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In 2020 I built (well bought) a Tiger sheds garden office this oneand it's been pretty good so far.
As you can see quite a lot of the external facade is glazed with single 2mm glass, so pretty thermally inefficient. The last couple of winters this has been a non issue as I've just worked from the house during the depths of winter. I won't have that luxury this coming winter though (new baby currently being built by my wife).
Looking at the construction of the shed, I could quite easily fit secondary glazing glass to the inside of the shed which will leave a 20mm gap between the glass panels and fix in place with glazing putty. This would also be fairly cheap to do at ~£75 and if my years old thermodynamics memory serves correctly, will improve the thermal efficiency of the office a fair chunk - albeit not to the same standard as proper, sealed, double glazed units. So far this feels the obvious choice.
The question I have, is will putting secondary glazing into the window apertures cause the windows to steam up / condensation issues in the void during winter, leading to damp and rot?
If so, would putting a couple of bags of silica gel between the panels help if I were to install them on a day with low humidity?
Thanks
It will definitely steam up, then leave mineral deposits and streaks on the inside of my the glass as it evaporates. Sorry. Silica gel will do very little. You really need a removable panel so you can clean inside.
We had this in the house a few decades ago. The secondary glazing was clipped in (sort of rotary toggles, half a dozen per pane) and had a soft plastic/rubber edge strip (so you didn't cut yourself, and to seal to the frame).
Then a silca filled fabric tube in the bottom of the gap, used to get pulled out and stuck in the airing cupboard for a couple of days when the gap between the panes started to steam up.
Then we'd clean the inside of the window and the secondary pane.
Thick curtains over 'some' of the glass areas ? This is what we've done with our 8 x 6 shed office with 30/60 glazed front - curtains to cover half the glass.
Thick curtains over ‘some’ of the glass areas ? This is what we’ve done with our 8 x 6 shed office with 30/60 glazed front – curtains to cover half the glass.
I’m planning on doing that in addition to the secondary glazing - a couple of woollen blanket weight curtains on either end of the shed - one to combat draughts from the door and the opposite window only has a view of the hedge…
Have you insulated the rest of the 'shed'. Ours is just shiplap, but when built, I lined with the 'silver' bubble wrap, ceiling and walls, then ply lined the lot. Remains surprisingly warm in winter, cool in summer, despite 'perspex' windows.
Have you insulated the rest of the ‘shed’. Ours is just shiplap, but when built, I lined with the ‘silver’ bubble wrap, ceiling and walls, then ply lined the lot. Remains surprisingly warm in winter, cool in summer, despite ‘perspex’ windows.
aye, that’s how mine is too - although I’ve used pine tongue and groove cladding inside instead of your ply.
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With my office 2/3rds of the wall are windows so quite a ‘big’ heat sink I’m looking too help insulate. Big being relative - a 1.5kW oil rad keeps it cozy, but anything to reduce energy costs with a mind to the current unit costs! </span>
I did that a couple of years ago and it makes a big difference. We do get some condensation in the bottom inch of the window but it soon clears.
I have just taken a bad photo of the door below to show that we kept quite close to each pane. These are fully sealed rather than removable panes. There are very slight air gaps in the corner joints
Edit: the windows stay nice and clean on the inside
Perfect - thanks JP!
Just to check, you’ve used two separate glass panes and sealed both into place, as against a sealed double glazed unit fixed in place?
Correct. We got the glass ordered to size and then cut lengths of extruded aluminium hence the small air gaps but I think they help. We decided the door would not work well with the weight of double glazing.
Better picture
They are easy to unscrew if needed as the screws are behind the rubber beading
To add we are at a good height in east Cumbria here so have many hard frost mornings and they work well
Nice!
Thank you all
Thread resurrection.
Anyone fitted acrylic/Perspex secondary glazing on magnetic tape?
We have rattly old single glazed sash windows upstairs and I'm wondering if it's worth doing this to keep a little more warmth in for longer.
There are only two windows upstairs so I guess it might cost me maybe £150 odd to do them both, and we can store the acrylic under the beds in summer. 🤔
Plan is a bit like this very well spoken lady explains.