Hi,
I recently installed acrylic inside storm windows in a historic home. The problem is that in the bedroom, they crackle. I believe it is related to expansion/contraction as the heat comes on and shuts off.
I haven’t done acrylic storms for along time but I was never crazy about the mounting system. Permanent mounting was ok so I ending up creating a mounting system of installing a bead of silicone caulk on the inner window stops, letting it skin over awhile and then holding the acrylic panels tight with plastic moulding tacked to the window master frame.
In the living room where it wouldn’t matter if they crackled, they are quiet. There are 2 differences between the panels there and in the bedroom-the bedroom panels are slightly larger, and the stops are narrower. When I push on the LR panels, they are quiet, but when I do that in the BR, they do crackle.
Any ideas? Will acrylic which is trapped too tightly crackle when it expands and contracts? Or is the crackle from the acrylic rubbing against the moulding or stop? Wondering if anyone has experience with that problem.
Thanks, Jon
Replies
My guess is that it is the acrylic that is crackling. What are the locations N, S, E, OR W? I would think that southern exposure would crackle more - rapid heating and cooling due to sun exposure.
Just a thought.
F
Acrylic will expand and contract much faster than glass,wood and most other building materials. Cracking sounds are most likely from the hot/cold interior/exterior difference. As a DIY job, acrylic windows are easy to do, but they will scratch easy and sometimes become cloudy quickly.
I'd recommend replacing them with real glass.