Panoramic windows every year are becoming increasingly popular. This type of glazing instantly transforms the facade, gives the maximum amount of natural light, visually expands and "unloads" the inner space. However, the specific design of the large window dictates certain requirements for installation and operation. What are these requirements, and what you need to know to install panoramic windows in an apartment and a private house, read in this article.
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What is panoramic glazing
The windows are called panoramic, if they have large sizes and occupy the entire floor from the floor to the ceiling. Roughly speaking, this is a glass outdoor wall of the house or apartment. The large area of \u200b\u200bglazing allows the placement as light and spacious as possible. However, for the same reason, panoramic windows are subject to greater risk of cold penetration and extraneous noise, so their design is qualitatively different from ordinary glass windows.
Only in the case of proper installation can be achieved efficient heat and sound insulation, so without having appropriate experience, it is better to trust this work by professionals. If you want to install large panoramic windows in an apartment or a private house, keep in mind that in the same way as you enjoy a wide review, passersby will be able to consider in all details what is happening at home. Not that this is a clear drawback, however, the observation of the stylish interior with expensive furniture can serve as an obvious challenge for thieves and fraudsters, so it is immediately worth taking care of safety measures. To hide from prying eye will help tinted or coating with a mirror reflection.
But if you think that the panoramic window the thief will be able to break by throwing a stone into it or hacking, we hurry to calm you - such designs are made from high-strength tempered glass and in addition are covered with protective shockproof films. If the window is equipped with opening items, you can put alarms on it.
The panoramic window reliably protects from noise, so even if you live next door to the highway or playground, you will not bother outside sounds. Also through such a window is a lot of light and heat. And if in the first case everything is fine, then the excess of heat in the summer can not only deliver discomfort, but also lead to the burnout of the parquet, carpet, wallpaper, fading the chain-lowed plants. Planning glazing with panoramic windows, immediately take care of suitable curtains or blinds. It is logical that the southern sunny side is better not to choose. Vertical blinds and Roman curtains look very beautiful, and so as not to overload the setting, you can hang air tulle or curtains from easy organza.
If you want to put a solid panoramic window, prepare for the fact that you have to learn to wash it. To do this, you will need to purchase a special mop to cover the whole area. If you live in a multi-storey building, glass care should be extremely careful. In addition, condensate will be formed on a large window in winter, especially if the ventilation system in the house is faulty and micro-leveling is not provided in the window.
The most important drawback is that the installation of panoramic windows requires legal agreement with the relevant instances. After all, in essence, the window will replace the outer wall of the house, and this is a serious redevelopment.
Types of panoramic glazing
Depending on the materials used for the manufacture of panoramic windows, types of glazing are different. So, there is cold and warm glazing. In the first case, the profile is made of metal, or the window does not have a frame at all. Then it does not have to talk about high thermal insulation, but the work will cost cheaper. Cold glazing is used for veranda, loggias and balconies.
With the warm glazing, as you could already guess, the thermal insulation level is quite high, and allows the window to replace a full-fledged warmed wall. The profiles in this case are made of plastic or wood. Such panoramic windows can be seen in offices, apartments, private houses and shops. Depending on the thermal insulation needs, you can choose a single, two-and three-chamber glass.
Frameless glazing
Such windows have a very original appearance, give the room and the facade of lightness and airiness. Double-glazed windows are made of high-strength kanenic glass with a thickness of 6 to 10 mm. The height of the product can reach 3 m or higher (individual order).
How do you keep the glasses without frames? Special guide profiles are attached to the window opening, which remain imperceptible and reliably hold the glass. Guides are placed in the lower and upper part of the opening, attach to the wall anchor bolts and insert the glass stack there. It, in turn, holds special glue and seals in profiles.
Since the frameless glazing protects except that only from the wind, then you should not hope that on such a balcony or loggia in the winter it will be very warm - the temperature difference will be only 2-3c. If you think that the problem can be solved by installing energy-saving heat, are forced to disappoint you - it will be at times more expensive, but the desired effect will not give.
Aluminum profiles
Easy and durable aluminum can be used not only for cold, but also for warm panoramic glazing. The difference is that with a cold type, a single-chamber window is inserted into the profile, and with heat - two- or three-chamber.
The main advantage of aluminum frames is that they are very lungs. This will come in handy in cases where the balcony plate is not very durable or old and cannot withstand serious loads. In addition, aluminum is resistant to temperature drops and is not subject to corrosion, it can be painted, and the profile practically does not need care. The design of the aluminum window can be made both sliding and swivel-folding, which will save a lot of free space.
From the disadvantages, you can allocate the fact that the aluminum profile is quite expensive, but at the same time significantly inferior on the heat-saving characteristics of plastic or wood. If you want to make an emphasis on heat, and the rigidity of the balcony, the wall or loggia allows, it is better to give preference to the glazing type listed below.
