Double glazing has been around for decades now. A staple of home design in the modern era, double glazing has provided us with thermally efficient, noise reduced and secure homes for the last 50 years. In the 1970s, double glazing was introduced to the market alongside uPVC window frames and changed the way we design our homes forever.

Thermal Insulation

Double glazing is a glass installation that uses two panes of glass with a thermally insulating gap between them. Whether it is being used in a window, a conservatory or a front door, double glazing provides exceptional levels of thermal efficiency when compared to its single glazing counterparts. Double glazing provides U-values at least five times lower than that of single glazing, which is a dramatic drop in heat loss throughout the home.

Noise Reduction

Double glazing also provides substantial noise reduction compared to single glazing. With single glazing, you’re at risk of being constantly barraged by the unrelenting sounds of the outside world. One pane of glass is not particularly dense, especially when paired with old timber frames that would have been standard before the 1970s and perhaps beyond for heritage properties. With two panes of glass and a thermally insulating gap, you’re providing your home with more than twice the amount of material for the sound to travel through. Sound becomes dissipated as the vibrations pass through dense objects. The more material you can place between you and the sound, the less of the sound you’re likely to hear. Similarly, the more noise you’ll be able to make in your home without fear of disturbing your neighbours.

How do they do it?

So how do the powers that be construct this exceptionally important and influential home improvement? It’s not as complex as you may think, but it definitely takes some thinking, and there is a regular process. Here at Double Glazing on the Web, we want to make sure that our customers know everything there is to know about double glazing so that they’re informed and understand what it is they’re buying when they’re comparing prices from around the industry with us!

Here’s the step by step:

1. The glass is carefully measured from a large sheet to ensure that it will fit the unit.
2. The glass is precisely cut by either a machine or by hand to the desired specification.
3. The glass is sealed together by the use of sealant to create a singular double glazed unit.
4. The glass is then passed through the washer to ensure that it is free of all debris.
5. Once the glass is clean and free of debris, the unit is fitted with the spacer, which allows it to be prepared for being filled with gas.
6. The gas, usually argon, fills the gap between the two panes, finishing off the process.

Different manufacturers use different gases, but it is often a choice between argon and krypton, with the vast majority of manufacturers going with argon for its superior thermal insulating properties.

Getting the right double glazing for your home.

It’s important to get the right measurements for your double glazing as once the glass is cut, it is exceptionally expensive to resize it, with a whole new set needing to be cut if you’ve gone too small, so make sure that you know exactly how big you’re unit is going to need to be.

Manufacturers around the UK do this every day and have gotten exceptionally good at it over the last 50 years or so. With timber, uPVC and aluminium now providing the home with equal levels of thermal efficiency and noise reduction, it has never been a better time to invest in some double glazing and give your home the improvement it needs!