[Greenbuilding] salvaging insulated glass units

[Rob Tom]

On Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:27:43 -0500, Ken Beiser <kbeiser at centurytel.net>  
wrote:


>> The low-e coating in on the inside surface of the second glass sheet  
>> from the outside.

Not necessarily. It depends upon the locale (and to a lesser extent, who  
made the window).
Some window manufacturers have been known to orient the Low-E coated panel  
improperly for the climate in which the window is to be installed.


> 4)  Any tips for removing the edge spacers?

First of all, I'd say that this is probably not the best time of year to  
be doing it.

It's easier to do when the butyl sealant is soft and it's only soft when  
it's warm and ideally you'd have that heat supplied by the sun rather than  
something like a heat gun or hair dryer.

In any case, if the butyl sealant is warmed (ie soft and gooey), it's a  
relatively easy to slip a putty knife or stout utility knife (ie not those  
snap-off, segmented blade plane hijacker wepaons)in between the glass and  
the spacer bar and then run the blade up the length of the glass to  
separate the two, inserting wedge material as you go to prevent the  
just-separated surfaces from re-adhering to each other.

It shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes or so to do the unit.

A glass scraper can then be used to scrape off the bulk of the sealant  
remaining on the glass.
Any residual gunk can be quickly removed by using auto mechanics'  
waterless hand cleaner.

For patio door IGU, I typically set up a couple of sawhorses outside with  
a carpet-wrapped sheet of 2'x6'x3/4" plywood (conveniently pre-made for me  
by a clothing store for one of their old window displays)on top. This  
setup supports the glass on a soft surface so that the sash can be removed  
and the IGU separated without having to repeatedly flop the  
not-all-that-light thing around.