Many people tend to confuse a sunroom with a conservatory. A conservatory is made almost entirely of glass panes and looks more like a greenhouse attached to your home. A sunroom is more enclosed, and more closely resembles an interior room with floor to ceiling windows. The differences do not stop there, and it is important to know the differences in the event that you need glass and window replacement for either of these rooms.

Glass Replacement in a Sunroom

If you have glass break in one of the windows in your sun room, there is a chance that you will need to replace the window entirely. The windows that are frequently used in sunrooms are custom-made because they are supposed to fit unusual lengths and widths and take over almost all of the sun room's walls. Additionally, these windows are sprayed or coated with a material that prevents too much heat from entering the room and keeping heat from leaving the room in the colder months. While you may be able to get a window contractor to help you replace the damaged window, it might be a better idea to call the contractor that originally built and installed your sunroom (if they are still in business) and request a new window from the sunroom contractor.

Glass Replacement in a Conservatory

Glass panes in a conservatory are often "floating" panes (i.e., the panes are not rigidly held within a tight frame and thus they have the appearance of floating in the air). These panes cannot be interchanged with the sun room's glass because of the way the two types of glass are constructed and held in place. With the conservatory glass, the panes are coated with a different material that actually allows more light and heat into the room. Since the purpose of a conservatory is "conservation and cultivation of plants," these panes may be thinner, lighter and attract or trap more heat than the windows typically found in a sun room. Lastly, the glass replacement in a conservatory is simple enough that you could probably handle the job on your own, so long as the glass is not curved or bent at unusual angles.

Patching the Glass in These Two Distinct Rooms

A final word is offered here on the patching of glass in this two distinct rooms. Conservatory glass is a little more fragile than sun room windows. Ergo, it may shatter entirely and be quite beyond repair when something hits it with enough force (like a baseball). Depending on the design of your sunroom windows, there may be a chance that a glass repair specialist can repair the glass instead of a full window replacement. The sunroom's windows have to have two separate sashes--top and bottom--and only have one affected pane to repair.

For window replacement and glass repair, contact a company such as Ken Caryl Glass, Inc.