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Thread Number: 76956
/ Tag: Other Home Products or Autos
What are the wooden louvers directly under older wood-frame windows for? (Old PNW homes and motels) |
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| Post# 1008689 , Reply# 1 9/26/2018 at 17:35 (2,039 days old) by superocd (PNW) | ||
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I found an example of what I am talking about...
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Post# 1008695 , Reply# 2 9/26/2018 at 18:38 (2,039 days old) by pulltostart  (Mobile, AL) |
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I've never been to the PNW, but | ||
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Post# 1008737 , Reply# 5 9/27/2018 at 05:33 (2,038 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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Post# 1008782 , Reply# 6 9/27/2018 at 19:06 (2,038 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Think carefully
With a ground floor apartment or whatever having windows open can invite all sorts of trouble. One solution is to place gates/bars over such windows. But that limits the view out and can look unsightly.
Placing ventilation under the window allows it to be kept closed (for privacy and or security reasons), but still allow fresh air to circulate into apartment. Shutters either inside or out of windows provide a similar function. Have stayed in French apartments/homes where shutters run full length of windows. You can open latter but lock former closed thus get air circulation without having to worry about intruders easily getting in, and of course again preserve privacy. | ||
| Post# 1008831 , Reply# 7 9/28/2018 at 02:12 (2,037 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
 The PNW house I grew up in had those wood louvers, although they were on the sides of windows, not beneath. In the original part (1950s), almost all the windows had these--two on the bigger windows, and one on smaller windows. In a 1960s add-on, one window on the front had the louvers. In all cases, the inside had a door that closed over the louvers, and in between the louvers and the door, there was a removable screen section.
It's been years since we moved out, so I can't remember how well this scheme worked for ventilating, but I don't have any really bad memories. Then, again, it was mostly my mother who thought of such things, and her approach was mostly just having one of the doors (which had a screendoor) open. I think she also regularly opened a conventional window in the newer part of the house.
I also recall that some of the louvered windows had plastic added over the screen, presumably because of winter. I'm guessing my parents did that in the first year or so we lived in the house, although it may have been done by a previous occupant. I'm not sure it was necessary for winter--it may have been one of those "we might as well do this!" things. Predictably, perhaps, some windows never had the plastic removed, and it was still in place, and 10+ years old, when we moved out. | ||
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Post# 1008869 , Reply# 8 9/28/2018 at 09:41 (2,037 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL) |
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I one looked at a house that was for sale that featured a similar window/ventilation detail. The house that I viewed was probably built in the early 1950's and was of concrete block construction and had a certain contemporary flair to it. All windows were large fixed sheets of glass, and under the glass there was a series of openings designed to introduce air into the house. There was a hinged, plywood door on the interior and the opening was screened. It was a rather neat detail and was more complicated than I can describe here; all things considered it made an attractive feature on the exterior.
lawrence | ||
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