Theres a lot of factors in what causes units to fail, unfortunately most of the time its poor fitting, incorrect packing or no packing at all resulting in the unit sitting in water along the bottom, units fitted into timber and no drainage channels or maybe bedded on putty which is a big no no now, even bedded on the wrong type of silicone, then you have the sun drying out the seal and all it takes sometimes is for the front door to slam and a unit elsewhere in the house to vibrate and the hardened seal just breaks and away you go, even frame expansion/contraction will fail a unit if the glass is crusted up to the rubbers, and then you have the natural aging
Strange condensation pattern on new window
- Thread starter Olivia04
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Theres a lot of factors in what causes units to fail, unfortunately most of the time its poor fitting, incorrect packing or no packing at all resulting in the unit sitting in water along the bottom, units fitted into timber and no drainage channels or maybe bedded on putty which is a big no no now, even bedded on the wrong type of silicone, then you have the sun drying out the seal and all it takes sometimes is for the front door to slam and a unit elsewhere in the house to vibrate and the hardened seal just breaks and away you go, even frame expansion/contraction will fail a unit if the glass is crusted up to the rubbers, and then you have the natural aging
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I will say one thing about failed sealed units... majority that go first are south facing!
I'll stick my neck out and say its 4-16-4, I'll go further and say its a C rated unit with a silver spacer with no argon
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Due to the hardening of the seals
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If it's got no argon it can't be c rated, as argon and low e are the minimum requirements . ( And just for reference technically no sealed unit is A ,B or C rated ...it is the whole window package, even though the whole industry seems to say a,b or C rated glass lol )
Ah back in my day Ronnie argon was only for the well off and it wasn't a requirement so a basic unit would consist of an aluminium bar, Low -E of your choice K or planitherm and defo NO argon, we called that a C rated unit, I am aware that nowadays its the whole lot(frame and glass) that gets the rating but my supplier still sells me A rated replacement units that I'll fit into an existing frame that maybe 10/15 years old and may have only achieved a C rating back then, I wouldn't pretend it makes it an A rated window but I feel better that I've upgraded the customers window even if just a tiny bit for no extra cost
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EddieM
A thermal imaging camera might be useful here?
So sorry I think I’ve got confused... he said the glass is 2mm thicker than normal. Sorry I though he said double so assumed 4mm glass.... But definitely 16mm gap. So 13mm bow is quite a lot?
Not sure how thick normal glass is?
Our windows are north facing so not really any sun since they’ve been installed.
Not sure how thick normal glass is?
Our windows are north facing so not really any sun since they’ve been installed.
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EddieM
Here's one to chuck in the mix, it's caused by contamination from the suction cup that was used to lift the pane either during manufacturer or installation. Clean the window 
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Here's one to chuck in the mix, it's caused by contamination from the suction cup that was used to lift the pane either during manufacturer or installation. Clean the window
Did cross mind but looks too big.
Right if glass is 2mm thicker than normal it will be 6mm, 4mm glass is standard size. And with a 16 mm air gap , would make a 28mm unit . This now comes back to how it was manufactured , as Crank said originally.
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EddieM
You could give it a go, nowt to lose.
Those seem generous... I have a unit thats 1200 x 1800 in 4mm, and it deflects when touched / washed. And when someone slams the door 2ft away from it it does a good wobble, and you can hear it!
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