So, you are in the market for a set of new windows for your favorite room at home? There is a vast array out there to choose from and you have near endless choices of styles, designs as well as construction materials. Once you have decided as to what material you will require for your new window, you will have to decide what kind of window you want based on its purpose as well as the utility it brings to the room in which it is to be installed.
Various types of new windows
· French windows
They were very popular in the 19th century in Europe and indeed many a romantic novel of that era contained elaborate descriptions of such windows as well as the rooms in which they had been installed. These days they are making a comeback of sorts not just in Europe but the USA as well. Typically ‘French Windows” are located on the ground floor of a house and open to a garden. They usually open in the middle and extend from floor to ceiling or at least to the floor. They are often used as a means of both egress and ingress from the property
· Picture window
A picture window is different from almost all other kinds of windows in the sense that it is permanently closed and as such cannot be opened at all. As the term implies, it is used in much the same way as a sort of ‘picture frame’ and indeed, just like a conventional picture, it is installed only to provide a view. Such windows are always installed on external walls and many of them have a layered coating on their glass surface that is used to make them ‘one way’ instead of ‘see though’ so as to protect the privacy of the inhabitants of that house.
· Egress Windows
When it comes to installing new windows, especially in your home than ‘egress windows’ should be part of any long term home renovation plan that you may devise for your property.
This is because egress windows are primarily safety features and serve much the same purpose as conventional fire exits. I.e. they are basically emergency exists that help you and your family leave your property quickly and easily should such a need arise. In case storm damage has created short circuits leading to the risk of electrocution, such a window would come in very handy indeed.
· Bay windows
Like their French brethren, these are a very English design dating back to the reign of Queen Victoria and the British Empire, back in the 1800s. They are arguably one of the most elegant designs ever invented since people commenced building houses. They not only offer a panoramic view of the outside world but do it with flair to boot. These windows are typically structured around a main pane that has two other panes on both its sides. The other two panes are located at a forty-five-degree angle from the main window pane.