|
News & Info
|
 |
 |
Seller Signup...
Quality Service, Seller or Tradesperson? Sign Up Now!
|
|
Home & Garden Articles
Bay Windows Add an Extra Dimension to a Room
Mon 27 Nov 2006 - 09:06
Bay Windows Add an Extra Dimension to a Room
By Peter K. Wilson
A bay window does a lot more than add to the decorating style and value of your home. It also expands the size of the room, visually. Even a home handy man can install a bay window, now that preambled kits are available. You will need some basic tools, and maybe a helper for lifting, but it is not a difficult job. In our home, we had a large picture window that overlooked a beautiful view of the garden bed and our sweeping front lawn. It was absolutely ideal for the placement of a bay window.
Since the window opening extended almost from the ceiling to the floor, this bay window would be a spectacular addition, bringing the room visually out over the garden. It was a nice square window that would be easy to replace.
The options available were a bow window, which is a window somewhat like a bay window, but with multiple panels, or a bay window, which is a window with three big panels instead of many. The "bow" part of the window affords a shelf which can be fairly deep and create a seat or platform for many uses. We decided we wanted to use this seat portion to fill it with potted plants. These plants were currently on the floor in front of the picture window, and this would keep them off the floor, which makes it neater and easier to clean, and exposes the plants to more sunlight.
In addition to giving the appearance of space in the room, since we could take the potted plants off the floor, we actually had more space in the room! So we went shopping for our new addition. You have a choice when you are shopping for windows to opt for building them yourself or buying a pre-built kit. Plans for windows can be found in books, magazines and also on the internet. There were many great plans available for these kinds of windows, but when I realized that major companies such as Pella, Milgard and Anderson could supply me with a complete package for a window that was preassembled and all I had to do was install it, it was a no brain decision. Not even professional builders or contractors build their own windows these days; they just buy the prebuilt ones from the manufacturer.
The price of a preassembled window package is just about the same, perhaps a little more than building from scratch and the result is guaranteed to be perfect. Why bother with scratch? What was good enough for professional contractors was good enough for me. We learned that installing this bay window was a very easy DIY project. If you are not all that handy, however, you may want to purchase the window and then get a handyman or contractor to help you install it. Even though it is not that hard, it is not a quick job. You must allow yourself more than a weekend to complete something like this. Even if you decide to do it yourself, you will need help, since the bay window is pretty heavy. It is important to pick window of time for this project where the weather is expected to be nice. You don't want to open the hole and then have the rain come pouring in.
Remember that the hole may be open for a day or two while you get everything installed. You have to prepare the area properly and seal the window in place. You are trying to make your room look better, and rain soaked floors and furniture will not do that for you. It is important to be aware of city or county codes regarding this kind of work. They may have certain restrictions on the type of material the window has to be, such as safety glass, and you will probably need a permit. Make sure you have all of this in place before you start your project.
Peter Wilson very often pens articles on topics associated with bay window curtains and decorating. You might find out more about his articles on bay windows over at http://www.replacement-windows-tips.com/bay-windows.html and other sources for bay windows news.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_K._Wilson
Looking for information on Carpentry, Find a supplier at HomeWise.ie
back to Carpentry articles
back to all home & garden articles
|
|