Window options - help us decide!

TJ prepares to frame the new window

It was too rainy last weekend to play with the mud.  So we went to the Daylesford Tip Shop and bought  a piece of glass for a new window.  It cost a buck.  It needs framing, which is TJ's job, and we have to decide where to put it, which is where you come in.

Here are our options, set out in picture form, using my mad photo editing skillz.

This window will go on a part of the building we would prefer to keep dark - that's why all the windows are down the other end of the building. An internal wall will partially divide the building, creating the dark corner we want, but it will also prevent air from the other windows from circulating in that part of the building. Temperatures here can get over 45 celsius (113 fahrenheit) and often go over 40 celsius (104 F), so we need a window for ventilation. We're a bit worried that the  building is so well insulated that if it gets hot, it will stay hot unless we can get the heat out at night.

The two options for this long, thin window are: horizontal and vertical.

Horizontal, hinged at the top


Advantages: This is the easiest option to build.  We could attach the window frame to the wooden top-plate, and hang the window with hinges at the top, opening inwards.  The wall isn't so high - we'd just have to step up on something to open it.

Since the window would be tucked up under the eaves, it would be well shaded and protected from the weather, so we wouldn't need a proper window sill or flashing.

Hot air rises, so a horizontal window at that point would be the most efficient way to get rid of heat.

Disadvantages:  What's the point of a window that looks out onto the underneath of eaves?

In order to reach the window easily, we'd have to hang it on the inside edge of the 25cm thick wall.  All the other windows will be flush with the outside edge of the wall, with a lovely wide window sill on the inside.

I'm fairly certain that a wide sill made of mud in that location will become a nesting spot for swallows.  Which would prevent us opening the window, and will look messy with streaks of guano below the nest (not that I care, I love swallows).


Vertical window, hinged at the side


Advantages: A vertical window in this spot would give a perfectly framed glimpse of a lovely clump of trees, and help make up for the other east wall and north wall windows, which will look out onto the house, another run-down shed and the car park.

It would be easier to open, since it would be lower on the wall. And the top of the window would be high on the wall to help expel some hot air.  A window sill it would be the perfect spot to use an odd-shaped bit of wood our friend Lizzie B inherited recently, and wanted us to use to build something. And TJ likes the look of long vertical windows.

Disadvantages: Harder to build.  It would be exposed to the weather, so we would need to frame it up with a proper external window sill at the bottom to direct the rain away from the mud wall.  We'd need to take greater care making the frame braced and square.

The sun would come in.  In summer the sun scoots up to the north early in the day, so a narrow window won't be a very serious problem, and it wouldn't be the only thing letting in heat, but it nevertheless would add to the heat and light burden.  We'd need to create some sort of shade.

Summary / question for you


Do we value beauty or practicality in this window?