Another source of inspiration

We have recently bought a cast iron oven from 1920 (Laxevaag værk nr. 156). Looking for some information about it I stumbled upon Villa Gravfoss. A wonderful source of inspiration for future projects.

Mounting the glasses

Mounting the glasses is not difficult. You just need to be very precise as glass is totally rigid and thus almost zero tolerance is allowed. This is just a step-by-step list to integrate the official instructions

1. Mark the "free corners" on the window frame
2. Unmount the window frame
3. Place the glass on the frame centering it on the marks
4. Mark the holes where the metal plaques (beslag, hengsler) are going to be placed
5. Mark the holes to fasten the plaques on the frame
6. Drill a 2mm hole for the screws holding the plaques and a 5mm hole for the screws holding the glass
7. Place the distance-holders on the frame at regular intervals
8. Screw in the plaques without tightening them (so you will have some tolerance for the next step)
9. Fix the glass on the frame with the given screws (stormkrok, anverfere)
10. With the glass in place tighten the screws holding the plaques
11. Tighten the screws holding the glass
12. Place the window frame back. In case the window frame is too heavy, you can first put it back without Optoglas and then put back Optoglas once the window is in place

Energy saving 2: the first confirmation

-electricity consumption November 2009 3285 kwh
-electricity consumption November 2010 3025 kwh (roughly 9% less)

And on top of that, last year it was only the two of us leaving in the house whereas we are three this year (including the tenant). Factoring that in, the real saving is wider than figures would show. Not to mention that Nov10 has been colder than Nov09!

Optoglas 2: Measuring the windows

Here comes the most critical step: measuring the window panes. Not too difficult but very critical. In essence you have to measure all four sides and assess whether the window pane is straight or not (some are not straight by construction, but often they are not 100% straight because they are hand made). The process becomes painstaking if you have a total of 47 window panes! In addition to the instructions from Optoglas, I have used a professional laser meter (Bosch DLE70) for accurate measurements and I have developed a few tricks along the way to double check my measures (too technical and tedious to describe here, but drop me a line if you want to know more).

To make a long story short, when you are ready you send the measured window sizes to Optoglas, they send you back the corresponding glass sizes for confirmation (some minor adjustments are sometimes necessary) and then you keep your fingers crossed and hope that you did not make mistakes and that.... the the road to your place is not too bumpy for the truck carrying your precious new glasses .... ;)

On the energy saving side...

I have measured how much energy (and money!) I save with Optoglas with respect to one glazing: it is about 600KWh/year for each covered square meter of windows (roughly 500 NOK or 65€). With an average cost of 2000NOK/m^2 (260€), the break even point of my investment is in 4-5 years. Not bad!

I´m only an amateur...

In one of my internet search to gather information about a panting process called Graining, I stumbled upon this web site, about the restoration of a Victorian House. They have all my admiration and respect for what they have accomplished...

Optoglas 1: the quest

It is cozy to live in an old house with original details (old doors, windows, floor, staircase). It feels so warm and welcoming. Well warm... let me think about it 90 year old windows with one glazing? Not really very warm when it is -10 outside and you get ice decorations inside your windows.....

Well... we had to do something about it. The obvious thought is to change the windows altogether: a bit pricey but it should solve the problem. Then you collect more information and you get to know that (1) the quality of old wood-made windows is unmatched by the modern industrial production; (2) the original "blown" glasses have a cultural value and should be kept because they give character to the whole house. OK then, how about restoring the windows? Not easy to find somebody in the neighborhood: the only one I could find was this guy who offered a full restoration which was however not necessary. Then I kept searching and I got in touch with Fortidsminneforeningen (Norwegian cultural heritage protection association) who suggested I could try out a new solution called Optoglas. You want to know how it worked? Stay tuned.... :)