Browse Forums Windows & Doors 1 Jul 04, 2013 8:51 pm I'm confused! I am building a new house near a train station--by choice, this is for convenience because I do't drive. I want double glazed windows for noise reduction. All was going well and the builder had double glazing quoted. But then I noticed that the full-height sliding glass door was specified as laminated, not double glazed. I've asked for it to be changed to double glazing, but have been told the laminated glass is better. I don't need thermal advantages, just noise reduction. Thoughts, suggestions, opinions of what I should be checking, asking, looking for? Money is an object. Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 2Jul 05, 2013 10:35 am _lucinda I'm confused! I am building a new house near a train station--by choice, this is for convenience because I do't drive. I want double glazed windows for noise reduction. All was going well and the builder had double glazing quoted. But then I noticed that the full-height sliding glass door was specified as laminated, not double glazed. I've asked for it to be changed to double glazing, but have been told the laminated glass is better. I don't need thermal advantages, just noise reduction. Thoughts, suggestions, opinions of what I should be checking, asking, looking for? Money is an object. Glass thickness has the greatest impact on noise reduction. The greater the thickness, the better the noise reduction. In double glazing, optimum is achieved if the 2 glass panes are different thicknesses, especially if one is laminated. The different thicknesses and lamination help stop noise at certain frequencies but laminated glass alone in no way makes up for the overall glass thickness. I think it's likely the supplier can't double glaze the door they provide. Check the laminated glass thickness compared to the overall glass thickness of the windows. Thanks Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 3Jul 05, 2013 3:12 pm Thanks so much Ed. That helps me more than hours of pouring over the internet information has done. Way above my head, I'm afraid. I found out more from the supplier today--their double glazing is 6mm glass both sides with 6mm argon between. From what I have read, 6mm gap doesn't seem much, and the glass on each side shouldn't be the same width, so I suppose I'm not going to get much noise reduction with that. I also read that argon isn't the best gas for sound reduction--is that right? Does anyone have a link to something that would enable me to compare different options? Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 4Jul 05, 2013 4:12 pm _lucinda Thanks so much Ed. That helps me more than hours of pouring over the internet information has done. Way above my head, I'm afraid. I found out more from the supplier today--their double glazing is 6mm glass both sides with 6mm argon between. From what I have read, 6mm gap doesn't seem much, and the glass on each side shouldn't be the same width, so I suppose I'm not going to get much noise reduction with that. I also read that argon isn't the best gas for sound reduction--is that right? Does anyone have a link to something that would enable me to compare different options? Welcome You will get a lot of sound reduction, certainly quite noticeable, but not optimum. The 6mm gap affects energy performance more than acoustic, and it is quite narrow for energy. The argon is as good as it gets at 12mm, but at 6mm, krypton would be better (krypton would be worse at 12mm), but krypton is very expensive and, as far as I know, it is not available in Australia. What about your door? What was the glass thickness? The info you ask for would come from a lot of different technical specs... Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 5Jul 05, 2013 4:31 pm I think the laminated one quoted was 6.38 mm. Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 6Jul 05, 2013 10:06 pm _lucinda I think the laminated one quoted was 6.38 mm. Sounds like they can't do a double glazed door. 6.38 is low... ask for 8.76. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 7Jul 06, 2013 9:59 am Thanks so much again. They can do double glazing and said it would be 6, 6, 6. They also recommend a Vlam Hush with 6, 8, 4 but looks like the budget is not going to be able to stretch to that. Is a 6, 6, 6 be better than a 8.76 single? I think they do a 10 something thickness too--would that be better than 6, 6, 6? Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 8Jul 06, 2013 12:34 pm _lucinda Thanks so much again. They can do double glazing and said it would be 6, 6, 6. They also recommend a Vlam Hush with 6, 8, 4 but looks like the budget is not going to be able to stretch to that. Is a 6, 6, 6 be better than a 8.76 single? I think they do a 10 something thickness too--would that be better than 6, 6, 6? Welcome. 6/6/6 would beat 6.38 & 8.76... "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 12Aug 29, 2013 12:08 pm _lucinda, I hope you don't mind if I ask the question here as well In term of energy savings measures, would 6.38 laminated windows do much good compare to the ordinary windows? Unfortunately, my budget would not permit double glazing so I thought laminating is better than nothing. Am I right? First house - Statesman Greenock (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66876 Second house - Fairmont Grand Design (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=100789 Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 13Aug 29, 2013 12:18 pm I'm pretty sure laminated will be better than regular glass, and the thickness of the glass will have an effect too. Are you hoping for thermal benefits or sound, or both? I wasn't as concerned about thermal benefits, but I was looking at sound reduction. I'm still not sure I've got what I want, but it's locked in now. Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 14Aug 29, 2013 1:03 pm _lucinda, I am more concerned about thermal benefits... sound is not the main issue for me even though I have primary school just across the street. I just try to understand if the investment in laminated glass will worth is in term of reducing the bills. First house - Statesman Greenock (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66876 Second house - Fairmont Grand Design (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=100789 Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 15Aug 29, 2013 2:00 pm Yes, I think it would be a good investment, but I'm not an expert. Try to find out who is going to supply the windows and ask their advice. They might be able to give you figures to show the improvement based on the type of glass, the laminate, etc. Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 16Aug 29, 2013 5:33 pm vladmari _lucinda, I am more concerned about thermal benefits... sound is not the main issue for me even though I have primary school just across the street. I just try to understand if the investment in laminated glass will worth is in term of reducing the bills. Laminate will be of no benefit in energy efficiency.It also has a minimal benefit in noise attenuation. When we tested a window it made a difference of 1dB. That may be different for different frequencies, but remember that 10dB is the level of discernible difference. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 17Aug 29, 2013 5:48 pm Thanks, Ed. Wouldn't laminated glass keep some of the heat out in summer? and maybe some of the warmth in in winter? If not, what type of glass would vladmari need to consider? Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 18Aug 29, 2013 10:59 pm Thanks Ed and _lucinda, it seems that I don't have much options with the windows unless I go for double glazed which is not an option at the moment... First house - Statesman Greenock (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66876 Second house - Fairmont Grand Design (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=100789 Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 19Aug 29, 2013 11:08 pm _lucinda Thanks, Ed. Wouldn't laminated glass keep some of the heat out in summer? and maybe some of the warmth in in winter? If not, what type of glass would vladmari need to consider? Clear laminated will have no benefit over non-laminated, summer or winter. It's only feature benefit is safety, it breaks safely. There are low-E glasses in laminate which control radiant heat, but have problems - the only real answer is double glazing (with or without low-E). "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Double glazing v. laminated glass 20Aug 29, 2013 11:55 pm Thanks Ed, your info is much appreciated as now it will save me a few thousand dollars First house - Statesman Greenock (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66876 Second house - Fairmont Grand Design (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=100789 This is one of the reasons I decided to go overseas for my double glazed windows. As the builder indicated, he's worked on many upmarket builds, these were the most well… 13 15118 For your reference Performance Labels: Window assemblies in housing, except timber windows, must be labelled so the label can be seen when it is in situ. For timber… 6 2433 |