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AskAsk

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grumbler

Define significant.

AFAIK, U-value for basic double glazing is about two times lower.

tacpot12

I would say it will be worth it. The cost might be triple the cost of a single pane, but you will not have problems with condensation, cold draughts and heat loss. Plus you are building value into your property. If the room is already cold and draughty, it won't be worth it though. 

bob_a_builder

How often do you really use the fireplace ?
Do you have anything to block it off ? - You can buy  a 'sheep' to stuff up the chimney

Or you could just fill a black bag with some roof insulation - Thats what we have 
You do have to remember to remove it if going to have a fire, of course

Maybe the room would be less cold and the central heating could cope with that massive hole blocked up ?

FreeBear

A balloon or sheep can be easily removed during the warmer summer months - This would allow the chimney to dry out if there is any build up of damp during the winter. Or if you have some spare cash and plenty of dry storage space outside, consider fitting a small stove.

Fitting double glazed windows will most certainly improve the warmth of the room and stop cold draughts emanating from them. I'm guessing that this is an old property - Suspended timber floors ?

If so, go round the edge of the room and fill the gap between skirting & floorboards - That will cut down on a lot of draughts. If you use expanding foam to seal the gap, do get a gun. You can then lay down a very thin bead of foam with a lot more precision than a hand held "press the top" type can.

homeowner99

Double would make a big difference with sound insulation.

greatcrested

I obviously don't know the property, but if it is older, or has a specific character, I might be inclined to try to maintain that.

For example replacing wood framed windows with upvc might well not be... how do I put this?.... 'sympathetic!

You could get purpose built wood framed double glazed (I recommend hard wood for longevity) but this will be more than upvc and considerably more than just a new pane of plain single glass costing less than £50 fitted.

Yes, double glazed will help considerably with sound, heat and re-sale.

My own 1851 house had a freezing living room. The rad is the last in a long pipeline and always struggled. The fireplace suffered from constant 'blowback' - something to do with hight of chimney, height and slope of land outside and prevailing wind - so I rarely used it.

I insulated the floor. I insulated the walls. I changed the chimney pot 3 times to try to resolve the smoke issue.

Finally I blocked the chimney and suddenly the room heated up - no more warm air going up and cold coming down!

As sugested there are cheap balloons and things you can use.

Jeepers_Creepers

What are the round window frames made from? And are they in good condition so could remain?

I presume you won't be replacing this pane yourself? In which case, get a couple of folk out to discuss and quote for all options. 
If they are 'timber' and 'good', then a simple single-pane replacement would be the easiest and cheapest option, certainly, but it might be that a thicker double-glazed unit could be installed quite easily too, with the internal beading simply being moved further back to accommodate.

On a DG unit, if the outer sheet has the design on it, then this will affect the internal aesthetics a wee bit, but it's your call if this is important - ie the design will now be behind a second sheet of glass. 

Have all the options in your head and call some folk out. They should be able to give you the pros and cons of the alternatives, including costs, but try and have clear in your head what's important beforehand - ie choice of design, whether painted, textured etc.

As for your flue, I think the 'sheep' will allow an air trickle which is what 'venting' is - it won't seal your chimney completely, so it should still be nice and dry. Come summer, remove it and it'll give your room a better level of ventilation - as well as ensuring any residual damp is removed. 

FreeBear

Looks like plenty of meat in the woodwork to carve out and fit a 28mm sealed unit. That would save having to get the work signed off by building control (a FENSA or similar installer would self-certify and BC wouldn't be involved).

Jeepers_Creepers

That timber frame looks in good order, and the visible internal grain is clearly an original feature - I'd be inclined to keep all this as it would be by far the largest part of the cost if replaced.  

As FB says, the external side of the frame shows a nice depth of rebate before you reach the glass - must be around 20mm (the part with putty)? If you wanted to fit a normal double-glazed unit in there - these are typically 20mm thickness upwards - then you'd need to rebate this a bit further - I'm guessing a router would do this quite easily. (This would mean that the outside pane is still roughly where the current one is, but the inside pane would be set further (20mm-ish) in towards the room side. Make sense?

Alternatively, you can have thinner units made up - say 3-4-3 (two 3mm sheets with a 4mm gap in t'middle = 10mm overall) - and good chance this will fit in there without needing any further work. 

Yes, birds seem to like pecking at putty - goodness knows why. I wonder if there's a substitute that put them off?!

Jeepers_Creepers

"the birds eat the wooden frame as they can hear insects inside..." I didn't expect that! 

Yes, if you need to replace the frame as well, it would be crazy to not go 'double' (and would prob break regs too...)

Glass style? It would help if you showed us the 'lead' style of your other windows, but I can see a nice feature being made of that porthole. I have to say that, personally, that current texture doesn't appeal, but is there any sense that this 'Berg' style house (had to look it up to see what that implied) would lose some of its appeal if you changed this? 
And is there a vooo out that side - could it be clear glass with leaded detail? 

https://www.google.com/search?q=leaded+glass+porthole&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjnz4GF_pvtAhXSRhUIHRW3ARgQ_AUoA3oECAcQBQ&biw=1920&bih=937