We’re all looking for ways to reduce our energy consumption, especially in light of the current energy market crisis. Wholesale gas prices have exploded in the latter half of 2021, with lasting repercussions for the energy bills of UK households. As such, many of us are trying to find ways to reduce our heating bills specifically. We’re hanging up the heavy drapes, fitting draught excluders to our letterboxes and popping into the loft to check on our insulation.

Some of us may even be taking a look at our double glazed windows and thinking about whether they should be replaced. After all, we know that not all double glazed windows are created equal. Plus newer, more energy-efficient windows could make it that much easier to stay warm this winter without having to crank up the heating. 

That said, no household wants to endure unnecessary disruption or expense by replacing their windows if there’s unlikely to be a tangible difference in the insulation they provide. So, is it really worth replacing your old double glazing? 

Signs That Your Double Glazing Needs To Be Replaced

Needless to say, nobody wants to replace double glazed windows that are doing their job perfectly well. By rule of thumb, double glazed windows last for anywhere between 20 and 35 years. There are a lot of variables at play from the location of the windows to weather conditions and, of course, the quality of the installation. 

However, this doesn’t mean that they’ll continue to do their job at peak efficiency for this long. What’s more, it’s not always easy to tell when your double glazed windows were installed. 

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the signs to look out for. Any of these may indicate that your double glazed windows aren’t offering you the thermal efficiency they should:

Draughts 

Do you get a little shudder when you walk past your windows? This may indicate that the seal is worn and cold air is leaking into your home. While there are interim fixes that can mitigate this in the short term, replacing your windows may be the best solution in the long run. 

Condensation

The sight of tiny beads of moisture within your window glass doesn’t just spoil your view, it’s also a telltale sign that your windows may need to be replaced. Condensation means that the seal for the gas cavity between window panes has failed. Therefore the gas is no longer preventing heat from leaking out through your windows. 

Chips

A chip or crack in your window’s glass is a surefire sign that it needs to be replaced. Not only does it compromise your window’s thermal efficiency, but it’s also a potential security risk. 

Water ingress

Little puddles of water on your windowsill can be a distressing sight, especially during the chilly winter nights. There are two common causes for this and naturally, neither of them are ideal. Typically water ingress means that either the weather seal has failed or that there’s an issue with your window’s drainage. In either case, it’s probably time to consider replacing the window. 

Heating Bills

As well as keeping an eye on the condition of your windows themselves, it’s also a good idea to keep an eye on your heating bills. Energy crisis notwithstanding, a surge in your heating costs may also indicate an issue with your double glazing. 

Replacing Your Double Glazed Windows: Making An Informed Decision

When deciding whether or not to replace your double glazed windows, it’s important to keep your expectations realistic. Replacing your double glazing could bring a host of benefits, but it also has its caveats. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of these so that you can make an informed decision:

The Benefits 

Replacing old double glazing can bring a range of great benefits to your home. These include:

• Transparency

Pun intended! Double glazing has come a long way in recent years. The British Fenestration Rating Council has a rating system that goes from E all the way up to A++. This makes it easy to understand the thermal efficiency of your glazing.

• Savings

If your current double glazing is on its last legs, replacing your double glazing could seriously increase the thermal efficiency of your home. It seals in free heat energy from the sun while ensuring that the heat you pay for doesn’t leak out of your home.

• Aesthetics 

When your windows were first installed, UPVC may have been your only option. Now, however, there is a wide range of timber and aluminium frames to showcase your windows and enhance your home’s aesthetic. 

• Versatility

While many choose to replace the whole window unit, it is possible to simply replace the glass. This can bring down the cost of replacing your windows if you’re on a budget.

• Soundproofing

As well as improving thermal insulation, new double glazing also improves sound insulation. So, you can enjoy greater privacy and a welcome reprieve from noisy neighbour

Things to Consider

Before you make a decision about replacing your double glazing, you also need to consider the following:

• Cost 

Replacement windows can cost anywhere between £150 and £600+ per window. However, replacing the glass rather than the whole unit can bring down costs to around £55-£150 per window.

