replace the panels in the frame.
A hinged door runs about $950 while a slider is closer to $800.
That's better than the $635 to replace just one panel you were quoted.
Wiley, I didn't think of looking on Ebay, I'll have to give that a try. As for shipping, I still have to pay the shipping to the builder lot, but it would be less because they use truck freight and most of the time on Ebay it is Fedex or UPS..
I am by no means an expert, but I seem to remember something about double pained glass like you are talking is prone to moisture fogging if you try and replace teh glass in an existing panel. I seem to remember the manufacturers use like a vacuum/blower to suck/fill in that space between the two pieces of glass to keep the moisture from appearing..
Like I said, I am no expert, but I would go with the new panel, and have a HUGE hands off policy in regards to that door in the future.... STAND BACK FOLKS, SHE GONNA BLOW... hehehe
Maybe you can get a better panel(double strength glass/etc) upgrade... That prolly would be worth considering, IMHO(in my humble opinion).