Triple Glazing, Warmer and Quieter

What triple glazing actually is

A triple glazed unit is three panes of glass with two sealed cavities between them, each cavity filled with argon or krypton and separated by a warm edge spacer. The finished unit is around 44mm thick against 28mm for a standard double glazed unit, which is why the frame has to be deep enough to carry it and why the hinges are upgraded to a heavier duty specification.

• Three panes, two argon or krypton filled cavities, two warm edge spacers
• Soft coat low emissivity coating on the inner and outer panes
• Roughly 44mm unit depth, needing a 70mm or deeper frame
• Heavy duty hinges rated for the extra sash weight
• Available in uPVC or thermally broken aluminium frames

Where triple glazing is worth it in Cardiff

Cardiff has a lot of streets where the front elevation faces a genuinely busy road, and that is the strongest case for triple glazing here. The second cavity, particularly with panes of different thickness, dulls low frequency traffic noise in a way that double glazing only partly manages.

The other case is comfort rather than the heating bill. Sitting next to a large double glazed pane on a cold night, you feel the cold surface of the glass. A triple glazed unit lifts that inner pane temperature by several degrees, so the seat by the window becomes usable in winter.

• Front rooms facing arterial roads such as the A48, A470 and A4161 corridors
• Rooms under a flight path or near a railway line
• Large glazed areas in extensions and garden rooms where cold surfaces are noticeable
• Bedrooms where road noise is the reason for poor sleep
• Exposed elevations catching wind straight off open ground

Where double glazing is the better buy

We will say plainly when triple glazing is not the right spend. On a sheltered rear elevation facing a quiet garden, a good A rated double glazed unit gives you nearly all of the thermal benefit for noticeably less money. Triple glazing also adds weight, so on very old frames or non standard openings there is sometimes work needed to carry it that changes the sums.

A common sensible answer in Cardiff is a mixed specification: triple glazing on the road facing elevation and bedrooms, A rated double glazing everywhere else. We are happy to quote both so you can see the difference.

Noise, heat and what to expect

Honest expectations matter more than numbers on a brochure. Triple glazing reduces traffic noise, it does not remove it, and asymmetric pane thicknesses do more for noise than a third pane on its own. On heat, the gain over a modern A rated double glazed unit is real but modest, and the bigger difference is felt as comfort at the glass rather than on the bill. Against old single glazing or failed 1990s units the difference in both is dramatic.

Fitting triple glazing in Cardiff

The install is the same process as any window replacement, with two differences. The frames are deeper, so where the existing reveal is shallow we check that the new profile still sits correctly against the plaster line. And the sashes are heavier, so hinges, restrictors and packers are specified for the weight rather than the size.

• Free survey with the opening depths checked before quoting
• Written quote inside 24 hours, double and triple priced side by side if you want both
• Roughly one day per elevation, 2 to 3 days for a full house
• 10 year sealed unit guarantee, 10 year frame guarantee, 2 year fitting guarantee
• Fully insured, all old frames and glass removed and taken away