1. Single glaze – it is quite acceptable to glaze your restored or new stained glass panels without any secondary glaze. Most original panels survive ‘alone’ in a door or window frame, they are remarkably resilient and surprisingly difficult to get through. It is common for single glaze stained glass to have support bars fixed to the timberwork, which are in turn fixed to the window with copper ties. This is the traditional method of offering support and security for the panel, though it does little for increasing sound and heat insulation. Should you prefer to retain these original features then the support bars can be replaced, and new copper ties fitted to your panels.
2. Secondary glaze – when fitting your stained glass we can fix it to a single pane of 4mm clear toughened glass or a double glazed unit and glaze it into the window/door frame as one. The stained glass panel is fixed using silicone around the edges to form a near airtight seal. The secondary glaze can be fitted to the outside or inside face of your door or window. Most customers opt for an internal secondary glaze so that the tactile features of the leaded window are visible from the outside of the property, thus retaining a traditional look. Adding a secondary glaze increases security and offers far better support for the panel than traditional tie bars. It also ‘dampens’ sounds from outside and increases the potential for retaining heat. Whilst the stained glass is silicone sealed to the secondary glaze all round a very small air gap does remain between the two so the chance of condensation appearing is technically possible. Having glazed hundreds of panels using this method this has not been an issue for us. Providing no moisture is trapped when the stained glass is bonded to the secondary glaze, added to the fact that stained glass panels will undoubtedly leak minute amounts of air (allowing the air gap to breathe), we are confident that condensation will not occur – it hasn’t yet. We do not offer a fixed term guarantee to cover the possibility of condensation occurring (like that offered by double glazing manufacturers), if moisture exists then it will become apparent within a short period of time and we shall address the issue. We would happily recommend encapsulation as an alternative which poses no risk of condensation for us or you, but as you will read it has its pitfalls.
3. Encapsulation – It is possible to ‘sandwich’ your stained glass between two panes of 4mm clear glass to create a sealed unit with your panel suspended inside it. This option is the closest you will get to the insulation properties of a double glazed unit. The stained glass is completely protected, and the possibility of the sealed unit ‘misting up’ is covered under guarantee similar to standard double glazed units. It is worth considering that as the stained glass is sitting behind a sheet of clear glass, in certain light from outside your property, the outer clear pane will reflect light and arguably compromise the unevenness and textures that a traditional stained glass panel offer.
4. Laminated Glass – Mass production of sheet glass took off in the 1950’s with the introduction of the float technique developed by Alistair Pilkington, as the process developed the clarity of clear glass improved to the point where imperfections and wobbles were a thing of the past. Likewise, over time the vast array of textures and colours of obscured glasses that were once readily available gave way to a small range of mass produced patterns most of which remain to this day. Uninspiring springs to mind!

The glass we use in the production of leaded windows is made using traditional techniques, it replicates the range of textures, colours and imperfections that once existed.
Unfortunately, single panes of handmade glass are too fragile and unsafe for use in double glazed units, unless they are laminated to a second pane of glass first. We produce ‘handmade’ glass double glazed units that conform to BS EN 1279. Samples on request.