• Time

While you can enjoy years of energy savings, it will take time for these to become noticeable. 

• Mess

When your new double glazing is installed, the area around the window is essentially a building site. You can expect some mess including old sealant, flakes of paint, and plaster dust. However, your glazier will take care to mitigate the impact of mess on your home and lifestyle and clean up after themselves as best they can.

• Disruption

If you’re one of many still working from home, you can expect some noise and disruption while your new double glazing is installed. This can take anywhere between 1-3 hours per window.

So, Is It Worth It?

At KLG Glass, we want to help our customers make an informed decision when it comes to replacing their windows. We don’t want to pressure anyone into buying double glazing they don’t need. 

Hopefully, this post will help you to decide whether or not it’s worth replacing your old double glazing. It’s worth getting to know the signs that your windows need to be replaced. You should also familiarise yourself with the benefits and caveats of replacing your old double glazing.  However, if you’re still unsure, a member of our team will be more than happy to discuss your needs with you.

Spooky season is approaching and many withered, skeletal hands are reaching for the fake cobwebs and rubber bats to decorate their homes. Halloween is the perfect excuse to change up your space and bring in a whole new look for a couple of weeks.

But not everyone wants to fill their home with bright plastic and trailing synthetic fabrics scattered everywhere. There are only so many tiny fake spiders you can accidentally hoover before you begin to reassess your life choices.

This doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in the (undead) spirit of the season. There are plenty of ways to spruce up your home for Halloween without making it look like an explosion in a pound shop.

We’ve put together these suggestions to help you bring a bit of spooky style into your home.

Keep it monochrome

 

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The traditional Halloween colours of orange, black, purple and green deliberately clash to create a bold discordant scheme. It’s fun but full-on and quickly tips into garish if you’re not careful. 

This year there’s a trend for ‘Scandi Halloween’ where the emphasis is on empty spaces and monochrome palettes. The cosy, pale colours of hygge home design are taking on a new scary style.

Whites and soft greys are popular colour choices. They’re effortlessly classy and easy to style in a spooky way. 

You can now pick up white squashes in pumpkin patches across the country. And even some supermarkets. Match with pale ghost decorations or the bleached bone of skulls and skeletons to seamlessly weave together traditional spooky and effortless elegant vibes.

Hang a Halloween wreath

 

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Wreaths are commonly considered Christmas decorations but hanging a Halloween wreath is a great way to add a subtle Halloween welcome to your doors.

As with all decorations, these can be as loud and bright, or subtle and subdued as you choose. To keep to a theme of modern Halloween decor, a stark black, twig-only wreath will really stand out. Particularly on a pale wall or white gloss door. If you’re aiming for a more rustic vibe, then combine standard washed out Halloween colours like orange with hessian ribbon or twine.

Paint your pumpkins

If you haven’t got a couple of gourds around the house, can you really say you’ve decorated for Halloween?

Pumpkins are the iconic Halloween decoration, but that vibrant orange and evil grin can feel a bit too much in a modern home. A timelessly chic twist on the traditional jack-o-lantern is to paint your pumpkins a solid colour instead. If you’re going for a truly minimalist Halloween decor, then the contrast of black and white pumpkins will fit perfectly.

Painting it yourself means you get to keep the interactive Halloween experience, but another bonus of this Halloween re-think is you won’t have to worry about the goop of pumpkin innards smeared around your house!

Handmade Pumpkins

 

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There is something satisfying about layering paint over the thick skin of a pumpkin but if that’s still a bit much for you, maybe a handmade pumpkin would be more your thing.

Knitted, felted, or stuffed fabric pumpkins are easily available on sites like Etsy.com. You can pick according to size, colour or material and tailor them completely to your existing design scheme.

 These are almost luxury Halloween decorations so they will cost a little more. Still, they’ll sit quietly in a cupboard until next year and look every bit as beautiful when they remerge. 

Best of all, you won’t have to worry about how to dispose of all those rotting pumpkin corpses come November.

If you’re handy with knitting needles or have some old cushions knocking around, you can even make your own. Build a stalk out of a cinnamon stick, and they’ll even bring a subtle scent of autumn to your home too!

