Secondary double glazing
Hi,
What is the consensus around secondary glazing. It is a whole lot cheaper than double glazing but how effective is it?
Been looking at these guys websites: http://www.magicseal.com/ http://www.magnetite.co.nz/page.asp?pID=234
Aaryn
May 25th, 2009 at 2:30 am
Hi Aaryn,
Personally I would stay away from the secondry glazing. No companies that offer the product will guarantee that they will not fog up in the middle as they are not a completely sealed unit. And as they are not completely sealed this means they are not working properly. They also scratch easy. I had some done at a previous house and ended up getting it changed again. It was cheaper to replace the unit with new “actual double glazed” units. Also get a quote for complete replacement (frames also) as sometimes it is not alot more to do so.
June 28th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Heh, try this, I did the 35m2 of curtain wall glass (1.4m high 28m long) in my 1000sqm living space with big bubble bubblewrap from snell packaging, The 50m roll cost $50 and I have more than a third left, Only took an hour to install with the kids. Its like a see thru thermal curatin that lets the sun in when its closed….And while we are on the easy do’s if you have a gas fireplace with the flu going all the way up a brick chimney investigate getting some old ducting and ducting the heat out of the chimney stack thats heated by the flu and through in your attic space to where you want heat most then put a computer fan on the end to get the air moving into that cold damp bedroom or whatever. Leaving the Chiney stack I get 100 degrees C air and at the fan outlet after a run of 10m that I haven’t bothered to insulate yet, its still 36 degrees. More low cost technologies from the team that brought the Wellington region award winning thicker warmer recycled polystyrene palace planks (plug plug). Cheers
Richard
July 13th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
I agree with Glen’s comments about secondary double glazing vs installing actual double glazed units. It is only too easy to waste money on temporary fixes.
All the same, secondary double glazing ARE a fix, and it is severe to state that if ‘they are not completely sealed this means they are not working properly.’ By definition, adding *anything* to a few mm thick single pane of annealed glass will help (except, of course, if it renders the window inoperable).
October 11th, 2009 at 12:54 am
We’ve had Magnetite panels installed in our place and they have really worked a charm. We have large wooden windows, and we wanted thermal insulation. The guys installed the panels on the inside of the frame, which means we have about 8 cm between the new and old windows. It has made a very noticeable difference to the comfort level of our home. Most notable is the draft-reduction, now when the wind blows, our curtains don’t!
As for fogging, its been 18 months we have never had any problems - in fact the condensation reduction is incredible.
Also, because they are removable, we can take them off in summer when we don’t need the extra insulation.
February 22nd, 2010 at 11:32 pm
We part funded a student who recently did some testing of performance of secondary glazing systems - and they did jolly well. Actually the plastic window kits (an alternative to bubble wrap) did really well also - and they cost about $50 to do an entire house.
Secondary glazing (acrylic or glass) is really widely used overseas - and has some pluses in terms of noise abatement also. Essentially it’s a cost decision. They cost about $250 per m2 whereas to retrofit double glazing in your existing frames costs about $350 per m2. And of course if you have a character house with wooden windows, then unless you can afford to retrofit double glazing in your existing wooden frames secondary glazing starts to look like a very effective option that maintains the character of your home.
As a long term consideration however, now that the Building Code makes double glazing effectively mandatory in much of NZ, fully double glazing your home is likely to be a better long term investment decision than using secondary glazing.
March 2nd, 2010 at 4:05 am
One advantage of double glazing is for extra sound proofing,consider a different thickness of glass to the existing glass, different thicknesses cut out different wave lengths giving improved noise reduction.
March 4th, 2010 at 5:57 am
please see our website or us out on trade me under PLASTICFAB1
We sell 30 year warranty plexiglas for diy installers of secondary glazing
April 17th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Well, for me, by burning less fuel you will not only save money on the running costs of your home but you will also be lessening the CO2 footprint of your property. It could be argued that by installing double glazing you will be doing your “bit” to help save the planet.
April 28th, 2010 at 3:47 am
Who are we?
Kristalbond specialise in providing an alternative to retrofit double glazing for existing windows. Without the need to replace any parts of the aluminium joinery, Kristalbond is the smart alternative. With a U-Value of 3.46 and a R-Value of 0.29 it gives you similar insulation as a 4/6/4 double glazed unit. It also blocks 99% of damaging UV rays.
How does it work?
Kristalbond is a crystal clear liquid coating that chemically bonds to the inside surface of the glass without the use of adhesives. No matter how severe the weather is Kristalbond will not peel, blister or bubble and is non-toxic after it is applied. Unlike film, Kristalbond is also a self-levelling liquid which means the coating will be seamless and therefore is no limit to the size of the area it can be applied.
The Market
The New Zealand Building Code requires improved thermal performances in all new houses and all major extensions to existing houses. This is great for those who are building or renovating in this economic time, but what about those who are now wanting to be energy efficient in their homes but do not want to replace their joinery or can’t afford to. Kristalbond has now filled this void. Every home owner, business owner and building owner is a potential customer.
Our Mission
To allow every house owner the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of improving the thermal performance and UV protection Kristalbond can offer, at a price that is affordable. In doing so, we endeavour to provide a service that meets and exceeds our customers’ expectations.
Give us a call: 0508574782
April 30th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Hello Aaryn
We have had secondry glazing fitted to our home magicseal.com and I can tell you that it’s well worth every dollar we have paid, one of the best things I ever did,turn the heater down low and feel the warmth and also blocks out uv rays and keeps the house cool in the hot summer also we have had no scratch problems and a cleaning kit by magicseal we also got.I believe that this product is a 10out10
May 3rd, 2010 at 4:12 am
Hi Duncan,
We understand that the Kristalbond product is applied with a sponge in a layer 6 microns (0.006mm) thick. I have spoken with some experts in the building research industry, who were doubtful that such a small layer of Kristalbond could substantially increase the R value as stated above.
Could you confirm whether the R0.29 quoted on the kristalbond website refers to a 6 micron layer added to existing 6 mm glass, or to a 6mm thickness of the Kristalbond product itself?
We understand that the product is currently undergoing appraisal from building research scientists in Australia, and we would be most interested to hear the results when they become available.
Sarah Free, energy advisor, Wellington region
May 6th, 2010 at 6:13 am
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your interest. Kristalbond has been tested to ISO 8990 by Sirim QAS International who is a very large testing company overeas. We are currently getting these tests confirmed by the Uni of NSW who will verify these results. Yes it is very hard to believe that this coating is able to do as we say but this product has been international since 2002 and has a huge amount of recognition in other parts of the world. We wanted to bring this technology to New Zealand where we have a major problem with UV along with making insulation affordable to every New Zealander.
Kristalbond is used by companies overseas like KFC, Lexus and Starbucks to name a few. These companies I am sure would not look at KB if there was not some truth to the results we currently have
When these results are available I will be more than happy to share them with you.