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New user looking for some general help. I live in a neighborhood with mostly 80-100 year old houses. Several of my neighbors have kept their original windows frames but had new double pane low-e glass installed. It is not cheap, almost twice as much as buying a new window however the style matches the house and the neighborhood. I am extremely handy and wondered if someone out there sourced just the new panes (I give them the dimensions, they give me low-e double panes) so that I could replace/rebuild the windows myself. The woodworking part isn't bad but I obviously cannot make my own low-e double panes.

Thanks in advance.

I'd check with a local glass shop. They should be able to help. You might also want to consider installing storm windows with a LoE coating.

Sounds to me like you would be a prime candidate for sash replacement kits. There are some out there that would meet historical district requirements in various parts of the country and you could likely match your existing muntin designs. Trouble is, I can't think of any right off the top of my head. You may want to look thru some of the St. Louis, MO historic district website information because I specifically remember seeing a list on one of their sites. A sash replacement kit, in case you don't know, is replacement sashes and track that use your existing window frame as such, versus sliding a 'replacement' window frame inside of your existing frame.

Marvin and Eagle are 2 companies that do sash replacement kits.

I too am interested in replacing the existing panes with 2-pane low-E with argon assemblies. One reason is so I don't lose glass area. Also, I want to keep the current dividers, which are painted to match the rooms. I don't yet know what caulk to use, but assume I could scrape the old out without hurting the frame. I think I can go 5/8" thick and have room left for a bead of caulk, like glazing. I found a place in VA that will make units to my sizes. I am not yet sure they use the best glass and spacers, but I am sure they are good. The initial price I got is under $100 per pane, which seems to me to be much less than a good window. I would think this could be as good as a new window, but I cannot get a tax credit because there would be no NFRC sticker on it. Washing would be easier than storms because there would be 2 sides instead of 4, and nothing needs to be removed. Does anyone have any comments on this? I am a little concerned about what happens over time as the gas leaks out. Hope they would not dis-color or get moisture.

rmit,
The units would have a warranty against seal failure.
Of more conern to me is that you are going to try and just caulk them in. Most all mfg have a stop to hold the glass in place, even old putty glazed single panes have glazing points. Yuo must make sure that the IG unit is compatible with any caulk you would use, can not be more specific, but get this cleared with the Ig fabricator.

rmit

You are wasting your time and money if you are trying to convert a single pane window to double pane. The glass isn't going to stay in with just a bead of caulk.

The outfits that I've seen do this have a trailer outside the house with woodworking equipment in it. They bring the old sashes to the trailer, take out the old glass then rout a new deeper groove into the window sash to receive a thicker glass package. The new pre-ordered double pane IG is then wet-set into the sash and a new stop brad nailed on to hold the new IG.
It's labor intensive but in situations like homes in historical districts it's an option to consider.

I checked into this process a few years ago but never persued it. It sounded pretty interesting. I sent them a couple of emails about a dealership but, never got an answer. Have you seen the process and results?

I originally saw it on This Old House, then about a year ago I saw a guy doing it on the north side of Chicago and talked to him for a while. I wasn't real impressed with how he was doing them as they were a little rough. On This Old House the guy was using much better equipment.

Well that figures TOH would have better equipment on the show, they are not to shabby.
I have seen dual pane puttied in to egg crates and last 20- 30 years. They are a pia to extract.

I have replaced single pane glass in casements and they do hold in place with silicone caulking.

I removed my casement window frames and had them sandblasted down to the metal, galvanized and then powder coated. Therefore the adhering surface I am using has virtually no chance of rust recurring with any significance (at least not in my lifetime).

If you are trying to use caulking to hold things to a painted surface, even if you really sand it down well and prime it...eventually it will rust and the paint will separate from the metal and then I could see caulking fail to hold single pane glass in place.

If they are wood or alum rust isn't a problem.