Make your own Halloween garlands

 

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As those handmade pumpkins prove, choosing chic Halloween decor doesn’t mean you have to abandon the satisfaction of homemade creations.

Stick with something simple. Garlands are easy to make, easy to tailor to any colour scheme and always add impact wherever you string them. Use hessian twine for a rustic touch, and keep to simple shapes without over decoration. A string of felt balls, paper shapes or similar will only take a couple of hours to throw together but will add a personal yet minimalist touch that shows your skills at their best. 

And don’t forget your windows…

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Going for glam Halloween decor doesn’t have to mean abandoning your window decorations either. Just as a simple wreath or select few pumpkins can keep your front door feeling subtly festive, a carefully curated window display won’t disrupt even an understated decor.

If you’ve got a broad window sill, something as straightforward as black lanterns with battery-powered candles flickering away will add a foreboding essence to the exterior of your house. Skulls or a collection of miniature pumpkins won’t have the same impact at night but they will look wonderful during the day.

Alternative, if you’re short on space then stick a swirl of silhouettes to the window panes. Something with a distinctive shape like bats or a flock of crows will work well. Place them properly with a shape or movement, and they will have an eye-catchingly dramatic effect.

We love decorating our homes for Halloween, but some years it seems too much to trail fistfuls of cobwebs or carve pumpkins. And the cleanup job is immense. If you’re feeling the same, but don’t want to miss out on the spooky seasonal joy that only comes round once a year, we hope our tips have shown you can still get in the spirit without having to undermine any lovingly designed aesthetics across your home.

 

Glass is a material that has been used as a decorative and functional element in homes for hundreds of years. But, glass is still used to add a modern feel to a home and gives a greater sense of space. 

If you’re looking to create a living space that is airy and bright then incorporating glass throughout your home is a great way to do just that. 

There are many different ways of incorporating glass elements in various parts of the house so let’s take a look at some!

Glass decor ideas:

Mirrors, mirrors on the walls 

Mirrors are perfect for creating an illusion of space that is handy in tight spaces. They’re also great focal points, catching one’s eye instantly and looking particularly interesting over a fireplace or other large surface like your living room wall!

Make a splash(back)

Tired of looking at your old kitchen tiles? If so, choosing a glass splashback may be the solution. Glass is not only cleaner and more hygienic than tile but also looks great in any type of kitchen – modern or traditional. Available in various colours and styles to match your design preference, you’ll love how easy it will make cleaning up after cooking dinner!

Balustrades

Glass balustrades provide a touch of modern sophistication to any building and have become increasingly popular as an architectural design choice. Glass balustrades are extremely durable, come in different designs that fit almost every style preference for your home and require very little maintenance.

Glass doors

It’s no doubt that glass doors are one of the most prominent glass features within any home. With sliding doors, french doors, and bifold doors becoming ever more popular. These are the most effective ways to bring more natural light directly into the home.

They are also fantastic for showing off more pleasant external areas of your home also, making the transition between your indoor and outdoor living areas seamless.

Glass walls/partitions

Prominent in more modern and contemporary homes, the installation of clear glass partitions can improve the transition from one room to another. With interior designers always looking for better ways to utilise any given space, glass partitions can complement almost any home.

For homes looking to achieve an open plan feel, glass partitions can be implemented in smaller doorways. This allows natural light to flow through the home and create an open plan feel.

Glass can be used to separate your shower area from your bathroom. These glass partitions are popularly clear or frosted, and add a sense of cleanliness to your room.

Glass furniture

There are many different ways to implement glass into your interior decor. Firstly, looking at adding glass furniture into your home can increase the perceived space within a room without losing the practicality of the furniture. Glass tables are perfect for coffee and side tables. With interior designers opting for thicker, safer glass, these can be striking features within your home decor.

Wardrobes are a fantastic place to opt for glass within the home. Whilst generally wardrobes can take up a fair amount of room space, opting for glass doors can increase the sense of spaciousness. If you would still like to retain some privacy, however, then you may want to install frosted glass.

Benefits of glass in interior design:

Now you know how to incorporate glass in your interior design, let’s look at why you should.

