Window glass replacement?

The forward windows in my pilot house are frosting around the edges. What type of glass should I use as a replacement? They also need to be tinted.

You would certainly want safety glass. Any good glass shop could help you with them. You would save a lot if you can remove and install them yourself.

And, remove them and take them to the shop to duplicate.

Russell Clifton said:

You would certainly want safety glass. Any good glass shop could help you with them. You would save a lot if you can remove and install them yourself.

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I`m not sure what you guys call safety glass, but the frosting probably means its laminated - the frosting is the gunk in the middle of the two layers of glass showing its age - probably from moisture.

Down here, safety glass is glass that's formulated to shatter into small pieces

We have laminated glass on our boat - how do I know - because the edges are frosted in some places

Sealing the edge of laminated glass can be done with varnish , but Epoxy does a good job too.

I recently replaced the center of 3 windshield sections, on mine, the center is tempered, the outer two are laminated, I don't know the reasoning for the different types. My center glass spontaneously shattered one fine morning, later discovered it was binding in the frame, so thermal expansion?

Point is, tempered must be cut to fit and sent out to be tempered, there is a lead time that varies with the vendor. Once tempered, no adjustment is possible. Tempered is tougher, but may not stay intact if damaged, although mine did, but it won't delaminate or cloud up at the edges. Laminated can be cut in a shop, but won't take as much impact as tempered. Car windshields are laminated, side windows are usually tempered.

Had a glass shop install mine, it was bedded in a urethane they dispensed from an air powered caulking gun. The glass "floats" on the urethane.

FF said:

Sealing the edge of laminated glass can be done with varnish , but Epoxy does a good job too.

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I like your new Avatar.

I started a thread a while back on laminated glass replacement. I put my butt through two side Windows. I don't know how to find the thread on my phone. The damage was significant and the glass stayed intact. You want laminent glass not tempered.

Laminated safety glass is what you want. Oddly, I went to two "auto glass" shops and they couldn't help me. A place that does windows and shower enclosures took care of what I needed at a reasonable price.

Many building codes now require safety glass not only in shower enclosures but in the lower portion of porch enclosures, etc. It's pretty common.

WesK said:

Laminated safety glass is what you want. Oddly, I went to two "auto glass" shops and they couldn't help me. A place that does windows and shower enclosures took care of what I needed at a reasonable price.

Many building codes now require safety glass not only in shower enclosures but in the lower portion of porch enclosures, etc. It's pretty common.

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Safety glass can be tempered or laminated. Laminated is made to stay in a contiguous sheet when it breaks, tempered shatters into small pieces that won't slice and dice. Shower enclosures are tempered. If you ever tried to drill a hole into a shower door and hit the glass by mistake, you know that a shower door can quickly turn into a pile of pea-sized glass beads!

Boat windshields can be found laminated or tempered. Tempered will take more (up to 4X) of an impact before it yields than laminated will. I did quite a bit of research prior to replacing my windshield and could find no compelling reason for tempered vs. laminate, but since mine was 3/8" tempered, I stayed with that configuration.

Do you ever see Lexan used for windsheilds ?

Benthic2 said:

Do you ever see Lexan used for windsheilds ?

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Not if it's one you want to see through after it's about 6 weeks old.

Benthic2 said:

Do you ever see Lexan used for windsheilds ?

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Lexan doesn't hold up to UV rays very well. And it scratches easily. You could use it but it wouldn't be a good idea.

I also wonder about tinting the front windows. That is not allowed in cars, except up high, so there may be an ABYC guideline for boats that prohibits tinting. Anyone with access to the ABYC?

"I also wonder about tinting the front windows."

The tint will absorb the sunshine and warm the cabin .

Good or bad depending on your location.

I suppose there might be window tint that absorbs heat but most is designed to block or reject it.

3M makes a pretty expensive tint that reflects heat but is 95% clear. I had this put on all my windows including the front. Before they put it on the guy held it up for me to look through and it didn't block any light or vision.

It's not cheap though and it's only sold through authorized 3M dealers.

koliver said:

I also wonder about tinting the front windows. That is not allowed in cars, except up high, so there may be an ABYC guideline for boats that prohibits tinting. Anyone with access to the ABYC?

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Do your homework on tinting. Tinting the inside of laminate glass could result in glass failure. The heat is reflected into the laminate layer and it gets very hot. A tiny company wouldn't touch my boats laminate glass. He gave me a sample an I ran a test. He was right the tinted glass got very hot. There is a thread on TF about tinting.

There's a recent post on the Kadey Krogen builders facetious of Trawler Forum on how I did this. Laminated Glass. I paid $85 Cdn a pane for the forward windows and $120 pane for the side windows (I broke one). They are a special tint and it may take a bit to match them. Check this thread out so I don't have to repeat what I did.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s16/window-work-kk42-32220.html

"Do you ever see Lexan used for windsheilds ?"

We have a Lexan windshield , it is a recycled bus side window about 3/4 thick.

It is nice and water tight and has no problems as we do not operate a wiper on it.

WE rinse salt off with care.

WE can prop it open for a great breeze anchored , although it is tinted , so does warm the PH .

WE use untinted glass for the window that has a 12V wiper .

I am replacing all of my windows with laminated safety glass. I am using light green solartek tint. And for some reason the glass is $160 a window no matter the size of it. I just wish I didnt have 20 windows.