Retrofitting windows

[drscott]

Back when I owned the house at 77-79 College Avenue in Somerville, many of my projects were intended to save heating costs. We had converted the boiler to gas from oil, installed new storm windows, and insulated a few places; then I made custom covers for the leaded windows using Lexan, a wonderful GE polycarbonate that is much stronger and lasts longer than plexiglass -- it's used in most lenses for glasses, for example. That was 25 years ago, and when I visited the place again last year, the Lexan looked pretty much unworn.

We're replacing most of the windows and sliding glass doors in our Eichler starting Dec. 1st. The giant sliding glass door in the third bathroom (floor to ceiling, wall to wall) would have cost about $2800 to replace; but since it's made with translucent glass and isn't often used, I tried to figure out a way of retrofitting it instead of replacing. I hit on a solution of putting new panes of Thermoclear, which is a dual-wall cellular Lexan, directly on the old glass on the outside, silicone caulking the edges. The Thermoclear (actually the knockoff I could get at TAP Plastics) cost about $200, but the result looks good and will be almost as efficient as the new door would have been. Here's a picture of the stuff:

Comments

[excessor.livejournal.com]

It's amazing that we have access to such interesting materials.

I assume the Lexan or Thermoclear is installed as a seal around the edges of the door: top, bottom, sides. What happens in the middle of the door? Won't it vibrate or hit the underlying glass during a windy day? Or does it already abut the glass?

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

It's either touching the glass or only a milimeter or two away. The constraint is letting the door slide past the door below -- the window can't be too thick or it would get in the way. So it was much simpler to give up one air space and let the dualwall sit directly on the glass. I don't expect any rattling or motion.

[malcarne.livejournal.com]

Lexan is too kool for school. At university we'd have it custom cut for all sorts of projects. It also made a great replacement for glass in framing large photographic works. Wohoo! Lexan!

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

I am imagining a musical "Salute to Lexan" with framers, designers, and greenhouse owners singing its praises. Might fit into the musical version of The Graduate.

[malcarne.livejournal.com]

I envision a Robert Wilson/Glass collaboration