replacing double glazed glass with tripple glazed??

Blues14

hi can you replace existing double glaze with triple glaze and if so what are the costs involved

Emma2019

Very large costs and generally not worth it if your double glazed isn't broken from everything I've ever read on it.

I've had double grazing for 20 years and was practically hoovering the condensation every morning.afew years ago I pulled them all out and installed triple glazing and not a drop of water to wipe up.,no mould,no brainer .

I think triple glazing is 3 or 4 hundred a window.got ours from seanator windows

Needles73

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118607228#Comment_118607228

Where they aluminium framed windows ? Properly installed pvc windows with double glazing wouldn’t have excess condensation unless they were faulty.

Markcheese

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118619492#Comment_118619492

Faulty as in leaky seals ? Or something else ?

The Mighty Quinn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118619502#Comment_118619502

Between the double glazed panes should be an inert gas, like argon. If this gas leaks out and its just regular air between the panes, it'll allow condensation on the windows.

Markcheese

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118619512#Comment_118619512

Would that give you condensation between the panes ?

Nigzcurran

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118619531#Comment_118619531

Yep

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118607228#Comment_118607228

Your double glazing either.

- Failed.

- The frames were poor quality broken or aluminium

- the air tightness around the frame to the wall and also under the sill was not properly done. Expanding foam for example isn't that btw.

- your generating too much moisture in the home and not airing it out. Poor ventilation.

Replacing good double glazed with triple glazed makes no financial sense at all. The gains are miniscule and that money would be better spend on other insulating or airtightness faults around the home.

Thanks,

Don't know why they kept causing condensation...it was so bad every year.they were white PVC windows...with the triple during winter you can see the condensation but it looks like it's trapped in the middle of the glass.you can run your hand along the inside of the window and it's bone dry. I don't think all my windows failed..but I'm happy now.also my wife says it's alot quieter and less noise coming in from outside.im still generating same moisture in the house..drying afew clothes on the rads ect but still no condensation.now the only thing I can think of is we got the outside walls pumped around the same time with envirobead.you could try getting your walls pumped first ,wait untill winter and see does it make a difference.it would certainly be a cheaper solution to see if it helped.we got both insulation and windows done close together .however if you have the money go for it.

10-10-20

Correct Listermint - replacing good double with new triple isn't worth it.

Over the last year I have installed some replacement windows at home - I replaced some old double with new triple. I had come to realise that when my house has been built in 2002, they used a "contractors spec" of units from an Irish supplier which rhymes with "funster", and these had now become diabolical in terms of function and efficiency.

In going to triple one of my concerns was around the loss of solar gain during the winter months, but frankly the better insulative effects of triple in my mind outweigh the small loss of the solar. The way I reason it - with one particular South-Westerly facing window during winter it spends more hours in a day without a warming sun than it does with it. On this basis it would be more advisable to go for triple to gain from the better insulative effect than to go for an equivalent double unit for small difference in solar gain.

A couple of points on how you might be able to identify old/bad double glazing:

• If the units are fogging up on the interior side during normal room-use either your units are poor, or your room's RH is too high.
• If you frequently get the U-shaped condensation pattern running around the edges which barely shifts over the course of a day.
• If you get a build-up of black mould on the lower seals or on the glass itself.
• If the window cill is cold and you can feel a draft coming off the bottom of the window.
• If there is condensation between the panes.

If you look online you'll also find suggested u-values for old versus new windows suggesting the following u-values:

Windows, Single Glazing - 5.8

Windows, Old Double Glazing (24mm) - 2.8

Current double glazed units, argon gas, low-E coating. - 1.2

Windows, Triple Glazing (24mm) - 1.3

Latest triple glazed units, argon gas, low-E coating. - 0.9-1.0

Have fun!

horse7

Excellent post.

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118619590#Comment_118619590

I Wouldn't say failed. I've seen condensation in my daughters room with new windows. what happens is the curtains are closed and the curtain keeps the heat away from the windows, so the air between the curtain and window is cooler than the rest of the room. as a result when air does eventually leak in through the curtain it hits the colder windows and turns to condensation.

shes a devil for closing the vent and not opening the windows.

Nigzcurran

I have double glazed pvc windows supplied by Munster 12 years ago and diy fitted by myself, absolutely zero issues of condensation, most important thing is to ventilate the rooms via an open window or vent, if not you get dampness galore

2011

It depends on many factors. In my case I had very, very low quality double glazed windows made by the same well known company that 10-10-20 is referring to. These windows were badly installed, did not seal properly and the reveals were uninsulated. The panes of glass had a very small gap between them and over time the wood warped. I replaced these with high quality triple glazed PVC windows. All of the issues mentioned above were dealt with in one go. I accept that the fact that they are triple rather than double glazed units only makes a marginal difference but all of the other aspects made a substantial difference. The house is far easier to heat, keep warm and the noise insulation is also significantly improved.

I would suspect that the above applies to many people. In my case triple glazing only cost a little more than double glazing. It’s also great not to have condensation issues anymore. I believe that this was a consequence of the internal glass being so cold.