Thread: glass block window

I found 2 glass blocks that had small cracks in them at the bottom of the glass block "winodw" in the master shower. Are these able to be repaired ? or need replacment? and can that be done without taking the whole wall down?
Thanks!

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Originally Posted by Jerome W. Young

Are these able to be repaired ? or need replacment? and can that be done without taking the whole wall down?

a) Are these able to be repaired? - Not really.

b) or need replacment? - Yes.

c) and can that be done without taking the whole wall down? - Sometimes, yes, but it depends on if the glass block wall was laid up with glass block mortar it with that silicone stuff.

If mortared, a good mason who does glass block should be able to remove and replace the glass block - not necessarily easy, but can be done.

If siliconed, might not be an easy way to get one out because, if done properly, that crap holds quite well and trying to cut out a glass block is not easy, and then trying to "glue" a new one back in is going to even be harder as silicone does not like to stick to silicone.

What Jerry said and....it is very labor intensive to replace a couple of blocks. Often they chip or crack additional blocks trying to remove the others, and the mortar it is nearly impossible to match and blend in, it is always noticeable.

If these are small cracks that are not obvious without looking for them, they may be best left alone. If it must be replaced, from a labor standpoint, if the window is less than 25 sq. ft. it is as cost effective to replace the whole thing and the end results will be much better than a patch job.

If water has not entered the cell you could epoxy the crack and save some money, the crack would be primarly a cosmetic issue

If you have the proper tools and knowledge - and you don't - this is not a difficult fix. You drill a hole in the mortar or silicone, as the case may be, and then use a carbide rotary bit to cut the joint out around the offending blocks. Then you clean off all mortar or silicone, butter the new blocks and insert.

Again, this sounds easy, and it is if you have done it fifty times. Call an expert or be prepared to live with a screwed-up job.

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

a) . . . .
If siliconed, might not be an easy way to get one out because, if done properly, that crap holds quite well and trying to cut out a glass block is not easy, and then trying to "glue" a new one back in is going to even be harder as silicone does not like to stick to silicone.

As an aquarium hobbyist and former helper for my dad in replacing automobile windshields, couldn't you just take a piano wire and poke it thru the silicone and se-saw it back and forth to cut the seal?

Originally Posted by Rod Butler

As an aquarium hobbyist and former helper for my dad in replacing automobile windshields, couldn't you just take a piano wire and poke it thru the silicone and se-saw it back and forth to cut the seal?

RB: Yes you could, provided that you were not working alone, or you had really long arms.

Problems might arise with your method depending on what, if any, sort of shimming or connections to the studs were used.