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Design Dilemma Windows Remodeling

Need help with window grid sizing

2 years ago

We are about to replace our windows and would like to keep the grids on the front of the house. I’ve attached a pic that shows the grids as they are now. We are replacing with black fiberglass windows and black grids (Milgard Ultras). I need to finalize the details of our order, but I don’t know anything about how to determine the best grid size. Can you please help??

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Comments (13)

Chris
2 years ago
We are very happy with this choice. The tall windows have 6 “panes”. Larger square one has 9. Super large windows have a solid glass with 2 side panels that are just like the tall 6-paned windows. I can take more pictures in the daylight if you are interested. ( those were just a couple I had already on my phone).
Chris
2 years ago
I would definitely cut back on the grids. It’ll be a matter of preference in the end. Look at some pictures like these I googled for inspiration. Lesser grids modernize home a bit.
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We have Marvin windows and a colonial style home. We went with the "simulated divided light with spacer bar". Here's a cross section photo of this style. The interior is quality unfinished wood or primed wood, and the exterior is clad aluminum in your choice of color. The divided lights are permanently applied to the inside and outside of the window and there is a spacer bar in between the double layer of glass so that it really looks like true divided lights. True divided lights, like in antique houses, consists of individual small panes held together by the grid work of the window frame. Did I explain this okay so you know what I mean? WE LOVE OUR MARVIN simulated divided light windows!!! They tilt so they are easy to clean. Sure you have to clean each pane individually instead of removing a grid and having the whole window to clean in one shot. But I think the look is worth it. My experience with the removable grids is that they are flimsy and they don't look real (well, they aren't real divided lights). Marvin's simulated divided lights look pretty darn authentic. When we first built this house we did not have grids and I always hated those windows. The house looked like it wasn't quite right, especially from the exterior, because the windows didn't fit the colonial style. As others have said, maybe you can post a photo of your home and people can "vote". I'm including a photo of our home's exterior. And also an interior shot of the window. Good luck with your decisions. P.S. You can order Marvin's in any configuration. Divided lights on top window, none on bottom, etc. Also we got the low e option so our furniture doesn't get bleached out. They don't look different than regular windows, but the low e really works in keeping out the ultraviolet rays.
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Glass was also taxed on size in some areas (mostly in Europe) so the way to cheat the tax man was to use smaller pieces of glass which were less costly tax wise. (This was particularly true of mirrors which were heavily taxed). So it was both initial cost and cost later :) Just like us today LOL Windows were also made from the bottom of glass bottles in many places in the country. You see it on occasion in England and in original window's in cabins in the US (my grandfathers place had a couple). They were a poor man's glass window. I'd take a couple things into consideration in choosing. Style of house, and what you're blocking with the extra wood. In my home, I'd never want the smaller glass expanses because I am on a lake with fabulous views. I don't want tiny squares of lake...I want huge expanses of lake (some of my windows are 6'x8' picture). I'd never want to change that to fill a style desire :) But in some homes...the view is not a main feature, so I'd think about what looked best on the house, before I'd consider the view out of the windows.
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Comments (8)
Thanks for all of the advice! I've posted a few inspiration photos. Regarding, the current tudor style, while this style certainly does have charm, it just isn't our favorite. We'd prefer something a little more modern and clean looking. For now, the tile roof will need to stay but down the road we plan to replace it, mostly likely with shingles. I should also mention we live in the Pacific Northwest and tile roofs and stucco siding are not real common here. I don't think the materials perform as well as other in this climate. As for the windows, we've decided casement windows would be best, at least for the large front windows. I appreciate that suggestion! I think we are leaning toward no grids in the back of the house so that the view is clear. As for the front, we are still torn. We may have to get some renderings worked up to help us decide. Any thoughts on black vs white windows? We were thinking about staying with the black to contrast with the white but I've also seen some white houses with white windows that also look great. There's just so many great options! Again, thanks for all advice. I will definitely post after photos when the project is complete!
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Comments (24)
@K Kohr @Jon Alan and @res2architect helped me a ton with windows and the charm they bring to your home's design. They are a wealth of knowledge. I agree with PPF when he describes window pane sizing. I think that you want to have the same width of pane size. To explain that here is an example... See how the panes in the dormers are similar widths to the panes in the lower windows. Here are some of the colonial style. Honestly with the size of window you have I think a 9 over 9 would be just fine. I love the charm of the cape pictured above with it's 12 over 12! These are all equal widths and 6 over 6 This stone colonial has 9 over 9 on the bottom and 6 over 6 on top. Notice the side windows are 4 over 4 (kind of hard to see because of the tree in the way but they are attempting to keep the grids equal widths like PPF stated above. The dormered windows look to be 6 over 6 which is fine imo. Window grids definitely add charm if done right. So make sure you draw it all out and are ok with the look before you order your windows. Looks to be a beautiful house. Can't wait to see more of your build. You'll have to share your milestones on the home building forum when you get started. It is a fun group of people! Here is a photo of our exterior. We just finished building this summer. While it's not the same scale of build (financially) as your home will be (I'm basing that off of your window selection. Marvin's were definitely out of our budget). The addition of window grids gave our custom home the old world charm my husband and I were looking for. Thanks again Res and PPF for the help with window grid design :)
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muellerkm
Original Author
2 years ago
@Chris- thank you so much for the suggestions and inspo photos. I was thinking larger grids too, though am having trouble figuring it out since I have such a wide range of window sizes. If not too much trouble, I would love to see more photos of your home! One issue I’m having is that our smaller windows are all on the right side of the house and larger are all on the left. I worry about making it feel off balance 😬
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Your current grid patterns are appropriate for the Tudor style of your home. You're not trying to turn this into a farmhouse, so more minimal grids are not appropriate.
hbeing
2 years ago
Depends how many you want between you and your view. #jailcell
Chris
2 years ago
A lot of our smaller window don’t even have grids. Our house is transitional. So a mix of modern and traditional so that works in our case. Do you have the photo shop ability or we actually printed pictures of our house with lightly faded color and drew on the windows to see how it might looked…
Chris
2 years ago
Here’s a few of ours.
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
2 years ago
Definitely like the less busy look too. Looks much cleaner and contemporary.
Chris
2 years ago
Try scribbling on your house like this… You may want to keep the small window as is….
Chris
2 years ago
Maybe it’s the dark center bar that is making you want to change…
Chris
2 years ago
I tried to erase the lines below. See if you can print something like this out and draw on it.
muellerkm
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks so much, this is super helpful!
Gigi Rosa
2 years ago
Hello. Beautiful window grid designs. Chris, did you select flat or sculptured grids? Are the grids inside the window pane? Lastly, I LOVE your house paint color. May I ask for the brand and name of the paint color? Thank you!

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