The Back Windows (well some of them)

So this is what the back windows have looked like since about 2009 when we put the roof on. 

Fitting actual windows hasn’t been a priority as there has been so much else to do but now we have lots of the insulation in the roof, and the front sealed up, and planning to have christmas in the kitchen this year we thought we should get them sorted .
If you go back a couple of pages you can see that we had the front windows bespoke made in traditional style for the 4 openings there however because of the proposed three pane design for the large back opening downstairs we decided we didn’t need the multi pane small windows, that way we could keep some balance and harmony to how it will look.
I have probably mentioned before that the big window upstairs and the big opening downstairs are in mathematical ratio to each other as are the smaller ones and the eyebrow ones. 
I think this gives a balance that is pleasing and easy on the eye, or at least will be when all finished and fitted and tidied up. 
The “end look” is an important factor when you are designing how the place will be, however you need to balance that with the functionality of the window and its effect on the interior in terms of placement and utility. That might sound a bit airy fairy but it is how we have approached every design phase of the project, with drawings and ideas changing hands until we agreed on a “look” and usability that we felt we could achieve and that suited our requirements for light and space and how we would live in each room. I admit that it is a lot to consider but it is proving to be worth the effort as the project enters the last half.


New window taken apart for a good rubbing down, filling and some extra coats of exterior undercoat.



Here was the gap they had to fit into

Just needesd some work with wood filler in some parts and a bit of chisel and rasp action in others 


And in she goes.
The green stuff is that frog tape seen advertised in UK as a more resilient and better quality masking tape. Seems to do the job very well and here is waiting for the first gloss coat.


Here are the other openings waiting for their windows



As a little treat we wondered what it would be like to lie in bed in the Shedroom (which is what we call the big upstairs room which has been built in homage to the sheds we live in and that you can see nestling beneath our oaks and cherries).

Nice view to wake up to (especially for our townie mates) and in the autumn and winter will give views to the distant hills (well distant gentle slopes rather than hills but I am sure you get the drift)

This is the one from lying in bed 


And this one sat on the end of the bed 




Here are the bottom two in and a bit of fine tuning with the planer to get the top one to fit going on 

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Shedroom Fitted from the inside



And from outside



Downstairs left



And right 




What you are looking at here is the window openings when we first made them and just before we put the roof on. You can see the beams that support the Shedroom above



And here with the roof bits on and its first window box in 



This is what it looks like with the top window still in undercoat and the downstairs side windows in and glossed and the upstairs wood treated for the first time in 4 years .



Still have to seal them in properly and put sills on the top one etc but all in all should look alright when painted and the bottom one will mirror the top one except the two side panels will slide open.

It will make more visual sense when the big windows go in downstairs and I can get photo shot of the house full on from the back with the eyebrow windows showing as well. 
The photos dont always do it justice but in the flesh it makes sense and all the proportions work. 
There is some maths at work such as diameter of the arc of the upper terrace being exactly half of the width of the main terrace which is twice as high as the big downstairs window. It isn't obvious because it isn't square but it does seem to please the eye in real life. 
I have no idea where I learnt this sort of stuff but it might be something to do with a documentary I saw on the construction of the pyramids or it could have been working it out once at an old chateau that was having an open day, and me noticing the symmetrical similarity between the facade and the grounds. 
Who knows how we recover bits of stored info we have seen and thought "Hmm I see how they do that, or I get how that works and why my eye is being drawn in a particular direction, or how it just settles easy on the eye, and I will file that in my mind in case it ever comes in handy" 

It all comes back to the absolutely vital and crucial couple of years we spent planning and drawing it out on the mud floors. We were working out where the light would come from and how we would move around in the house and what spaces we wanted to perform what function for us and how the placement of doors and windows is crucial to that functionality.
As we begin to spend more time in the house we are reaping the benefits of the time we took during the design, and also our preparedness to adapt if we realised a better option was open to us.
Love and Peace
Bentley