They say that the eyes are a mirror of our soul. And the windows of the house are his "eyes." How to choose windows for a summer residence, on which to choose? Before ordering windows to the cottage, you should choose the material, structure, design, protection. Depends on this is the inner comfort of the cottage, its external beauty. Even the most inexpensive project can be made attractive by composing it thoughtfully, with love.
Simplicity, practicality, convenience - these are the things to remember when designing windows for a summer residence. Cheap solutions are more appropriate here than expensive ones, of course, if we are not talking about a luxury cottage. However, inexpensive and ugly are not synonyms. Upon reflection, you can save the budget, but the windows will be nice.
Ready-made windows for a summer residence - what material to choose from
Once plastic windows were a rarity, a novelty, so they were prohibitively expensive. Since then, many people have the erroneous opinion that wooden windows are always much cheaper, worse than plastic.
In fact, plastic, wooden windows are different. Their price may depend on the complexity of your project, so on the quality of the design, on the ambitions of the installation company. As a rule, the wider the window opening, the more they will ask you. But a small window of a bizarre shape can be even more expensive.
We would advise you to avoid both overly expensive and overly cheap window constructions. If in the first case, with decent quality, you will overpay for prestige, then in the second you run the risk of running into a one-day company, which quickly installs a lot of cheap windows, and then disappears, leaving dissatisfied customers. It would be nice to focus on the average market price.
You can choose a simple design with a minimum of bells and whistles, but you do not need to save too much on quality. Even if you rarely visit the cottage, the window will “live” there all year. It’s a shame if the waste tree dries up quickly, and the inferior plastic turns yellow, it becomes unpleasant.
When plastic windows appeared on the market, craftsmen knew less about them, so the risk of an unsuccessful installation was greater. Now the choice between “living” and artificial material is a matter of personal preference. It seems to me that the cottage, its special rustic atmosphere, require wooden windows. But this does not mean that everyone must adhere to my opinion.
Wood and plastic are the most popular, but not the only possible materials for country windows.
There are combined windows - their design combines two materials. Most often, wood with aluminum. In the wood-aluminum windows, an aluminum profile is placed outside the wooden frame. It makes the structure stronger, but does not combine with a wooden house. But it looks great with siding, artificial stone.
In European countries, not only wood-aluminum windows are popular, but also wood-plastic or plastic-aluminum windows. In Russia, they are still rare.
Protection of windows against penetration in the country
There are three options for protecting the window panes of a country house:
- traditional wood shutters,
- Popular grilles (late 20th century)
- relatively new invention - roller shutters.
All have pros, cons. The ideal option does not exist, but you can choose the most suitable for your country house.
Window shutters in the country
Wooden shutters, when they are locked, reliably protect the glass from branches torn by the wind, stones thrown by teenagers or violent hail. Curious looks are also unable to break through. Unfortunately, the shutters do their work only in the closed position, depriving the room of light. When open, they leave the glass defenseless.But the window framed by them acquires a peculiar charm inherent in the countryside, and many townspeople go to the cottage to get it.
And if you show generosity, you can buy carved shutters - a real decoration of the house. Do you like to do everything yourself? Know how to work on wood? Then making beautiful shutters will give you real pleasure.
Lattices on windows for a summer residence
Shutters are usually very easy to unlock from the outside, which thieves can use. You can’t just pull out the grill. Unfortunately, this protection has more disadvantages than advantages. With her, the view from the window becomes somewhat prison, and from the outside she brings back memories of the dashing nineties, which are not pleasant for everyone. Cheap gratings easily rust, becoming very miserable. In addition, terrible cases of deaths during a fire were known, when they were not let out by the door and the window was closed by a grate. What are the advantages? This is a relatively inexpensive protection that works well in your absence. You can also order beautiful forged lattices. This is an expensive solution, but it goes perfectly with the wrought iron railing of the cottage porch.
Rolling shutters on windows to a summer residence
What is a roller shutter? They look like horizontal blinds, but stronger. They do not hang indoors, but outside. Like traditional shutters, they protect you from prying eyes, and glass - from various damages. They only look much more modern. You can choose a design with the possibility of partial lowering, which will help to hide from the sun in the summer, without turning the house into a dungeon. But not everyone likes roller blinds because small shops use such window protection. If it seems to you that the summer cottage acquires resemblance to a point of sale, this comparison is not pleasant for you - choose something else. Roller shutters do not mix well with very old country houses, they look caricature on them.
When to install windows
If you want to order the installation of windows (it doesn’t matter, wooden or plastic) for a country house, plan it for any season except autumn.
Before the cold, people urgently start warming apartments, ordering windows so actively that even the best companies are not always able to stay at an acceptable level of quality. Nobody will refuse money, will not say: “Sorry, we are overworked, come back later.” In peak months, “window workers” grab orders excessively, gaining additional teams. And they are very, very different ...
I happened to unknowingly go through the nightmare of the autumn installation of a plastic window in an apartment. Do not repeat this mistake.
The spring peak of loading in window companies is usually not as impressive as the autumn one, but in summer there are fewer orders. This is the right moment to invite the masters to the country.
And if you are a craftsman, you can do it yourself, anyway, autumn with its rains is not the best season for construction.
If you live in central Russia, you are going to visit the cottage often in the winter, you need a triple double-glazed window. The windows of the cottage, designed for permanent residence, the requirements are exactly the same as the windows of the apartment.
But a summer house can do with simple, single glazing.
Window installation - important details when choosing a model
- Remember that plastic windows are not only white. An unusual color will fly you a pretty penny, in addition, most like white - it is neutral. Still, do not forget about the possibility of choosing shades for the design of your favorite summer residence.
- If you are a true master, you can install the window yourself by ordering its production according to your size. And a wooden window can be made completely by yourself. But this is aerobatics!
- Sliding frames are more expensive, they keep heat worse, but they look unusual. You can use them in summer houses or for partitions between rooms.
- Roof windows (dormers) are more expensive, but without them the attic is an ordinary warehouse.In order to open the sash without problems, it is necessary to use only special attic window structures there. Unlike ordinary windows, which themselves are fixed when opened, the attic window needs special locking mechanisms.
- The front windows do not open at all. They get out of window openings directly with frames, and at the end of the summer season put back! For this, special designs are also needed.
- Usually windows for summer cottages are simple windows with one leaf or two. This option is the most economical not only from the point of view of manufacturing, installation, but also for the conservation of heat. However, it is worth remembering about other models.
Ekaterina Khozyainova