Vacuum glazing units - Pilkington Spacia, Finero etc.

[Jim Becker]

I've seen some of those Euro style window systems in various videos on the 'Tube and they are intriguing, especially those that open multiple ways.

[brent stanley]

I've seen some of those Euro style window systems in various videos on the 'Tube and they are intriguing, especially those that open multiple ways.

They are very cool, with double and triple glazing an option now. Joe offers courses in how to make those styles of windows that are well regarded.

I have a tooling set coming for triple pane, casement style that offers Passivehaus-grade U-Values that I'm excited to try out. It's worth more than my truck but the windows it produces are very expensive traditionally too.

[brent stanley]

I remember reading about the vacuum technology a few years back. If I remember correctly a couple PHDs came up with the concept. Looks like it is developing and would be a dream come true if it works out. Fenesterbau in Germany was canceled when Covid started and postponed till summer this year. Hopefully it will happen and might see this technology there.
IG has come a ways now and is lasting longer but still leaves a lot to be desired. In North America there are a few good producers but where I live I have to go to either coast to get good units. I am double cursed having a shop at 8000 feet and some jobs as high as 10,000 foot elevation. Adding breather tubes to IG adds another risk of failure. A different vacuum technology is used in Europe to suck air out of the sealed units that are going to altitude to eliminate the tubes. In general the IG over there is better than what’s made here. Window makers there now expect the units to last 50 years. The triple units in my house have been in 20 years now and still OK. Way back the first double units I used failed after 10 years. A lot of IG failures can be attributed to improper installation.

For historical work Green Mountain glass has been my go to with their clean 1/4” sight lines. They were bought by a custom window company but think they still produce for other customers. Grids in the glass unit if they are done accurately work pretty well for historic work with SDL. Finding accuracy in this is another issue also. Another interesting technology in glass is Heat Mirror. They had a lot of failures starting out but think it is better now.

Thanks Joe, I was hoping you'd have some background there. I will look up the heat mirror product too, thanks for the info.

The little dots and the valve/nipple will always turn some customers off of the vacuum units, but for those that aren't bothered by it, they really could open up some doors for making windows that really look old school and period appropriate. I know so many people around me and where I grew up who are replacing perfectly functioning, but poor performing single pane, TDLs with vinyl atrocities just to get the performance upgrade. It's quite a blight on the face of historical buildings.

[Frederick Skelly]

I hadnt heard of the heat mirror product, but ran across this company site that describes it. Thought Id post it as just FYI for those not familiar, like me. LINK

[Tom M King]

We have one heat mirror window, and it works great. The afternoon Sun can be shining directly on it, hold your hand against the inside glass, and can feel zero heat.

It's a big circle top window. The glass was sent to one of my neighbors as a replacement, but they sent the wrong size, and didn't want it back. I bought it for $15, and built the jamb for it. They had sent the inside curved stop along with the glass. The glass was 9' tall, and four feet wide.

I have one picture in the gallery here, but it only shows the top of that window. That was our weight room, but my almost 106 year old Mother is using it for a bedroom these days.

It works nicely.

[Joe Calhoon]

I've never understood why their level of competence is so rare in the industry. The shop I used to work at has a graveyard of faulty IGUs from other manufacturers - wrong size, grids misplaced or the wrong color, trapped hairs, etc. If a millwork shop had their failure rate they wouldn't be in business long.

Me neither Kevin. When I have to order Colorado made made IG through the local glass shops I always warn the customers it may not be without faults. I can send back anything I don’t like but after 2 or 3 times with the same thing I tend to give up. Ordering glass long distance can work if the quantities are large enough.
I have one of those graveyards myself! Some with my mistakes.

[Joe Calhoon]

Here is a picture of a Heat Mirror sample in a 92mm thick tilt turn sash. We were supposed to use this on a job several years ago but Alpen was going through a reorganization at the time and could not deliver. I think they are doing pretty well with it now.
74D4090A-1724-48D1-92E1-9DFED2A26C4C.jpg

[Kevin Jenness]

I can send back anything I don’t like but after 2 or 3 times with the same thing I tend to give up.
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Once we sent back a unit with a hair in it and got a "replacement" with the same hair. I guess they have the same policy.

[Warren Lake]

waiter what is that fly doing in my soup? " I think the back stroke"

Sad thing about service at times.

[Warren Lake]

Asked one of the past employees and he said they had a set up with a maxim size of their press, 4 x 4. Larger were ordered. Said they did use gas wasnt sure thought maybe Argon. I said that isnt that for Tig welding and he just could not remember. Had it set up that the gas went in and pushed the air out the other side.