Anyone ever double up panes of glass?

I'm pretty sure this won't work, but I am curious if anyone has ever tried sandwiching two layers of glass together, similar to what is done with drywall, to create a thicker leaf? Thanks for your thoughts, Steve

Well, yeah, I guess you could.... but you'd have to insert the right inter-layer stuff in between to keep them together, and then it's called "laminate glass", which is probably waaaay easier to buy than it is to make successfully! :) And of course, laminate glass really is the type that you want for your studio windows. No two ways about it. - Stuart -

The only reason I am inquiring is I see nice big panes of glass on craig's list that are dirt cheap and almost as thick as I need. If I could realistically double up the panes I could save a bunch on glass.

The problem isn't just thickness, but rather the total acoustic characteristics of the glass: a 1/2" pane of plate glass does not behave the same as a 1/2" pane of laminate glass, and also not the same as two panes of 1/4" plate glass stacked together. The best type of glass is laminate glass: the others don't really give you the same isolation. Ain't it typical of studio building that the best way to do it is also the most expensive???? :twisted: :!: So unfortunately, if you want the best possible isolation, then laminate is the only way to go. That isn't saying that you can't do windows with plate glass: you can still do them like that, but you won't get the same effect. And I definitely wouldn't just stack together two panes of ordinary glass without a laminate interlayer! I reckon you'd have some major problems with rattling, ringing, and other unpleasant issues. So if all you can afford is plate glass that isn't quite thick enough, then that's all you can afford, and it will work to some extent: it just won't be as good as doing it with real plate glass of the correct thickness. - Stuart -

Stuart, My gut feeling is you are correct. I can and will get the right glass for my needs. I'm building slowly and steadily but I will stop and save rather than make a major compromise. I like to explore all options though. I am willing to buy some cheap glass on spec and experiment, but I am lazy and sort of hoping that someone has already tried this. I would be annoyed if it worked for a while, then separated and started to rattle. I'm also not sure what I would use for a diy lamination. I'll just give this topic a bit of time and see if anyones ever tried this. I like saving money, but not at the cost of performance. Steve

On the issue of glass.......... if you use annealed glass on one side of the wall equal in mass to the wall covering - and then install a piece of annealed on the other side that is 1/4" thicker - this will be as good as it gets (form an isolation point of view) the TL value of the window will be slightly greater than the TL values of the wall it is installed in - anything more than that is a waste........ The advantage to laminated glass is that you can use glazing with less mass than the wall while still achieving the same TL values......... One is equally as good as the other - it all boils down (in the end) to cost. On the question - unless the glass was exceptionally thick - there would be vibration of the panes of glass that would cause noise - which would be undesirable in any setting - the same way that a heavy vibration can make the dishes (etc) in your cabinets rattle under the right conditions........ Very bad idea - there is nothing I can think of that you could use to create the equivalent of laminated glass....... lami glass is created under high heat and pressure - sort of difficult to re-create outside of a glass factory........ Rod

Thanks for your response Rod. I respect your opinion and refer frequently to your book. This is what I suspected. I'll try not to give in to the $30 sheets of tempered glass I keep seeing that are not quite thick enough.

Cold wrote:

I'll try not to give in to the $30 sheets of tempered glass I keep seeing that are not quite thick enough.

The wrong product at the right price is still the wrong product. Andre