Summary: Stained glass is stunning to look at. You can make gorgeous stained glass patterns by mixing and matching a variety of colored pieces of glass together. A window made of this will be a work of beauty adored for years. Most of the people do not yet know that you can overlay stained glass panels onto regular windows. Besides unrivaled beauty it also offers you higher energy efficiency.
Question: We are thinking of adding a custom stained glass to the two new smaller windows that we are intending to buy for a room. One of the contractors says that they can supply a stained glass which can be installed amidst two pieces of the insulated glass of the windows. The other says that this is all faulty as the lead in the stained glass is sure to lead to a window failure and the insulated glass seal will also be affected. What is it that we should do now to get what we want? Which is the safe and sound way to get the most flexibility?
Answer: Its great that you want to do this; most people do not think of this. I have installed custom made stained glass to the two front doors and the two windows after they have been installed. Visitors to our house are simply stunned by the stained glass. They think it must be at least a century old. But you know the truth. The stained glass panels are recently installed. But the same skills of ages ago of craftspeople have gone into this.
By the addition of stained glass to the windows after the windows were installed, I have now a new insulated Low E glass with a higher efficiency. Its beauty is something that can only be provided by custom-stained glass. You can also get these same benefits now. An assortment of stained glass is offered by a number of door and window manufacturers. These are upgrade choice to your new windows. But these do not interest me and might be not to you also. You know this means that the same windows can also be in some other house and I do not like this. I hope you get what I am saying.
The first contractor could be correct when they say that the stained glass can be packed in between the insulated glass. This may be feasible. Including a custom panel is possible considering the way insulated glass is made. But then there seems to be all kinds of difficulties in this method that have to be overcome.
The size of the stained glass and the inner dimensions of the insulated glass have to be precisely exact and matching. It will be a problem if the stained glass was too big in size. If it was a little too small, then you will land up with a shoddy gap between the insulated glass seal and the leaded glass edge. There is then the issue of thickness of the custom glass panel. This has to be the same as that of gap between the insulated glasses. If it is not, then the panel will rattle and it will look very odd. The insulated glass may not seal at all or it may get stressed if the thickness of one soldered seam in the custom panel is too much.
You can set up the custom stained glass panel on the inside of the house right on top of the existing insulated glass. I think this will be the best way as it only takes a few minutes, is simple and offers you vast flexibility.
Once you have got your windows installed, the custom panel is crafted by the stained glass craftsperson. The fabricator takes the measurements so that there is hardly any possibility of mistakes. You can see the stained glass in its full glory. The beauty is not shrouded by the glare of another clear glass piece. You can easily and quickly take out the stained glass panel in case you move out to another place. Moreover, the window will not show any sign of the stained glass being on or in it.
It is quite easy to install stained glass panel. The thickness of the stained glass is one-quarter inch less than the distance between edges of the window sash ends and that of the clear glass in both height and width. This kind of spacing permits the glass panel to comprise a one-eighth inch space located between the edge of the window sash and the leaded glass edges.
The windows should be cleaned perfectly and dry. This can be done by cleaning the window glass from the inside and outside. Tilt the stained glass panel up gently with clean hands so that it is against the inside of the window glass. Pinch the stained glass panel against the window by using two small brad nails on each of the edges of the stained glass panel.
The small brad nails should not hit the window glass. This can be done by driving the brad nails into the edges of the sash at a low angle not more than one-eighth inch. The leaded glass is held in place when the shaft of the nail touches its edges in such a manner that the distance between the window sash and the stained glass is the same all the way around the edges. Fill up the gap between the window sash and stained glass with paintable acrylic caulk if the window is already painted. Use clear silicone caulk in case the window is vinyl or stained. Wait till the caulk is cured. Remove the brad nails with a needle-nose plier.
Caulk is actually a glue or adhesive. Many do not know this. Caulk has a chemistry similar to a number of common adhesives. The caulk nor the panel will fall out after the caulk along the edges of the stained glass panel is cured. Now the stained glass is locked safely.
All you need to do is to slice the caulk through with a razor knife when you want to take away the stained glass panel at a later date. To slice through the caulk, position the blade beside the edge of the stained glass panel. You will be able to slice through the caulk all the way below to the window glass by exerting mild pressure. If you use too much pressure then there is the danger of scratching the window glass with the razor. Remove the stained glass panel. The residual caulk can be removed from the window glass with a standard straight-edge razor.
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