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- Path: sparky!uunet!haven.umd.edu!decuac!pa.dec.com!engage.pko.dec.com!nntpd.lkg.dec.com!ryn.mro4.dec.com!priory.enet.dec.com!abbott
- From: abbott@priory.enet.dec.com (Robert Abbott)
- Subject: Re: glass vs. acrylic glazing
- Message-ID: <1993Jan21.214628.4458@ryn.mro4.dec.com>
- Sender: news@ryn.mro4.dec.com (USENET News System)
- Organization: TP Performance
- Distribution: na
- Date: 21 JAN 93 16:27:44
- Lines: 63
-
-
- In article <MACRAKIS.93Jan20131437@lakatos.osf.org>, macrakis@osf.org (Stavros Macrakis) writes...
- >In article <1jhfseINNj3v@ua.d.umn.edu> dcole@ua.d.umn.edu (david cole) writes:
- >
- > I want to add some cheap but effective exterior storm windows to some windows
- > on my house. They are large (about 4 foot by 7 foot high). I want increased
- > R value, reduced infiltration -- and some isolation from street noise.
- >
- > My thought is to just get some acrylic sheet, cut it to size myself, and
- > stick it to the existing wood frame using 3M doublestick tape (intended for
- > exterior window plastic film, but available separately from the kits). Then
- > I will drill holes every foot or so around the edge of the acrylic sheet and
- > into the frame, and put in screws.
- >
- > The windows need to be removable -- but not often (this is Duluth!!).
- >
- >I think there are several problems with your plan:
-
- Stavros lists some problems that I deleted.
-
- >
- > All this would be less of a problem
- > if the acrylic were attached INSIDE the house.
-
- Exactly. My parents have a room on the end of their house
- that has two walls of glass. The windows are a louvered type
- with crank and they have a storm that fits flush on the inside.
- Even with the storm the room was cool and a mite drafty in
- winter.
-
- My father built wood frames around each window (about 4'x5') on
- the *inside*. The frames were finished to match the trim. The
- plexiglass was attached to the frame with this two part plastic
- sandwich. The bottom part was fixed to the wood frame. The plexi
- glass window was layed in then the top part of the plastic snapped
- on top to hold it in. This fastener was arranged much like a
- picture frame (with mitered corners) around the plexiglass. It
- comes in colors and gives a flat neat appearance.
-
- For my parents, an interior frame was feasible because of
- the type of windows. I don't think it would be so succesful
- on traditional double hung sash.
- >
- >4) The acrylic will develop microscopic scratches from dust in the air
- > and so on, and will become translucent rather than transparent.
-
- At least on the interior, this hasn't been a problem for my parents.
- The plexiglass is in very good condition after 15 years.
-
- >A big advantage of your proposed system is that it is aesthetically
- >much more acceptable than aluminum storm (even black ones). But I
- >just don't think it will work.
-
- Black aluminium storm seems to be the choice for restoration work
- around Boston. Aesthetically, I think I'd prefer the old fashioned
- frames that you would change twice a year, screens for the summer
- and glass for the winter. But these would be pretty inconvenient
- and not weathertight at all.
-
- Any other ideas for attractive storm windows?
- ------------------------
- Robert K. Abbott
- abbott@tps.enet.dec.com
-