Removable Grid Kits Fit Windows, Sliders

If you like the look of multipaned windows but don’t want to go to the expense of replacing your windows, a Southland firm has an economical alternative: removable plastic mullions.

Insta-Panes by Mansion Industries, City of Industry, are available in a number of kits with materials to create multipaned windows with areas ranging from 12 to more than 60 square feet. If you need to do a substantial number of windows, you’ll have to buy several kits or one of the larger kits. The largest kit will handle a sliding patio door.

Made of the same kind of weather-resistant polyvinylchloride (PVC) used for exterior siding, the strips are cut to size with household scissors, fitted into L-shaped, T-shaped and cross-shaped connectors and attached to the window glass with pressure-sensitive Velcro fastening tape.

Velcro makes the Insta-Pane strips easily removable for cleaning, according to Steven A. Zieg of Mansion Industries.

The thin strips leave something to be desired if you are seeking a truly authentic look; traditional window mullions have a three-dimensional appearance lacking in these flat strips.

On the other hand, that very flatness gives them a contemporary look that appeals to many users, and the connectors allow a particularly imaginative buyer to create a number of complicated patterns.

There’s an added safety factor when you use the Insta-Panes on a sliding glass patio door: The grids make the door more visible and less likely to cause injury.

Kits priced from about $10 to about $50 each are marketed at National Lumber outlets throughout the Southland, Terry Lumber in Northridge, Lemar Hardware in Glendora, All American Home Center in Downey, and Mission Hardware in Santa Ana, Zieg said. Locations of other dealers can be obtained from Mansion Industries at P.O. Box 2220, Industry, Calif. 91746.