dave a wrote:Try ****** KOI they will make frames to any size do it once do it right
L-m-a-o Didn't think you were a fan of frames Dave? Nice attempted wind up and good input though
The glass you need is laminated. I now get my cut whilst I wait from a guy back home. Edges are sanded smooth and all in all takes about 30 minutes for him to do. No need for heatsoaking all singing all dancing unless you put the window in direct sunlight. Saving of about 6 weeks lead time and about 30% in cost.
Windows are a talking point for family and friends who will have never seen anything like it before.
I normaly use Gold label as I find don brevin too sticky and soft. It also takes longer to go off where as Gold label you can fill the pond straight away, have done this in the past and have never had a problem.
Hi Andy as Jules said laminated glass is the way to go as if you use plate glass it could be broken and your pond will leak also toughened glass can be broken by a stone from a strimmer/lawn mower.where as laminated glass should it crack it will not leak as it is two pieces of glass bonded together with a form of plastic inside.mine is 24mm thick which is well over the top but I was in the glazing trade at the time trade price and all that
I wouldn't go any thicker than 16mm laminated, i.e. 2 x 8mm pieces laminated togethe. My old pool window had 1 sheet at 13mm laminated.
I can not emphasise just how easy this is to do, Lee and Bob will testify to just how simple a job it is. Any body that tells you there will be "high points in the render arond the fram" will pobably have a semi muffled voice coming from down stairs if you get my drift? The "high points" if any will be taken out when you render the internal frame flush with the timber you put inside and once fibreglassed you use silicone don't you to fix the window in? You don't force it in that much that you compress the glass against the frame and squeeze all the silicone out. Hope this helps?
Thanks for all the feedback, at last I think I have got the idea that you have suggsted, admittedly it took some time for the penny to drop. Leave hole in brick/block work. Put in ply as "blank" about 30 mm larger than hole then render pond as normal, when drying remove ply blank and then fibreglass , the gap between the block and render then acts as frame. Of course for this to work render needs to be at least depth of glass! Put in glass with sealant and seal edges all nice and pretty. Well to be honest it seems almost to easy? Now I need to decide if it would be better to have pillar between longest widow instead of one long one for greater stability? Also this means that the window is set back quite a way? Cheers for help i owe a beer or two! Andy
Justin uses this method on his pond builds now as well.
Yeap so easy its stupid. I have some pics of the whole process some where. When I get in after work tomorrow I will sort them and post them up.
Great tips
Justin
instead of the ply the other and even weasier way is to knock up a wooden fram in the apeture which you can level up to the brick work and render up to. Once the render has gone off you can run a trowel around the frame and then knock out the timber frame. I will try and post a picture, bear with me.
[img]http://www.jewelspondsandgardens.co.uk/Imag ... ts/203.JPG[/img]
The style of these windows asthetically beat stainless steel frames all day long. There is no steel showing in the window apeture and you also save your self the price of the glass by not buying a frame and keeping the costs down. Job doner, enjoy.
Quote
"The style of these windows asthetically beat stainless steel frames all day long. There is no steel showing in the window apeture" unquote
If you build the frames in correctly there is no frame showing anyway.
There are structural reasons for using a frame lintels are not desidned to take outward or inward pressure plus differential movement and settling means that without a frame you run a risk in future years. Given the cost of building a proper koi pool the cost of a frame is a very small percentage of the overall project cost.
I see what you say Dave but I have not seen any on my old pond and that was 6 miles away from an eathquake back in 03/04 in Dudley.
How's your car by the way? Got a cage in it yet?