Thread: Sliding window for the shed

It was more than a year ago when I joined this forum: Andy from Adelaide

Time flies, and so it was only this weekend that I finally finished that shed. It has even a door and some windows now.

The sliding window has been my latest project; I made it as a prototype for the windows that I want for my home. Here a few pictures:

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The design is based on what is called a "Kastenfenster" in Germany. These windows are a very old design and can be found in any building older than 50 to 75 years; basically a predecessor to double-glazing:

kastenfenster5.jpg

However, most houses in Australia have sliding windows. They make sense here, because at least at my home they are open all summer long. So I married the old style "Kastenfenster" with Australia's sliding window. The left window frame is fixed, the right one can be pushed open. Both frames have also hinges and are locked; they can be opened to clean the screens between the frames, i.e. inside. The fly-screen has hinges too, and is locked with a magnetic catch. The sliding frame can be locked close but also locked a few centimetres open, a "ventilation setting". This allows to keep the window open even if no one is at home.

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There is still a lot to improve, e.g. getting the frames to the same size to make production easier or a better connection between fly-screen and frame. So my next job is getting back to the drawing board and find some better details. It's much more fun than simply buying expensive double-glazing windows and probably slightly cheaper (not much I'm afraid).

Cheers,
Andy

More images of the shed are here: The only Bavarian Fachwerkhaus in Australia