Hi Steve
Thanks for that great feedback. Thought I was going crazy as someone told me i had to install complete new casements into the existing frame.
You probably will have to fit casements into the existing frames if you want to open windows. Straight glazing is where the fixed glass is directly fitted in to outer timber frame either into a rebate .
As for openings. We are planning to have a juliet balcony upstairs and bi-fold doors downstairs so I was hoping that would be enough ventilation and give escape access. We dont have any fan lights to install. All openings are retangular, except for the triangle sections at top and they are all straight edged. The curved edges you can see are set back into the structure and would not touch the glazing.
If as you say below it is a new install including the framework is the building control officer not involved? as the installation is subject to part L of the building regs, and a building notice would have been required and compliance to PartL will dictate what ventilation and insulation the dwelling requires. I will not go into PartL now, but you can install mechanical ventilation such as a heat recovery unit or other forms of mechanical extraction so you do not have to worry about trickle vents in the windows.
The oak was all bespoke and brand new at the time of install, sad to say the owner ran out of cash and had family problems, so what you see here has been left to elements for 7 years. Its is all structurally sound and free from rot though (amazingly).
The good thing about it being fairly new oak is you probably wont have nails and old screws lost in the timber all over the place as is usual with old oak structures, but it will still now be very hard.
Yeah a straight guide is probably out due to access. I fully agree any imperfection will be mimicked by a guided cutter. but I suppose i'll still have those imperfections if I just install an oak stop. I like the idea of putting in the oak stop as its saves alot of routing out. What size of stop would you suggest? Largest glass panels being 655 x 2370mm.
If you go with planting an oak stop any imperfections in the outer frame will not be mimicked in the stops. The oak stops will ride over any imperfections and leave gaps between stop and frame, this is why the stops need bedding on a mastic of sorts, to fill up these gaps and take up those imperfections and to stop water ingress. If you go down this route talk to the glazing supplier as their glass unit guarantee will be subject to how the glass units are installed. They will require a fitting tolerance to allow for any expansion and contraction of the outer timber frame. The glass will need to sit on plastic or rubber packers. Most glazing suppliers prefer, glass fitted from inside, and then pushed out to an external stop with planted beads inside to hold the units in place. The actual size of the external rebate or in your case, the planted stops, really depends on the outer frame and sight line of the spacer of the glass units. If the outer frames are not square then you will have to allow more fitting tolerance for the glass, width and or height, unless you have glass cut to templates. If you need to order the glass narrower to allow for any frames being out of square then it will be necessary to have a deeper rebate. There is nothing worse than seeing the glass spacer bar inside the sight line of any timber.
Just one last point on planting external stops, don't just run square stops all round, the bottom stop will require a 9 deg slope to allow water to run away from the glass.
I hope this helps. Steve.
Thanks again
Alan
