Overview

We have developed our own fully removable and fully ventilated Storm Glazing System, which complies with the recommendations of the CVMA stained glass conservation guidelines and has been used in projects adopting the Heritage Council of Ireland’s ‘Caring for Stained Glass’ Guidelines since 2008.

Our system was developed over a number of years by the late Joe Coyle, initially for use in the major conservation/restoration project at St Columb’s Cathedral, Derry.  Once design was complete and fittings sourced etc. a test piece was installed approximately one year before the project commenced, to test the performance of the system.  The results were excellent and the system was adopted for use throughout the entire Cathedral, which amounted to over 180 windows. 

We have used the system in St. Joseph's in Monaghan to protect the magnificent windows by Mayer's of Munich and the Clarke Studios in Dublin. This has proven to be the preferred system for conservation professionals and can also be seen at St Mary’s Church of the Visitation - in Killybegs, St. Eugene’s Cathedral, Derry and St Columba's (Long Tower) Derry and most recently St Macartan’s Cathedral, Monaghan.

Specifications

The system is made up of 6 mm shaped toughened glass with a number of holes to accommodate bespoke cast bronze fixings, which are threaded to allow removal and re-installation when necessary (e.g. window repair or maintenance).

The panes are fully ventilated at the perimeter with a gap of 6-8mm. This allows the air temperature to equalise, eliminating condensation and heat gain whilst preventing water penetration from driving wind/rain, as well as protection from vandalism/storm damage.

Some examples of the system can be found in our gallery here, clearly showing the ventilation and fixings.