How to Replace True Split Light Window Glass

A friend of ours owns an old house that is full of charm and character that only old houses showcase. Having an older home presents a few different maintenance challenges, like the one you asked about last weekend. He asked how to fix a broken glass on the storm door at the back of his house.

 

Our friend was lucky, she actually has an old wooden storm door, which can actually be repaired without much trouble. Your door glass is divided into nine pieces, each of these pieces or sections is separated by wooden trim. This style of door is known as a true dividing light panel. Not all doors are built this way, some will have a single piece of glass that covers the entire window opening and instead of having wooden dividers between each section, the trim is applied over the glass. A duplicate set of trim is applied to the other side of the glass giving the appearance of a true split light.

 

On a door or window that has true split light panels, the glass in each section can be individually removed and replaced, and here is the process to do just that. Inside the panel, the glass is normally held in place with a putty known as glazing compound. On the outside of the glass, the widow trim will hold the glass in place. The first step in removing the broken piece of glass is to remove the glazing compound. The best tool for this is a heat gun, which looks like a hair dryer on steroids. The heat gun is an industrial version, which has a much higher heat setting than your hair dryer, but the concept is the same.

 

The first thing to do is put on a pair of good work gloves. I would recommend leather. Cotton or garden gloves won’t protect you from the sharp edges of the glass you’re working on, so spend an extra couple of bucks and get yourself a good pair of leather gloves. The second thing to do, and just as important as work gloves, is to put on a good pair of safety glasses. These will protect your eyes from any flying glass shards.

 

Now, with a stiff spatula in hand, take your heat gun and heat up the frosting compound. It will take a couple of minutes to soften the compound enough that you can peel it off the glass. I like to take an extra precaution before starting work on broken glass. If the glass is cracked, I like to run painter’s tape over the glass in a criss-cross pattern. Put the tape on both sides of the glass. This will help keep the glass in one piece until you are ready to remove it. If the glass is already broken, remove as many loose parts as possible before beginning work on the glass panel.

  

After removing the glaze compound, it’s time to remove the glaze spots. These are small metal pieces in the shape of a triangle that hold the window against the wooden stops. You can use your spatula to remove them. Once the glazing points are removed, the glass should come out through the opening. This is a place where gloves are a must. Remove all broken glass and then clean the area under the glass.

 

Get a replacement glass piece for your local DIY store or glass retailer. The traditional method is to simply reinstall the glass in the door and secure it with glazing and composite points, however many home repair experts now recommend that you first put a bead of silicone caulk under the glass to seal it, and this really does meaning to me. Stop air infiltration anywhere you can. One trick I’ve learned the hard way is to cover the glass area adjacent to where you are going to use the silicone caulk with painter’s tape. Silicon is a real pain, excuse the pun, to remove it from the glass. The tape will catch any squeeze.

 

Once the glass and silicone are in place, install new glazing points on the inside of the glass. These are easy to install with the flat face of your putty knife. Place at least two dots along each edge of the glass. Next, it is time to reinstall the glazing compound. Scoop up some of the compound from the can it came in and work into your hand. Work until you can form a long, flexible snake from the compound, then place the snake-like compound on the window. After you have the compound on all four sides of the glass, take your putty knife and clean the appearance of the glazing compound. The best method is to hold the putty knife at a sharp angle with one edge on the glass and pull the putty knife from one corner to the next. Don’t stop in the middle, it is very difficult to restart. Be patient, it takes practice to make the finish look good.

 

And so you’re done. Of course, if your door is not wood, this repair will not work for you. Newer modern doors will have windows with metal rails around the windows that are often custom designed by the manufacturer. Also, most modern glass panels are normally two glass panels with an inert gas between the panels. This inert gas helps make the window more energy efficient. Therefore, the average homeowner cannot usually repair new windows. You may be able to get a new glass panel from the manufacturer that includes the frame.

 

But, if, like our friend, you have the oldest true split light panels, yes, you can do the repair. But maybe this is a good time to consider replacing the entire door with an energy efficient unit. Depending on your individual situation, the replacement may qualify you for a 2009 rax rebate.

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