Double glazed windows are the latest in construction trends that have taken over the marketplace.
Ever since they were introduced into the marketplace, there has been a great deal of demand for these windows to be installed across buildings everywhere.
With the rise of these double glazed glass windows being used, there has been a whole new issue which has cropped up, which is their maintenance.
Double glazed windows are certainly unlike regular windows in their make and construction. This will make their maintenance a lot more complex than it would have been otherwise. The actual amount of maintenance that is required will ultimately depend on the type of double glazed windows that are used.
The double glazed windows that are in use today use a wide variety of materials for their frames. It is this which ultimately acts as a deciding factor in the kind of maintenance to be used, more than anything else. The maintenance of glass isn’t really that important compared to the framework that is used, since the glass doesn’t have any real issues as long as it is of good quality.
Today, the most commonly used material for double glazed glass window frames are Vinyl, Aluminum and Wood. While there are certainly other materials that are occasionally used, they are quite rare for the most part.
Coming to the actual maintenance, here are most common ways in which the whole process is handled from the beginning to the end.
1.) Vinyl
For the double glazed windows that have a vinyl framework, there isn’t much needed to be done to keep them in excellent shape. The fact that they are already made out of vinyl means that there is no need to paint or repaint the windows.
The commonly used color of vinyls in the glazed glass window market is that they tend to be white in color. It is an industry standard color, meaning that if in case any other color has been chosen, it might have been painted over as opposed be being made out of colored vinyl. This can prove to cost more in terms of painting, should the paintwork flake or peel away as time passes by.
Apart from this, a general wash with some soap and water is more than enough to get rid of the dust and dirt that would have accumulated on it.
2.) Aluminum
Aluminum glazed windows happen to be yet another popular choice when it comes to double glazed windows.
Aluminum has the advantage of being able to withstand a great deal to the elements without losing its strength or framework. In addition to this, there is the added advantage of not corroding the way iron and steel does. Regardless, there is an issue of the frame’s surface becoming dull overtime, due to a thin layer of aluminum oxide. This can be quite easily dealt with through the use of abrasion, where a thin layer can be sanded off the surface of the window, which will restore the lustrous finish that it used to have when it was first installed.
If in case there is the case of the aluminum losing its paintwork due to flaking or peeling, there will be the need to have the whole surface repainted again. This would require the paintwork to be sanded off before another coat of paint can be applied, so as to ensure a quality finish.
3.) Wood
Wooden double glazed windows are another popular choice in the marketplace.
These kinds of windows tend to be a bit higher on the maintenance end, compared to the others. This is because wood happens to be a biodegradable substance, which without proper maintenance and treatment can begin to degrade and rot.
The way to maintain wooden double glazed windows is to ensure that they are properly designed in the first place. When the wood that is used is properly treated, it will prevent the possibility of rot or invasion by termites. In addition to it, the process can also make the wood resistant to water, which can otherwise seep into the interior of the wood and ruin it during the process.
A lot of wooden frameworks are designed with a coat of paint. This paintwork can and will flake or peel overtime, making it necessary for routine painting.
As a whole, there are three major materials which are used in double glazed windows, all of which have unique requirements for maintenance.
The final choice of the material used for double glazed glass windows should take into consideration their respective maintenance requirements, as it is something that will have lasting consequences for a very long time to come.