Here's the problem, or at least one of them - we have four, two in the top floor and two where our bathrooms will be when we eventually get walls upstairs. They have been blocked up with boards until now but now we are all sleeping upstairs we needed to make them more airtight.
These little openings are no bigger than about 9" square so aren't a security issue (putting aside the fact that the last crime in this village was probably sometime during the Revolution). However the light they let in is crucial so we can't afford to be blocking the gap up with normal window frames. The only ones we have seen (to match the windows we have fitted) would leave us with a glass just 5 inches wide. The wrought iron is firmly fixed and cemented and has probably been there for years. We could dig them out but would prefer not to. At the moment we have siliconed sheets of glass on both sides of the wrought iron frame. The bathrooms will have an extractor venting up through the roof so they will not need to open. Our current visitor/hard working friend has suggested pulling out the ironwork and ordering some double glazed glass units to cement in place. Mack favours putting a standard window frame on the room side of the gap (it's about 18" x 24" there). These would be easy to to deal with as they open inwards anyway.
I'm happy with them as they are now but would welcome ANY bright ideas please!
I have to say that I think that the existing ironwork is really attractive and it would be a shame to lose them. I think that putting the window on the inside sounds a good idea. My only concern would be if it caused the rain to puddle up on the windowsills.
pelmetman wrote:I suggest secondary double glazing, ie put in another frame further in from the existing window (which looks great by the way) and glaze that
Or fit a window frame on the inside if its easier to make air tight.
I'd second that. It would have the advantage of allowing you to buy an off-the peg window plus frame and putting it in at the point where the opening happens to fit it.
Lapeyre (Saintes or La Rochelle) would be a good bet; they do French oak framed sealed units at prices that aren't stupid.
Build a bottle window. Upright and cemented in place. if they dont need to open. then grout, stain and seal and you have instant stained glass, but effectively doubble glazed. You have the depth to work with there obviously.
Jeremy Daniel Meadows. (Jed).
Those who walk in truth and love grow in honour and strength
If the siliconed-in glass is doing a good enough job for the moment my suggestion would be to wait and find out more about these windows - I presume it's a house not a converted barn (I know you've said in the past but I can't remember) - I was just wondering what the purpose is of fitting fairly ornate ironwork instead of a window. Presumably it's not about economics as I'd have thought someone would have to have them made specifically for the space.
Anyway, do other houses in the area have them? What solutions have they used and what problems have those solutions caused? If any. Do a bit of research before you decide - IMHO traditional styles usually evolve for a purpose and that's usually pragmatic not fanciful.
When you understand them better you can work out what you can do with them.
Maggie
Never doubt that you can change history. You already have. Marge Piercy
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. Anais Nin
Think you need to decide if you want a fixed or openable window and whether you want single or double glazing.
Fixed is easy, a sheet of glass (or double glazed unit) cemented in directly (basically as you have done already) or in a simple metal frame.
If it needs to be opening, single glazing is fairly easy - I'd suggest looking at very traditonal leaded windows they had a very small and simple metal frame (basically flat bits of metal to which the lead came was pinned to). Double glazing becomes more problematic as the frame will inevitably need to be a bit chunkier, but a metal frame will be smaller than wood.
These windows had mesh on the ironwork when we bought the house (it's an old farmhouse rather than a barn). I think this was intended to keep birds and bats out, and probably other furry-type creatures. I imagine they have always been open to the elements as there are wooden shutters outside (we have never used these as we have not been able to reach these windows until we had a floor to stand on and the two attic ones are still only accessible by ladder). I think people then were much hardier than modern folk and they liked their bedroom cold! Actually we can't tell from the layout when we bought it what the two upstairs floors were used for. There were the remnants of a very old staircase from the ground floor up to the bedroom floor then a ladder up to the loft but the floorboards were mainly completely gone or rotted through. We think they were chestnut or pine whereas the beams are oak and completely solid. The ground floor is divided by brick walls into rooms but the upper floors are not and may have just been storage areas.
If we have anything inside the recess it will have to open otherwise it will be impossible to clean. Windows here generally open inwards anyway so it's not a problem. At the moment I can reach the sheets we have put in from the outside with a stepladder and a sponge on a pole. The attic might be a problem but I don't suppose that will matter too much.
I love the bottle idea and might save that for somewhere else (we have an outdoor loo which would be perfect) as I have some lovely deep blue wine bottles I salvaged from alongside the bottle bank. At the moment I'm tempted to go with the two together, ie leaving the ironwork and the glass in place and putting an opening window further into the recess. Unfortunately the shelf part is flat and rain will be able to accumulate if we take the outside glass off, plus I love the ironwork anyway. The glass we have put in is air and watertight and presumably the silicon seal will last for some time anyway.
Thanks for the ideas so far, it's given a few things to think about now.
