Guide To Home Window Glass

Whether you are shopping for replacement windows or are planning to get new glass for your existing windows, you’ll have to decide what the right window glass is for your home. In this guide, we’ll walk you through your options for window glazing, how to know if you need laminated or impact glass, and what your options are for low-E coatings and other efficiency upgrades. We’ll also give you some estimates around window glass costs. Let’s dive in.

How Should I Choose Window Glass?

We recommend choosing your window glass in the following order:

1. First, decide on a double-paned or triple-paned window. This is also known as “window glazing.”
2. Next, decide on what will go in between the panes of glass: air or gas.
3. Should your glass be annealed, laminated, or tempered?
4. Would you benefit from adding a low-E coating?
5. Do you need privacy glass for any of your windows?

Before we look at each of these areas individually, let’s look at average window glass costs.

How Much Does Window Glass Cost?

There are two ways to think of this cost: in terms of glass replacement or in terms of percentage of the cost of a new window.

The average cost to replace glass in a window ranges from $280 to $325. That calculation assumes you have a small to medium double-hung window and will use double-paned glass. However, the more energy efficient your glass, the more expensive your glass replacement will be.

Our guide to window glass replacement costs breaks down a much wider range of costs for a variety of window types and sizes.

For a new double-hung window, you can expect the glass to make up 40% to 60% of the cost of the window. Glass is one of the most expensive components of a window.

Now, let’s look at each element of window glass you’ll need to choose and the average costs associated with each.

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What is Window Glazing?

Simply put, glazing is a way of saying how many panes of glass are in a window. A double-glazed window is the same thing as a double-paned window, for example. In that case, there would be two panes of glass held in the window frame with either air or gas between each pane.

Single-paned or single-glazed windows are not a good option for homes since they do not provide nearly as much protection against outside temperatures as double- or triple-glazed windows. However, some homeowners still choose single-glazed windows for garages and other outbuildings.

Double-glazed windows cost between $613 to $1,307 on average, while triple-glazed windows cost between $650 and $1,100 on average.

Choosing between double- and triple-glazed windows is a matter not only of your budget but also of where you live. Homes that see extreme temperatures – particularly in the winter – may need triple-glazed windows in order to maintain a comfortable temperature inside. This is the first element you should choose as you select window glass.

You can visit our guide to window glazing to learn more about the difference between all these options.

Still wondering what exactly is meant by a window pane? Our guide to glass window panes explains exactly what they are, how they differ from window panels, and the history of glass window panes as a whole.

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What Gas Should Go Between Window Panes?

There are four options for what to put between your panes of window glass:

1. Air. You can choose to simply let air fill the space between panes instead of gas. Air does not insulate as well as gas, but it also does not cost as much as gas does.
2. Argon. This is the most popular option for those who choose a gas fill. It’s the most affordable gas while being much more insulating than air.
3. Krypton. Krypton’s higher cost has made it less popular among homeowners, but it is more insulating than argon, and it can be especially effective when paired with triple-paned windows.
4. Xenon. The most insulating and most expensive of the gas fills, xenon is still gaining popularity among homeowners and still in the process of being adopted by larger manufacturers.

To learn more, you can visit our guide to insulated glass.

How Strong Should My Window Glass Be?

There are several levels of glass strength to choose from. As you might expect, the stronger the glass, the more expensive it is.

1. Annealed glass. This is the most basic type of glass used in windows. It’s manufactured through a process of slow cooling. Annealed glass is less expensive but also less resistant to stress and impact. When it breaks, it shatters into large, sharp shards. It typically costs about $3 to $12 per square foot.
2. Heat-strengthened glass. This type of glass is made by heating annealed glass to a high temperature and then cooling it more quickly. This process makes it about twice as strong as annealed glass. Heat-strengthened glass, when broken, still shatters into sharp pieces, but it is less likely to break compared to annealed glass. This glass can cost between $5 and $20 per square foot.
3. Tempered glass. Also called safety glass, tempered glass is made using a process similar to heat-strengthened glass but is cooled even more rapidly. This process makes it much stronger (typically four to five times stronger than annealed glass) and, importantly, causes it to shatter into small, blunt pieces that are less likely to cause injury. This type of glass is often used in situations where safety is a concern, like in sliding doors, shower doors, and areas prone to impact. This strong glass option ranges in cost from about $10 to $35 per square foot.
4. Laminated glass. Also called security glass, laminated glass consists of two or more layers of glass bonded together with an interlayer of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) or ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA). This interlayer holds the shards of glass in place if it’s broken, providing security and reducing the risk of injury. Laminated glass is effective in reducing noise and blocking UV rays. It’s often used in hurricane windows. This is the strongest and the most expensive option at $10 to $60 per square foot.

For a comprehensive overview of all your options, check out our guide to safety glass.

Window Glass Ratings

Window ratings act as identifiers of the quality, performance and strength of window units. There are five major factors listed below that account for glass ratings established by energy and manufacturing standard authorities like NFRC Label, AAMA and WDMA. You can read about them in detail and understand the different window glass rating standards here.

Window glass goes through rigorous testing for everything on the label, as well as things that don’t make it onto the label, such as storm resistance or resistance to breakage.

Should I Invest in Low-E Glass?

Now that you have chosen between double- and triple-paned glass, picked an air or glass fill, and know what level of glass strength you need, let’s look at one of the most popular add-ons for glass: low-E coating.

Low-E glass has a coating applied that helps reduce the amount of infrared and UV light that comes through your windows. This helps in keeping inside temperatures stable as well as in protecting your furniture and rugs from fading.

A new window with low-E glass can cost between $350 and $850.

You can read more by exploring our guide to low-E glass.

Privacy Glass Options

Finally, you should consider whether any of your window glass would benefit from a privacy enhancement. This is popular for windows that face busy streets, windows that look directly into a neighboring home, and windows in the bathroom.

Glass can be frosted, mirrored, etched, or have a pattern applied to it to obscure views.

You can read about all your privacy glass options over at our guide. And if none of those options look quite right, you can explore the best alternatives to window glass, including smart glass and acrylic glass.

What Are Next Steps?

Next, we recommend visiting our guide to window glass types. Unlike this page where we lay out all the options you can consider, our glass types page explains how to go about making each of these decisions. You can even take our quiz there to get our recommendation on what glass you should choose.

However, if you’re ready to get quotes, you could instead go explore our contractor directory to see the window pros in your area. We recommend getting three to four quotes to find the best price for your specific project.

If you’d rather have Modernize match you to pros, just click below and answer a few questions about your project, and we will find up to four pros in your area.

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