Arched structures always reminds us of the elegant architecture of old castles or museums of the past. Providentially, with a big variety of materials and advanced technologies, the unquestionable beauty of arched sliding sash windows can be a part of your home.
Arched timber sash windows (also known as radius windows) have many benefits to be mentioned. First of all, usually Arched Sash windows are much taller or wider than regular windows, which means your house will get more natural light in. Secondly, their special shape will make your rooms look optically larger and will instantly give to the house a particular feel. Although, arched sliding sash windows can be suitable not only for living rooms as it is usual. You can also install them in bathrooms, bedrooms or even in the kitchen. They will be a focal point of your room.
Bring the elegance to your home with arched sliding timber sash windows!
The Victorian era lasted from the mid-1800‘s to the start of the 1900‘s. During this period the size of the windows began to grow in order to give more light to the rooms and allow access to the newly fashionable balconies. Many sashes from the last century lowered their sills to become full-length or even were replaced by French windows.
Improved methods of manufacture let the glazing bars to decrease and made it less expensive. By the mid-century most sashes either had only a single, central glazing bar, or none at all. Because of increased weight of the plate glass and the loss of strength from the lack of glazing bars, „horns“ were invented.
The double hung sliding sash window was introduced to the UK in the 17th Century, Christopher Wren was an early proponent of this style and it featured heavily in his plans to rebuild the capital following the Great Fire of London.
Glazing bars were a common device in pre-Victorian architecture, in many ways Georgian and Regency styles are synonymous with this feature. The reason for their inclusion was not however, to add visual interest to the property‘s elevation, the truth is much more prosaic. Before glass manufacturing technology advanced sufficiently to allow the production of large panes, the maximum size of a pane was determined by the lung capacity of the glass-blower.
The material of choice for the majority of parts was traditionally slow-grown Baltic softwood with, in better quality work, hardwood specified for the cill portions.
Bringing sash window design into the 21st Century, your windows can be produced to be as authentic as possible to their original counterparts but with much more efficient and advanced technologies.
Double glazed box sash windows are provided with weights and cords to hold it in a place in any opening position: the sash weight is connected to the window frame by a chain (metal) or cord (nylon or cotton/hemp or other material) that runs over the Pully at the top of the frame. Sash chain might be selected to negate the requirement for cord replacement and also better handle the increased weight of the sashes – a long-term investment.
Furthermore, the weight of modern double glazing packages is considerably greater than the original 3 or 4 mm thick float glass and might require, on some windows, a weight enhancement using Lead weights instead of Steel weights.
The trickle ventilation to be machined into the frames is not recommended. This feature is intrinsic to the design and the application of plastic vent covers devalues the integrity of the product. There are many ways to provide alternative ventilation, your architect or building contractor should be able to guide you through this.
In conclusion, the box frame is most ideal for town and city living. Unlike casement (hinged) styles of window, the sashes of a box frame do not impede traffic passing by when they are open, they can be securely locked and their proportions are extremely variable, making them suitable for almost every size of opening.
The elegance of Curved Sash Windows made them so attractive that they have stood the test of the time and their classical design is used also today, just in many other forms. One of these forms are bent glass timber Curved Sash Windows – windows that can be fitted into curved walls, made from bent glass. They can give to your property an interesting architectural distinction or enhance value with a unique structure.
Usually timber bent Curved Sash Windows are available in standard or custom sizes, with full range of finishes and glass choices (including laminated glass for security, single-glazing, finely crafted glass and more). For smooth and nearly effortless opening operation can be used both, spiral balances or weights and cords mechanism.
In the begining of eighteenth century white or stone-coloured oil paint was almost the universal finish for sash windows. Later on, more average houses were begining to experiment with alternative paint: brown, green, grained or black. In result, these colours became quite popular against light-coloured facades. But despite of all, white was still held to be the most appropriate colour for painting windows.
In these days, choosing colours for your windows can be a real challenge, especially when there are so many options to be chosen from in order to give to your house the right look. Combining traditional aesthetics with innovative design, one of these options can be windows with dual-colour: a different colour inside to out or frame to sash.
The Edwardian period, which ran between 1901 to 1916 saw a split between revived-traditional and modernist windows.
The revived-traditional windows was strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement and Queen Anne styles and eventually evolved in two directions: the first direction became a general style for inter-war housing estates (windows were often made with timber casements and at the top they had a small panels of leaded and coloured glass) and the second direction evolved into a late seventeenth – early eighteenth century revival, which means a large multi-paned sashes again became popular.
However, at the same time, the modernist windows influenced by the Art Deco style and manufactured using the latest technology had a simple, functional and modern appearance in order to keep minimalistic style. Typical features: white-painted frames, normally of plain, unmoulded timber section with storm-proofed opening casements. After the war, modernism became the leading design principle.