Double Glazing, fit glass from inside or out?

[PrincessB]

I'm having some new windows put in to help lighten the upstairs hall, the holes have been punched out and the frames arrived earlier in the week, the only mystery is where the glass has gotten to.*

We are right at the end of the job and the lack of glass is putting a huge spanner in the works as the plasterer is keen to get going in order to create a smooth wall for the plumber to put new radiators in.

Question is, if they fix the frames and make them weather tight on the outside using board, is it possible to get the glass in from either the indoor side or outdoor side without removing the frames?

I've looked at the frames and I'm not seeing an obvious way to take them to pieces.

Regards,

B.

* It's a long story, one company to supply the frames in order to match the other windows in the house, another to provide the sealed units which I've been promised will be delivered for over a week now.

[Devjon]

Just a quick reply. I had my double glazing renewed a few months ago. The frames are distinct from the glazing units and I'm pretty sure that as long as the frames are in place then the actual glazing units can be fitted later without any upheaval. ( a friend had a "blown" double glazed window and they just replaced with a new glazed unit into the original frame).

HTH

[staffordian]

As I understand it, frames generally have the beading on the inside, otherwise a thief could easily prise it out and remove the sealed unit to gain access. A problem with older frames, IIRC.

So I'd be very suprised if insering the sealed units wasn't done easily from the inside.

Staffordian

[Slarti]

The largest one in my son's 1st floor bedroom got broken by a bird strike and they replaced it would resorting to ladders.

So it can be done from the inside.

Slarti

[saechunu]

Whether you install the glazing units from the inside or the outside is determined by the frame design (the glazing rebate within the frame that the glazing units sit up against): with external beading the glazing units are fitted from the outside; with internal beading you fit them from the inside.

Timber windows normally use external beading; it's usually more aesthetically pleasing (a cleaner look) from the inside to have the beading on the outside.

UPVC normally uses internal beading. Early UPVC windows tended to use external beading (similar to timber), but since plastic beading can be popped out quickly (unlike pinned and painted in timber beading) enabling a burglar to remove the glazing and gain entry, plastic window manufacturers often switched to internally beaded designs to address this.

Modern aluminium windows may use either internal or often external beads (or sometimes both in the same frame where opening and fixed lights are combined, in order to achieve a more flush aesthetically pleasing appearance), with the security risks faced by UPVC external beads now supposedly designed out or addressed.

Assuming your new frames are plastic then the glazing will most likely have internal beading and therefore be fitted from the INSIDE. Installing the frames is the trickier part of the job. Fitting the glazing afterwards should be straightforward.

As you've used two different suppliers for frames and glazing units, let's hope communication has been good, so that the glass fits the frames.

[PrincessB]

As you've used two different suppliers for frames and glazing units, let's hope communication has been good, so that the glass fits the frames

Thanks for the replies.

Matter partly resolved by one of the frames which sits next to an existing window being the wrong size which has thrown a huge spanner into the works.

Thanks

B.