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Double Insulated Windows

Josephtwomoons | Posted in General Discussion on April 4, 2009 12:41pm

I’m in the process of making this house we live in made ready for sale.  Right now, we have 24 double-hung, metal frame windows with clear glass, double insulated glass units, all of which are in some progressive stage of fogging.  Half of the them you can barely see daylight through the glass.

I got several bids for replacing the windows, but that’s not in the cards with everything else that needs doing.

Today, I went to a local window glass fabricating place.  They can supply replacement units with an aluminum spacer (same as now in our 1970s windows), or they can space the glass with some sort of material they bake and that seals and fuses the glassand the spacer.  That very, very sweet woman took me into the fabricating cavern to see all my choices, how they do it and so forth.  She called the rubber/plastic material “squiggle”. It comes in the color black or brown.

Does anyone have any experience with “squiggle” spacers for double insulated glass?  Sorry, that’s all I have to go on and wish I’d taken a photo.  Either way, the price is waaaay right, with a ten-year failure warranty I can pass to the buyer, but I’d like to buy the better insulator, which ever it is.   JTM

 

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  1. User avater
    Ted W. | Apr 04, 2009 01:42am | #1

    I replace the single panes with the black rubber sealed ones for a couple of customers and they are both very happy with the end product. As for which is a better insulator, all manufactures should be able to tell you the R value of respecive products. Choose the one with the highes R value your budget allows.

    You may also want to check what sort of UV protection they offer, as that will help with the sale of the home, maybe ever bump the final price up a bit.

    ~ Ted W ~

    Cheap Tools! - MyToolbox.net
    See my work - TedsCarpentry.com

  2. sledgehammer | Apr 04, 2009 01:50am | #2

    If you are selling... honestly no one will care with what or how the insulated glass is sealed. I believe you are refering to swiggle spacer, I personally don't like it and won't use it unless it's radius work and I have too.

  3. junkhound | Apr 04, 2009 02:13am | #3

    I wuz a dumb $hit in the early 70's when I paid what is today $60K for insulated glass for my house, the biggest single expense.

    Screw me once, shame on you , screw me twice, shame on me.  I don't like to get screwed twice (except by BBW or similar <G>?)

    I've been replacing the 'fogged' (the glass is actually etched inside from a subtle biochemical conversion product) units in own house with replaceable panes sealed with EPDM gaskets.  Some of the replacements are 10 YO and in good shape yet, plus I can easily remove the inner pane to clean them. 

    Like others have said, if for resale, so what, screw the buyer, they dont know any better, jest tellem 'new winders'.

  4. calvin | Apr 04, 2009 02:31am | #4

    All I can tell you is that when the squiggle first came out (at least when I first heard) it claimed there was less transfer of heat/cold because it wasn't metal.  You have metal frames so I guess that wouldn't be a deal breaker anyhow.

     

    A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.

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    1. Josephtwomoons | Apr 04, 2009 04:15am | #5

      Thanks to all.  Going to stick with shiny aluminum spacers.  I'll provide the glass warranty to the prospective buyers.  They can see indoors and out when I'm done and deal with whatever happens the next ten years.

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