French Doors‏

Q: I have a set of multi-paned french doors in my house that lead from one room to another. Some of the panes are filled with glass, some with rigid plastic and some that were empty I filled with cardboard when we first moved here and just painted over them. Now we want to replace the plastic and cardboard with glass. Is this a difficult procedure? My husband seems to think it would be 'fairly simple' to remove the molding on one side, which holds the panes in place, put in glass, and nail the molding back on again. But the wood has been painted several times and it's not clear where the nails are, and nailing on a door that has glass panes in it seems like it would be a really difficult job. Does anyone have experience doing this? Any tips? Is it something that is better left to a professional or is this a reasonable do-it-yourself project?

A: Your husband is right (surprise), it is not a difficult job. Use a razor blade knife to cut through the paint where the window glass molding meets the frame of the door. Use a small pry-bar (6 or 7 inch) or scraper to leverage the wood up and the nails should come with the molding, if they go through the molding they can be pulled out with a pair of pliers.

Measure for the glass. When installing the glass you can use the small flat triangle pieces that the picture frame people use to hold the picture in the frame. Then nail the molding into place. When nailing the molding let the head of the hammer slide on the glass, doing it in this manner prevents the hammer from hitting the glass.

If you are going to refinish the doors I would suggest you remove all the glass, plastic and cardboard, refinish the doors and then replace the glass

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Choosing The Right Windows For Your Home

When considering a window replacement for your home the two most important items to look at are the method of construction of the window frame and the construction of the windowpane.

All materials transfer heat or cold through them. However, some materials have better insulation factors than others. Air is one of the best insulators and because of that, a window frame should be constructed so that there is a gap between the outside and the inside of the frame. The gap will help to prevent the transfer of heat and cold through the window frame. Some manufacturers will insert a thermal barrier between the inside and outside of the frame made of a different material such as a plastic or composition plastic.

The best windowpane insulation comes from placing an inert gas between two panes of glass. A gas such as argon has very low thermal conductivity. The second best method is to have two panes of glass, sealed, with an air barrier between them. A single pane of glass, even with a storm window does not provide much of a thermal barrier whatsoever. Tests have indicated that the temperature difference on the inside of a single piece of glass compared to the outside of the same piece of glass will be less than five degrees Fahrenheit, the addition of a storm window may take that difference from five to ten degrees.

With the cost of energy increasing yearly, it is very important to buy windows that will maintain the indoor temperature whether it is heating or cooling that is required. Windows and doors are the primary entry points for cold and the primary exit points for heat. An investment in good thermal windows will save you money in the long run and provide you and your family with the indoor comfort you desire.