1. Natural light 

The benefits of natural light are pretty well-known. You’ll be happier, healthier and more energized when you let natural light into your home. 

Natural light is the best kind of illumination. Not only does it make you feel good physically and mentally, but it can also improve how your home looks as well!

Brighter living spaces means warmer homes which in turn saves energy usage on heating costs.

By incorporating glass throughout your interior, you can open up your living space and encourage natural light to shine through.

2. Draws the outside in

Indoor/outdoor living is a hot topic in the world of interior design and can be achieved through creative use of glass. It is all about drawing the outside world into a living space.

Glass is a great way to blur the lines between interior and exterior spaces and create a flow between the two. 

With large glass windows, for example, you can capture the beauty of your garden or surrounding views which will transform the appearance of your home. 

3. Invites a spacious feel

With high house prices, people are living in smaller homes with less space to spare. But it doesn’t have to be this way! You can create a greater sense of spaciousness without having to move by strategically incorporating glass into your home. 

Glass will not only give the illusion that you’re working with more square footage but also reflect light and make an area feel warmer than before – perfect for any room where natural sunlight is scarce. 

Find quality glazing products

As you can see, glass can be your new best friend when it comes to decorating your home. But before you go ahead with your home improvement project, it is important to choose quality materials from a trusted supplier. 

At KLG Glass, quality is at the heart of everything we do. We have quickly established ourselves as a leading supplier of glazing products. If you’re looking for quality glazing products for your home, get in touch with us and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.

Glass in our home is on the increase, with larger windows, conservatories and big patio doors on the top of many people’s wish list. It’s beneficial and uplifting to let lots of natural light into our homes but in the summer direct sunlight can cause problems. 

The UV rays of the sun can cause colour fading. This can happen even through double glazing. When our personal items or expensive pieces of furniture start to fade, it makes them look tired and worn. It can be disappointing and expensive, but this type of sun damage can be avoided. 

Why Does Direct Sunlight Cause Colour Fading?

The ultraviolet rays from direct sunlight can break chemical bonds which result in colour fading. This happens even through glass, as the UV rays are not blocked by the glass itself. 

How Can I Prevent Colour Fading From Sunlight Through Glass?

In the summer, we want to enjoy natural light in our homes whilst avoiding sun damage to furniture and other items. Here are our top tips for preventing colour fading without completely blocking out the sun.  

1.  Voile or Net Curtains: a sheer fabric like voile or net can help to diffuse direct sunlight. Although you won’t block out UV rays, diffusing the light can stop the intense and direct glare that tends to lead to colour fading in fabrics and wood. This is a flexible solution as you only need to draw such curtains when the light is strong enough to need it. So if your room is only in direct sunlight at certain times of the day you might consider using curtains in a sheer fabric to add a layer of protection. 
2. Glass film: windows can be fitted with types of film that help to absorb or reflect uv rays. These are relatively easy to apply and can be effective in protecting from colour damage. They can also improve energy efficiency, and help your room feel cooler if it gets very hot in direct sunlight. 
3. Tinted glass: compared to clear glass, tinted glass does block more uv rays. This makes it effective in reducing colour fading. Tinted windows can also improve energy efficiency and reduce glare. 
4. Laminated glass: even more effective than tinted glass, laminated glass has a polyvinylbutyral (PVB) interlayer. This vastly reduces UV transmittance and is the most effective solution for a real problem with colour fading. 
5. Frosted glass: just like voile and net curtains, frosted or sandblasted glass can help to diffuse direct sunlight. Allowing the light to filter through more gradually can help to avoid colour fading. Unlike sheer curtains though, frosted glass isn’t temporary. It’s best used in areas where privacy and light diffusion are beneficial the majority of the time. 

Colour fading is a complex issue, as some colours, materials and pigments react very differently to UV light. If the sunlight is damaging items in your home the most important thing to remember is to reduce the intensity of the light, and the time it is exposed for. Nobody wants to see their favourite items fade. Keep them looking their best by protecting them against sun damage early on. You’ll be glad when your furniture still looks like new!