Am I able to replace just the glass in my windows?

mark_cycling00

I have many double glazed windows where the seal has gone and they mist up.

The frames are metal. The glass seems to be held in by plastic things. A glazer said he'd need to replace the frame and glass 

Is it possible to just replace the glass? 
What is the name of the plastic strips that keep the glass in and where would I be able to find them?

I need to have a more educated conversation with window tradesmen I think.

Many thanks 

tacpot12

How easy it is to replace just the glass will depend on whether the windows have a removable glazing bead or not. If the bead is removable, replacing just the glass could be easy. UPVC windows usually have such a removable bead, but I don't know much about aluminium windows. It's not easy to tell from your photo, but I think that they don't have a removable bead. This means that the window will have to be removed from the wall, and all the aluminium parts taken off the glass and then reassembled around the new sealed unit. It's possible that the aluminium can't be taken off the glass without damaging it to the point where it can't be refitted.

The black plastic strips are called glazing gaskets. They are available online. 

One difficulty you might have is finding a suitable gasket, but if you have the old gasket out of the window, you can measure it to find the closest size. It's possible that the current gaskets have shrunk very slightly, but if the new gaskets are significantly larger than the old ones, you'll find it impossible to reassemble the windows. A significant size difference might only be a few thousanths of an inch, so it's risky and you might need to buy a couple of sample lengths to see if there is any difference between two nominally identical sizes. 

I would suggest that if you wanted to try this yourseldf, you identify the smallest, most inconspicous window you have, then remove and take it apart (even before buying a new sealed unit for it). If you can remove it, disassemble and reassemble the window easily, you can take measurements for the glass thickness and the dimensions of the glazing gasket, and have confidence that you can do the work. 

The only reason to pay a professional to do all this work is if the existing windows have architectural merit and you are desperate to keep them or you live in a conservation area/listed house where you need planning permission to change the windows and know you will not get it for windows you can afford. 

New windows will be much more energy efficient, and can be chosen to have a removable bead so that repairs in the future will be easier.    

Billxx

We had https://www.cloudy2clearwindows.co.uk come in to repair a broken hinge.  Whilst the chap was doing the work he showed us how to replace a gasket on one of the windows.  We did the rest of the whole house ourselves and it made a huge difference.  It is tricky identifying the correct gasket, but there are sample kits you can buy to test them out.

Replacing the first one was tricky, but fairly straightforward after that.

jonnydeppiwish!

How old are the windows? If that’s an outside pic then they must be over 20 years as the beads are external rather than internal.

mark_cycling00

Thanks for the replies and the detailed advice!

I thought they might be steel rather than aluminium. Survey said "crittal type" windows.

I think some are 2002 and some thinner ones.  from 1998. 

We're in an AONB but not conservation area. Everyone does takes great care to maintain the country cottage vernacular so uPVC would look awful.

Feels like it might be more complicated than I expected and perhaps the glazier might have been somewhat correct. When it's warmer I might try disassembling one 

Albermarle

Everyone does takes great care to maintain the country cottage vernacular so uPVC would look awful.

From your photo, the current windows do not seem very 'country cottage vernacular', and not dissimilar to how a uPVC window would look.

mark_cycling00

Thin white metal seems to work ok. They're inside those huge sandstone frames.

https://www.houzz.co.uk/photos/crittall-homelight-windows-in-stone-farmhouse-country-house-exterior-phvw-vp~34335186

You can see the thicker uPVC ones from across the valley 

Albermarle

mark_cycling00 said:

Thin white metal seems to work ok. They're inside those huge sandstone frames.

https://www.houzz.co.uk/photos/crittall-homelight-windows-in-stone-farmhouse-country-house-exterior-phvw-vp~34335186

You can see the thicker uPVC ones from across the valley 

OK nice pic.
Just for info more modern/thinner uPVC window frames are a bit less obtrusive than they used to be. Also they do not just come in white.

bs1998

Those are aluminium windows, you remove the gasket and the beads should come out, it can be tricky if you have never done one, you need to get the replacement glass overall thickness correct and the width and height. There are firms that specialize in repair work, but make sure they do aluminium. I have used a firm in Birmingham as our downstairs windows are aluminium and the upstairs are upvc, so I got an education on it with the helpful firm. If you are in Birmingham, they may help. I think they give a quote by email. BCS Window Repair https://bcswindowrepair.co.uk

flashg67

We're in an AONB with no (known) restrictions on window types. Our new ones are upvc in cream woodgrain effect and a fake sash effect, which we think retains the cottage look.