I still am freaking out every time it happens. What happens if you actually don’t scream and fight for your life by pressing against it and putting it back into a closed position immediately? What happens if you just let it happen and let go?
If you let it fall into this position from the original window position, like if you unlock it and wait for a wind gust, it may break the one remaining hinge off and fall flat. Not the best thing to experience, and replacing the window is not either
Oh yeah I should have said, it’s certainly not something you should do a lot or keep it like that haha. They’re definitely not designed to be in that position.
Also Canadian, I’ve had horizontal sliding, single hung, and casement with that turning mechanism to open/close them. And I remember seeing windows that were hinged at the top and pushed outwards in high school. Not sure what held them open though.
omg they are expensive here because they’re uncommon.
Encountered the same issue when I wanted double-layer track curtains. Almost ubiquitous in Germany, but unless you order custom, own the place, and can afford to have them installed, all you get in the US is a shitty aluminum rod that’s clunky to use and liable to fall out of the holder or get ripped off the wall…
They are called “casement” windows, specifically turn/tilt operation, and they do exist in the USA. They are typically more expensive than vinyl double hung, and home builders tend to shy away from anything “different” that might scare away home buyers. That’s why you don’t see them very often.
But if you want them, you can buy them and have them installed. You can even get them in patio door sizes, but the larger the door, the heavier it is when it tilts.
It’s really common for people unfamiliar with the door function to lift the handle and think it’s locked, and then a strong breeze blows the door inward. Between the noise and seeing the door falling inward, it can be pretty scary.
Source: I worked in construction in the US with European builders who loved these things and couldn’t figure out why Americans didn’t.
My expensive vinyl double hung windows in my previous house actually had a casement-like feature and I could easily remove either part. I loved those windows; I wish I could have taken them with me.
New apartment I moved to only has these and I’ve been dreaming of having them for years. It’s amazing. Although it looks fragile and scary when the huge door/window is only fixed lightly on the bottom 😅
I looked at getting trippled paned windows a while back, and the benefits were marginal compared to double paned from the same company. It seems that once you’re already in the higher end of the market, they don’t do much over good double paned.
Yes, but also no. There are a bunch of other factors that contribute to a windows performance; manufacturer, type of gas used in the cavity, spacer material conductivity, thermal bridge free frame design, low e coatings and solar reflectance, and the quality of the installation matters most. Then there’s the windows efficiency relative to the rest of the assembly. If it’s a building code basic 2x4 wall from 1970 then you’re absolutely right, it would be overkill putting some triple pane krypton filled window in. But if you’ve got a foot of exterior insulation and are pushing a u value of 0.13 on your wall assembly then you need windows to match.
Source: certified Passive House designer, the most demanding energy standard for buildings available, that originated in … yup you guessed it, Germany.
I have a relatively new house (built 2006). I came to the conclusion that the extra money spent on triple paned windows would be more effectively spent on improvements elsewhere. Like a heat pump or hybrid water heater.
In the end, we weren’t able to swing the windows at all, but did replace our crappy doors.
Sadly code minimums for newer builds haven’t really changed drastically in decades. It’s all just 2x6 with batt and poly, fundamentals the same as it has been since the 1970s. My 2019 build just had the shower lines freeze because they’re against an exterior wall (-30 cold snap, but still).
You’re probably right though that a heat pump is a better investment. Redoing the entire building envelope is a big ask if it’s not deteriorating and needing work anyway.
It makes more sense to me the way ours is, first mode is only top. Most of the time you just want to air out the room with some fresh air, not open completely and have to remove all your plants and lamps or whatever might be in the way.
I second the point about using mostly top mode. There’s a small upside to having it the second mode because that way a handle better aligns with force application vector. But yes, makes sense to make it a first mode, too
that way a handle better aligns with force application vector
While that’s true, it really doesn’t take much strength. It only adds a few cm to the application anyway. So it definitely doesn’t tip the scale in its favor, over the convenience of being first mode. 😊
Forget this gimmick, the real yuropean superiority is in proper blinds that are actually designed to block most light. For some reason they are extremely uncommon in north America
Xommon in central and southern Europe, not sure about northern. They are mostly there to limit sunlight in the summer where the house would be baked otherwise.
I’m going to go absolutely bonkers if I have to deal with one more set of cordless blinds that refuse to lift back up after you pull them down. The unshielded street light that exists only to ensure that I can see my car from my window at night, and shines not only through the cheap pvc but between the slats directly into my retinas, lighting my entire room at least 10 lumens brighter when there’s a layer of snow on the ground, is already wearing my sanity quite thin on its own, and I’m not even on the floor that catches the most light from it.
Oh, for their sanity…and it sounds like they’re in an environment with cold temps that have snow…blackout curtains will also help with keeping out the cold, keeping heat in. Save on utilities.
I don’t want blackout curtains. I like to let some light in the morning and during the day without sacrificing privacy in the early evening if I forget to close them. I also don’t like the thick unwieldy material of blackout curtains. Whoever put the stupid street lights out should have to be more considerate of the light pollution they create 😂
Fair point about the light pollution. In my town they’ve been replacing the street lights with LED versions and it seems the beams are now more concentrated and lighting the street instead of everything in the proximity.
I hope a change like this may happen to your street in the future.
Have you thought about installing a blackout cellular shade instead? I bought a shade for this room I’m sitting in that’s basically two shades in one: it has a shade that lets in light and one that blacks everything out. If you want daylight, you pull the one shade down, if you want darkness you put that shade fully up, and if you want access to the window you put them both up.
It was IMO pretty affordable. I think the one I bought was around $300, and I have pretty large windows.
I actually always wanted those since I saw them in my aunt’s home but my mom never wanted to pay for them. Then I went to university and lived in various student accommodations. And now that school is done, my next move is in June and I’m actually going to Germany lol.
I’m mostly just lamenting that the american standard is such hot garbage that barely accomplishes what it is designed to do.
Ah gotcha, every apartment I’ve ever been in and my condo up until I installed these shades had crappy, plastic Venetian blinds that were basically pointless for blocking light…so I agree 100%.
My dad is a light sleeper and when he has to attend a conference in the US he literally has to bring a sleeping mask to ensure he will be able to sleep properly
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