I have a Stain glass Bay window in my family room that was added by the previous owners about 15 yrs ago when the family room addition was built. My wife and I love this window but it seems to be a HUGE waste of heat. It feels like small air leaks are numerous around the all metal framing that the glass sits in. Am I correct that this is a regular problem with stain glass? What is a good solution and is this something that a general contractor could do or do I need someone with specific skills with that type glass? One thing I do know is that under that shelf where the plants are sitting, there is no insulation whatsoever. It's just thin plywood and I can feel its very cold. Could I just attach some 2" rigid foam board outside under that area and caulk around the sides? I don't think that's the main issue but that's part of the cold. Is there a way I could make it double pane by adding clear glass on the inside, but without losing that shelf space? This room addition is not that old, but it's so cold because it has three outside walls, a peaked ceiling and it's built over a crawl space. Thanks for any insight.

 

If it's single pane glass, yeah that's very inefficient. A storm window would help, and yes, insulation above and below would "help" but when windows stick out from the home like that they are going to be extra cold.... they are removed from the airflow of the heat registers.

 

That whole thing is a joke.
May as well have a window left open.
That wood should have been sanded, primed and painted months ago.
Metal framing does nothing but transfer the cold to the inside.

 

Looks nice on the inside
I'm not sure there is enough room to really add insulation underneath You might consider rebuilding the bottom to allow for insulation. Storm windows should help.

 

It's not the glass. The frame is the problem along with original installation. Not a lot you can do except add the insulation as you and other suggested. I would try to fabricate a storm of some type for the outside and inside. Open the wall up and use spray foam to insulate.

BTW...a piano should never be placed on an outside wall.

 

It's not the glass??? I hate to disagree Norm but the glass is most certainly part of the problem... not only is the glass 75% of the area of a bay window, but single pane glass will be 16F when it's 0F outside- not too energy efficient- and as Joe pointed out, the metal parts will conduct heat even better, making those parts the coldest. Even wood is R1.3 per inch... better than glass and metal! Obviously the uninsulated wood frame is the other part of the equation. The whole thing was built for looks, not for insulation value. Storm windows and insulation would "help", but I put that in parenthesis because its probably like putting pearls on a swine- a waste of time and effort. When something is done wrong in the first place it's pretty hard to fix it.

Not only shouldn't the piano be on an outside wall, but if there would happen to be a heat register on the floor, it's blocking the airflow from helping to warm the window.

 

Perhaps I worded that wrong or you mis-understood my meaning. Stained glass is what it is. The glass itself cannot be made any different. However, the window construction and installation can be made to properly insulate a stained glass window for looks and efficiency. My church has stained glass all around and they are well constructed and installed. Little or no heat loss because they are stained glass! Maybe heat loss by virtue that its a window (just as any window might have heat loss).

 

True, but stained glass should not be used as a primary glazing (single pane) in a cold climate... so as you say, if used, it should be "well constructed and installed"- this window unit is certainly not! It looks like all it has is single pane stained glass, and nothing else. Even most churches have been retrofitted with storm windows to help a little bit, and protect the expensive glass from damage.

When stained glass is used in a cold climate, it should usually be a decorative pane that is set in front of the primary glazing (a double or triple pane IGU).

 

I dont know a lot about various window styles and efficiency, but a stain glass window has all that metal frame running through it and thats where a lot of the draft is coming from, because I see no caulk or weatherstripping in any area of the glass, but again.. thats normally how stained glass is made.. even what Ive seen in chuches.Usually, the metal frame between the multiple pieces of glass is made of lead correct? Anyone know? So thats one thing I could never have repaired but a retrofitted storm window might help. BTW, one of the reasons for that being stain glass is that the neighbors house is about 20 feet away, so I guess the previous owners were trying for privacy. Any suggestions if I were to replace the whole thing and keep privacy there?

 

Yes, you are exactly correct.

If you were do replace the entire thing and do it at a reasonable price, I would suggest you eliminate the bay projection and go with a similar sized straight 3 lite fixed window, (with double or triple pane glass) sized so that you could have the stained glass pieces salvaged and the hang them on the interior side of the new window like a picture frame, or stop them into place on the interior side like an interior storm panel. We have done it both ways for past customers.

You can also have windows ordered with opaque glass, but it wouldn't be as pretty as your stained glass is.

Changing the window and removing the bay will cause a bit of a problem with your steel siding. (the cutout where the bay roof currently is) You don't have much of an overhang there, but one thing you could do is maybe frame the new window as a "box window" which could be properly constructed and insulated (like adding an extra 2x4 wall on the outside of your house) where a straight window would be installed into the front of that new wall. It would help solve the siding problem by giving you a completely separate surface to put new siding on. It could not project past your current fascia. Course, I suppose you could rig up some janky looking shed style roof over it...