Broken Seals in Windows

Do you have a foggy window that will not wipe clean with Windex? You wipe the glass on the inside and outside and the moisture is still there. That's because the seal between the two panes of glass is gone. Many windows are argon gas filled -- the seal fails, the gas escapes, and moisture enters. There is a change in temperature between inside and outside of the home and the glass fogs. It's ugly.

What should you do? Inspectors will tell you that the insulating value does not change significantly when the glass fogs. However, most people do not like looking through fogged glass. We have had great luck bringing windows to a glass store (in Burlingon, VT, we use Able Paint and Glass). They can replace the glass only. I don't think they replace the gas, but the glass itself looks better when they are finished. For an average size double hung windows, the cost was about $75 to $100 per section of window.

If you are talking about a fogged sliding door, the cost will of course, be higher. You might even investigate whether it is more cost effective to replace the door itself -- the glass is bound to be less than a new door but if the door is old, it might make more sense to spend your money getting a new door.

If you are selling your house, buyers make a bigger deal of the fogged glass than is needed. They "horriblize" the situation and think it will cost a fortune to fix. So before you put your house on the market, fix fogged windows. While you are at it, cracked storm windows (triple track type) are also easy to fix at the same glass store.