Windows - Double Glazing ???

Hong Kong with it's noise polution, humidity and temperature ranges should be a Double Glazing salesman's paradise but I can't find a single advert or know of anyone able to provide this service.

Perhaps I'm not looking in the right places. Perhaps I am but this service is not commonly available in Hong Kong. Perhaps I should start my own business !

Meanwhile, any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated.

We had our windows double glazed about 4 years ago but it was really hard to find a company to supply them and they ended up being really expensive.

I will have to ask my husband, where we got ours from, think it was from MongKok somewhere.

I think many people don't bother with double glazing as they cost so much more and the whole of the window frames have to be changed. It something the locals wouldn't bother with if they live in a high rise as there is the extra cost of erecting scaffolding outside the flat.

The only other thing I could suggest is having thicker window panes.

We live in a house and I remember we couldn't have double glazed patio doors, so we had the option of having thicker glass put in instead.

Many thanks happy chicken person. Please let me know if you are able to recall the company in Mongkok.

Actually it's becoming more common now-a-days as it helps keep the cool air in when the a/c is on as well as noise to a minimum. I heard that the main suppliers are either from Germany or China. You can get aluminium effect & wood effect as well as the standard white pvc. There may well be other suppliers but I can not off the top f my head remember them.

If you contact a contractor in HK they will tell you where you can get them.


Goodluck with the hunt.

Our patio doors are double glazed and weigh a tone but it gives them a feel of quality. There are all sorts available (as mentioned above) in plastic or aluminum from German and Chinese makers. China makers will be considerably cheaper than the ones from Europe. Give me a PM if you want a quotation from the guy who did our house and I'll send you his contact info (you'll need to speak Cantonese though).

Thanks Baru. I've just sent you a PM.

i supply and install www.unitekhk.com cheers Tony 9491 2605

It is a fallacy that you need double glazing to solve noise problems. Whilst improving it somewhat the best solution is laminated glass which, if combined with an Insulated Glass Unit (IGU) with a Low-E coating on the #2 surface offers both noise and thermal solutions to Hong Kong.


Even then it is important to know what frequebcy of sound you are trying to eliminate, is it traffic noise or construction. Some sound sare transmitted through the building structure as vibration and therefore an IGU will not help.


However, most windows in Hong kong will not accept an IGU and so the best and cheapest solution for noise is laminated glass into the existing frames.

If you are willing to pay for the cost of good windows, such as Schuco or Technal then the use of an IGU with thermal and acoustic properties is the way to go as the additional comfort and reduction in air conditioning will assist.

WoDer


Thank you for your response but I respectfully suggest you read a little more on the subject before leaping into print.


For Low-E coatings, that are high performance and spectrally selective and so are soft coat requiring encapsulation, in hot climates the coating is on the second surface of an IGU to keep the heat out. In cold climates the Low-E is on the third surface to keep heat in.


Refer to the Pilkington literature on laminated glass and sound frequency or go www.glassfiles.com or www.pelco.ca where you will see that laminated glass has a better acoustic performance than an IGU unless the two panes of glass are at least 75mm to 100mm apart.


A glass thickness of 12mm will only reduce sound by 5dBA when compared to 6mm glass. If you make this into an IGU of equal thickness the sound reduction does not change much. This is due to the complex interaction between the panes due to the vibration of the air in the cavity. An asymmetric unit where one piece of glass differs in thickness to the other by at least 30% will improve on this but laminating the two pieces of glass will always give you a better performance than IGU of equivalent thicknesses unless seperated by a very large air space.


Laminated glass of 6/lam/6 will perform acoustically better than 6/12as/6 IGU


Check on the glass at any airport for confirmation of this or I can send you details if you let me have your email.


If I am wrong I will by you a beer, any chance of vice versa?