Retrofitted double glazing. Any recommendations?

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tehgerbil

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#201943 11-Sep-2016 08:55

Hi Geekzone members,

Wife and I are renting a house in Christchurch, 3 bedrooms, old wooden windows and are interested in looking into double glazing. Aluminum replacement windows are just too expensive, so we're looking at retrofitting and are interested in any good or bad reviews from any companies in chch.

Thanks in advance, tehgerbil.

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#1627265 11-Sep-2016 08:58

Why would you fit double glazing to a house you're renting?

One retrofit style is to take PVC sheets and put them 1-3cm from the current window, doing effectively a cheaper double glazing. This makes a huge difference. Proper double glazing does help more though - just upgraded recently.

Sidestep

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#1627271 11-Sep-2016 09:20

We once rented an old single glazed house in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

At -30 a product similar to this:

https://www.energywise.govt.nz/at-home/windows/diy-window-insulation-kits/

made a huge difference

nickb800

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#1627281 11-Sep-2016 09:44

I'm also in Christchurch, own a home with timber window frames, and can't afford to upgrade them at this stage.

I'd recommend the film and diy kits linked above (film and double-sided tape) as well as draft stopping windows and doors (e.g. AliExpress ). Makes a big difference to condensation and holding the heat in. Ventilating the house during the day was also a big help in minimising condensation, so maybe go for security stays on the windows to aid this.

Batman

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#1627294 11-Sep-2016 10:23

I heard they are discounting Chch rentals due to massive over supply.

I'd move to a modern warm house.

timmmay

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#1627331 11-Sep-2016 10:52

Be a bit careful of those stick-on kits, especially for rentals. I had them on a couple of windows, when I came to remove them everything was stuck really well and the window needed to be sanded and painted. It was a real PITA. Plus you have to maintain them, basically hair drier to keep them tight. They do help a bit.

kingjj

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#1627364 11-Sep-2016 11:56

timmmay:

Be a bit careful of those stick-on kits, especially for rentals. I had them on a couple of windows, when I came to remove them everything was stuck really well and the window needed to be sanded and painted. It was a real PITA. Plus you have to maintain them, basically hair drier to keep them tight. They do help a bit.

Big plus one to that. When we bought these were throughout the house and have been a huge pain in my side since. They were already several years old and over the last few years I've had to sand and paint every window they were attached to (I *hate* painting...). Replace them yearly to (hopefully) avoid any permanent damage.

We recently put in a DVS (was terrible at opening windows), good ventilation plus quality curtains have improved things dramatically for us, temperature n the house has raised several degrees without any further heating. Have been thinking about retro-fitting double glazing, would be interested in price if anyone does get a quote or two.

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#1627372 11-Sep-2016 12:26

Our house has a very cool DVS feature. It is 70s and every joinery leaks air.

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#1627383 11-Sep-2016 13:03

Not the question you asked I know, but if it's a rental you might get better mileage in investing in some good quality thermal curtains that you can put up easily and take with you when you move. Ready made ones are pretty cheap (although YMMV in terms of look).

mattwnz

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#1627388 11-Sep-2016 13:23

joker97: I heard they are discounting Chch rentals due to massive over supply.

I'd move to a modern warm house.

There was a lot of greed following the earthquakes which meant a massive under supply and housing pricing increases as tradespeople came into the town. But that appears to have dropped back a lot. Possibly a bit of a lesson for Auckland although I can't see demand dropping anytime soon.

For double glazing I would ask the landlord for a solution. I wonder if there are many new houses to rent that have double glazing.

TwoSeven

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#1627390 11-Sep-2016 13:26

joker97: I heard they are discounting Chch rentals due to massive over supply.

I'd move to a modern warm house.

It has been my experience here have climbed slightly since this time last year. Around 5-10% or so, with three bedroom places in quiet areas being quite hard to find.

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TwoSeven

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#1627391 11-Sep-2016 13:31

nickb800:
I'm also in Christchurch, own a home with timber window frames, and can't afford to upgrade them at this stage.

I'd recommend the film and diy kits linked above (film and double-sided tape) as well as draft stopping windows and doors (e.g. AliExpress ). Makes a big difference to condensation and holding the heat in. Ventilating the house during the day was also a big help in minimising condensation, so maybe go for security stays on the windows to aid this.

You may find timber frames have a good R value (depending on the type).

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timmmay

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#1627393 11-Sep-2016 13:33

I also think curtains is much more practical for a rental. They have to touch at least one of the floor, ceiling, or pelmet to be effective, otherwise they're just a tunnel for air currents.

I've done all the following on my house. For context the house is 100 years old with high ceilings that've been lowered, and I have two heat pumps which were added after the first lot of insulation:

(Done first) Ceiling insulation, loose fill wool (from nothing). Made a MASSIVE difference to heat retention.
(Done second) Ceiling insulation, pink batts on top of the wool after the wool compacted a bit. Made a significant noticeable difference.
(Done seventh) Proper argon filled PVC double glazing. Noticeable difference, feels warmer, heat retained longer, though strangely it's louder than the older retrofit double glazing with thick wooden windows. Slightly less condensation than retrofit. Probably made 1/3 the difference that either of the ceiling options did.
(Done third) Retrofit double glazing, thick 3mm rigid PVC sheets. Immediate reduction in condensation by 80%, and the place felt slightly warmer and quieter.
(Done fourth) Floor insulation with a ground sheet. Noticed the smell and dampness improved, but no noticable difference.
(Done fifth) Wall insulation. Didn't notice anything really
(Done sixth) New carpet with thick underlay. Made things a touch warmer, already had carpet with underlay

I wouldn't jump straight to double glazing, as it's only 1/3 as effective as additional ceiling insulation, at least in my place. Makes a difference but not massive.

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#1627456 11-Sep-2016 15:38

I did nothing but install a heat pump in each room i want to be in. Halved the power bill and 100 times the warmth.

SilentOne

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#1627498 11-Sep-2016 17:06

+1 to decent thermal curtains. I've been told some can have a higher R rating that the low-end double glazing (research required).

I've used http://expandatrack.co.nz before, ordered a sample kit (off-cuts of all their curtains), then purchased from there.

Pretty happy with them to be honest.

Other thing to look at is curtain rails and the curtain length.
If the rails allow warm air above it to sink down then out the windows, it can add to heat loss (try close attached rails, or pelmets)
Compounding that is if the curtains don't reach the floor, this then adds a cool air movement you can feel with your hand as the now cool (read heat expended) sinks it draws in more warm air at the top.
We could feel this with out hands at the bottom of our shorter curtains before we changed them.

Just another bit of info though.

D1023319

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#1627936 12-Sep-2016 15:18

mdf:

Not the question you asked I know, but if it's a rental you might get better mileage in investing in some good quality thermal curtains that you can put up easily and take with you when you move. Ready made ones are pretty cheap (although YMMV in terms of look).

Great idea but you dont actually have to replace your curtains.

We bought cheap polar fleece, put hooks on top and it hangs off existing curtain track as a second layer of fabric.

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