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window replacement glass or plexi-glass?

moved into home,one window has air conditioner built into it. above is a 14"x35" opening for light. till i removed it [plexi-glass] was there. had paper ,un-removable on it , had to go. do i put in plate glass, or can i use new sheet plexi-glass this is easier to cut to size. live in buffalo n.y. harsh winters. this area could winter time be covered with 3m plastic. question is - is plexi-glass ok?

Public Comments

1. plexiglass would be more than okay it would be better. Messing around with a piece of plate glass in this situation will probably only give you more problems.

   It sounds ( from your post) that this was all made-up just to put in the A/C in the first place.



2. Personally, I would put a stained glass widow in.It may run you a little money, but I think you,ll love the results. The investment will also bring up yhe value of your home.There are many colors and designs to choose from or have one made with a sunburst on it etc.Dont use plexi it fades and looks like crap later.


3. Plexiglass will become cloudy and scratch. Your best bet would be tempered glass which has better thermal properties than regular plate glass. Make sure it is supported properly and sealed.


4. The best option for you is to order a double-paned window to replace this. This would give you a much higher r-value than either of the single-pane options that you listed.

   But... As you seem to be considering cost, you can actually create a double-pane, plexi-glass window to fill this hole yourself (although not as good as commercially bought ones). Take 2 panes of plexi-glass cut exactly to dimension. Buy a piece of rubber and glue it to the outside of 1 piece of plexi-glass all along the edges, leaving no seams. Then run a bead of glue along the other side of the rubber and lay your second sheet of plexi-glass on that. Clamp this whole thing down real tight. Now make a frame of wood for your window. Measure the window depth exactly after the glue has set and cut a dado in a piece of wood to that exact dimention plus a millimeter. Now wrap your pane in plastic (6 mil) and slide the whole thing into the dado slots in your frame. Miter the corners and you now have a double-pane, plexi-glass window.



5. Rudy, you can use either at your option. Both should work for the application you want to use them. If the window A/C creates a lot of vibration, it may have cracked the plate glass, so the previous owners replaced with plexiglass to keep it from cracking again.