Summer-time, and the film is failing

In July I first noticed that on three of the four windows on which I had installed double-glazing film last winter (see post of 12.12.09) the film was starting to flap loose, coming away from the double-sided tape - which appeared to be drying out. Nearly a year to the day after this installation (and nearly 25 years to the year since I did this in our last house) I was stripping this off and installing secondary glazing of clear acrylic sheets (Perspex), held in place by magnetic strips. Tip-off of source of necessary supplies came from Jamie Auld at Transition Edinburgh South. Perspex – Easter Road Plastics (Edinburgh readers note no longer in Easter Road); magnetic strips – Indigo Industrial Supplies. Cost – Perspex £50 for each 3mm sheet for the two windows approx. 1 by 1.8 metre each. Tape - £45.71 including VAT and delivery for 30m of steel and adhesive tape – enough for at least four more windows of the same size

Noticeable increase in warmth and decrease in draughts in the two rooms. Slight warning on installation – a 1m x 1.8m sheet of 3mm Perspex can be quite heavy. Unless you can insure a 100% perfect fit between the magnetic tape on the sheet and the steel tape on the window (for instance on old windows that may not be truly square), the sheet may drop/slide - if it is not resting on the bottom of the window opening. This can be countered either by fitting a strip of edging to support the sheet at the bottom (NOT illustrated - the images are of the second window, where I had to fit a strip of wood at the bottom of the window to pick up the line of the window jambs on the other three sides) or reducing the thickness of the Perspex to 2mm, with some presumed reduction in UV value.

I also did a third small above-door window (in 2mm sheet) and will probably go on now to do the single-glazed panel in the front door, and the window above this.