Any double glazing experts out there please

[kbfern]

Hi Guys

Wonder if anyone can help? I noticed I have a problem with one of my UPVC double glazed windows.On the outside(& inside) you have a black plastic/rubber strip that sits between the glass & the UPVC.Is this strip called a bead or gasket or something else?.

This strip has partially come adrift along two of the edges and has been flapping about and has become ragged so cannot be put back in place.

Is it easy to obtain replacement strip and if so where from.Is it easy to replace yourself,do you need special tools or am I best calling in my local double glazing firm to fix it(any idea of cost).

The windows are around 12 yrs old and are generally in good condition.They were fitted before we moved in so we don't know who fitted them so I can't get the original company back to fix it for me.

Any advice please?

[y2k]

Its called gasket, I worked in a place for a few months that made the windows and doors and it would be 1 big strip of gasket the whole way round your window and trimmed at the edges. You would need to take the glass out when replacing the gasket as far as I know but it should be an easy job for anyone that fits doors or windows, I think there is only 2 different sizes of it so shouldnt be to hard to find the right size.

If you know how to take the window out of the frame and put it back together again with glass (I dont) then you could put the gasket back in place yourself because putting the gasket in is very easy, there is only 2 ends to the gasket so you would just need to tuck the loose piece back into the frame.

[kbfern]

This gasket is not in one piece but 4 lengths.1 length per side round the 4 sides of the window.

I have managed to poke the gasket back into place this morning although there is a couple of places where the strip is damaged leaving a small area where water may get in.I supose I could seal this area with a mastic/sealant to make watertight.

[y2k]

The way I was told to put them in the frames was always in 1 piece trim round the corners so the glass does not break when its put in and then the 2 ends come together somewhere in the middle of the frame away from the corners, it was done like this to stop it from coming loose.

Just looked on the net and there is loads of different gasket so I was wrong before when I said only 2.

[Orson]

As mentioned, unfortunately there are loads (dozens & dozens) of different gasket types, so it would be real pot-luck to get the right one. However, I'm not one for giving up east, so...

Is the glass fitted from the outside or the inside?
Has the gasket come off the outside or the inside, or both?
Has the gasket come out completely, or has it split & left some of it still in the frame?

What I'm trying to get at is if the gasket is fitted to the glazing beads (the 4 strips of plastic that hold the glass in) or the other side, and which is inside/outside.

Are you able to get the gasket out without splitting or damaging it? Or is it beyond repair?

If you are able to get it out, you could always pop it around to a few local window factories to see if that have anything suitable, however, due the the age of the windows, you may be struggling. Things have moved on quite a bit since then.

Depending on the above questions affects whether or not it actually matters, and whether or not you could just do withput it or not.

[paulyoung666]

sounds to me as though it is internally beaded and wedged externally , as previous posters have mentioned it could be any type of wedge amongst hundreds of types , there should be no problem of leakage as the windows are designed to leak externally , finding suitable wedge to fill the gap could well be a very different problem though

edit - try googling glazing gasket to see what i mean !!!!!!!!!

[kbfern]

Hi Guys

Thanks for taking the time to helpI don't know whether the units are fitted from the inside or not.The gasket is on the outside that I have the problem with.

I have managed to get the gasket back into place and it is not too damaged.I will try and get a small piece out and take it to a local double glazing firm and see if they can identify it and obtain some to fix the problem.

[Orson]

Well, as Paulyoung has said, water shouldn't be a problem, as windows have drainage built into them, and are designed to drain any water away to the outside.

Depending on whether the glazing beads are on the inside or outside will determine whether or not security is an issue, but to be quite honest, if you can just pull the gasket out, it makes no difference anyway.

So if the only issue is the appearance, you could always buy a tube of black silicone sealant, and whizz around the edge to make it look okay. The 'trick' is to run low-tack masking tape (decorators from Wilko) around the glass and the frame, leaving just a few millimeters gap where the gasket would go. Then run the sealant around, smooth it flat with a wet forefinger, and then slowly & carefully pull the masking tape off, which should leave you with nice neat straight edges to the sealant.
But before you start, you may need to push something into the gap left by the gasket to stop the glass from moving about. Suckersticks usually does it

Hope you get it sorted okay, if not, post back.