Replacing a Pane of Glass on an Aluminum Window Frame
Originally from the forum: repairing a pane of glass in a window
Before my roof inspection today, my sister-in-law had asked if I could come to repair her broken window. She said that she had a new pane already. I thought that I would share the steps.
Step 1. Take out the old glass. The glass is held in place by a bead of silicone on the frame and a vinyl strip which also is held in by silicone. Clean the frame entirely. Any glass shard or piece of silicone will prevent the new pane from sitting properly in this opening. Note: use gloves when removing broken glass; other wise you will get a bad cut. You can clean off the old silicone with a putty knife or any old knife. You could also wear safety glasses. Wise idea.
Step 2. Measure the size of the opening where the glass was sitting. My sister-in-law had measured from another part of the frame so her glass pane was too large for the are where it should sit. Measure twice to ensure it is accurate.
Step 3. Run a bead of a clear silicone for the glass to adhere to. This silicone prevents the glass from rattling and it stops heat loss/air flow. Check that it is a silicone meant for this application.
Step 4. Measure and cut the vinyl strips to go on the exterior of the window. This is better done before the glass has been set in place. This step can come before 3, but at this time, I unwrap the glass pane, and I fit the strips to the pane. You can use a good pair of scissors to make the cuts.
Step 5. Fit the pane into the frame. This glass can easily break, so be careful in handling it. Hold it in place with one hand, while running another bead of silicone around the exterior glass/frame joint. Note: I still wear gloves at this point, because the glass could break on me.
Step 6. Attach the vinyl strips. Alright, I noticed that on newer frames the strips seat in the silicone along the frame, and that is it. Older frames sometimes have a grove where these strips will fit. Note: window glazing is for wood windows; the vinyl strips are taking the place of the glazing compound.
Step 7. Let this set. The silicone/vinyl strips should hold the window in place. If you are unsure for some reason, you could use painters tape to hold it till it sets, but I feel this will not be needed.
You are finished.
Clarification of Step 6
You can cut these strips in two ways to fit into the corners.
a) snip them with your scissors into 45 degree angles that fit
together.
Problem: your cuts do not always fit neatly making the install
look bad. This can be resolved by b)
b) Let strips on parallel legs of the rectangle go all the way to the
end of the pane. For the strips on the other legs, cut them at
the 45 degree angle. To make them fit over the other strips,
cut out the back portion of the strip, leaving only the front face.
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