Metal plastic glazing
Plastic profiles, like aluminum, are ease and accuracy. They just care for them, and a variety of mosquito nets are supplied. However, plastic is prone to deformation under the influence of high and low temperatures - it expands from the heat, it is narrowed from the cold. For this reason, the size of the panoramic windows is limited and is not more than 210x90 cm. Weight is also limited to 80 kg.
Plastic is not very durable material, and a large window from the floor to the ceiling must withstand all kinds of loads. Therefore, when installing, it is necessary to use a reinforced reinforcement profile, as well as an impost, which significantly increases the weight of the entire structure. To make the overall window, connect several small segments, between which the expansion compensator has, and it interferes with a full-fledged wide review.
Wooden profiles
For the same reasons, as in the case of plastic profiles, the sizes of wooden products are limited to 280x80 cm. When decreasing the height, the width increases is permissible, which allows you to create creative designs of panoramic windows.
Important point: To eliminate the risk of rotting and deformation of wooden profiles from temperature and condensate drops, it is necessary to prefer products from solid wood. It is also recommended to process the surface with antiseptic compositions.
The glued profile serves much longer than the one that is made from a solid piece of wood. It has the best insulating characteristics, is practically not affected, but it is more expensive. To maintain it in proper condition, it is enough to update the paintwork annually.
Panoramic glazing features
The house with panoramic windows is very beautiful, however, to get such beauty, you need to or pay a round sum, or carefully hindered yourself. In technical terms, the design is quite complex, and only a professional can cope with such work. From the correct installation depends, first of all, the safety of tenants and the protective characteristics of the window.
Any panoramic window consists of a glasswork and profile - a frame, which must withstand the weight of this glass package. In this situation, there is a strict sequence of choice - first it is necessary to choose a glass unit, and already depending on its weight and characteristics - profile.
When choosing a glass package, pay attention to its dimensions, thickness, total weight and formula. Each glass package has its own formula. Take the following data for example: 4x14x4x14x4top, C / P40 (Wide, warm glass). Here the first digit is the thickness of the outer glass, the second is the width of the intermediate frame between the outer and central glasses, that is, the width of the chamber. The following digit means the thickness of the central glass, then again goes the width of the intermediate frame, but already between the central and inner glasses, well, the last digit, as you can understand, this is the thickness of the inner glass. The labeling "Top" means that the glass is covered with an energy-saving film, and C / P40 is the sum of all glass layers, which gives its total width.
As we said, panoramic windows make from high-strength tempered glass. For cottages, veranda and private houses there is no need to choose the worst product - 5-6 mm enough. The tempered glass becomes after a special heat treatment, as a result of which it acquires incredible strength, resistance to temperature differences and the ability to withstand a large load.
The following design features will help you when choosing and installing panoramic windows:
- Pay attention to the distance between the glasses. If the distance inside the glass will exceed 25 mm, then it will not protect from the cold. More so, with a low thermal insulation capacity, such a wide window will be very expensive. The optimal distance between the glasses is 10-16 mm.
- The size of the glass package is also crucial. Due to the specific features of the design and the impact of natural physical factors, it is not recommended to install windows with dimensions of pain 3x3.2 m. The same rule concerns products of large sizes with a narrow remote jumper. When the air temperature decreases, the volume of air inside the glass package becomes less, as a result of which they pressed to each other. If they are squeezed quite strongly, they can "stick up", and this is fraught with cracks, depressurization and destruction of the structure.
- If you are going to put panoramic windows on the sunny side, choose tinted glass. Green detain up to 65% of sun rays, and bronze - up to 60%.
- Mirror glasses are delayed up to 65% of solar rays when the heat is absorbed at 10% (as ordinary glass). This is the optimal option for installation on the sunny side of the house.
- Energy-saving double-glazed windows will significantly reduce heating costs, especially in a private house. But they will bring tangible benefit only in the case of warm glazing.
- Pay attention to the chamber of glass windows. For residential buildings and apartments, it is better not to choose one-chamber products, since they are practically not protected from noise and cold. Two-chamber is quite enough to create a cozy and warm atmosphere indoors.
- If you are needed in reliable housing protection, it makes sense to install armored double-glazed windows.
When you chose a glass, you can pick up the corresponding profile under it. Special requirements for panoramic windows are presented to such products for panoramic windows. First, the profile must be able to accommodate wide double-glazed windows up to 50 mm. Secondly, it must be reinforced, that is, to have an inside the metal amplifier for resistance to wind and static loads. Thirdly, the profile must have a low thermal conductivity to reduce heat loss as much as possible.
The image below presents profiles from popular manufacturers and their characteristics:
Apartments with panoramic windows will cause admiration for all passersby, and you can proud to declare that you live in a house with an exclusive design. However, as you have already managed to make sure that such beauty is not so easy, and care for it requires a certain skill. Nevertheless, despite difficulties, more and more people prefer to decorate their housing with original floor-to-ceiling windows.
Panoramic windows: photo
Finally, we suggest you once again to make sure that the beauty and originality of projects with panoramic windows and see a small photo specification.
