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Windows Design Dilemma

Purchasing a home with small glass block windows and no light!

Caroline Soltys

last year

It is a stucco home, beautiful land, but difficult house! How can I change this to get some light in. I like the high glass block, but how would it look if I replace the small glass block windows with traditonal ones?

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BeverlyFLADeziner

last year

You can replace the windows with just picture windows but I'm guessing the previous owners selected glass blocks so they wouldn't have to clean the windows all the time. They're going to get dirty and they will not be easy to reach for cleaning.

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Comments (6)

jackowskib
last year
I would look at replacing all with standard windows. Can use pretty shades inside if need to have privacy or block sun.
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I don't know if you've made a decision on what to do yet, but I had been looking around for similar solutions for my garage. The house is built into a slope with the garage tucked underneath. The one window in the garage is an aluminum slider roughly at outside ground level along one side (near ceiling of the garage), and I think it presents a security problem. I have a curtain on it now so that no one can see in, and there is vegetation blocking the view from outside, but I still think about that when I'm here alone. I want the light from it but not the security concern. There are other openings to the garage -- a door to the house entry and the garage door itself. Anyway, I was digging around online and found a manufacturer of replacement windows made from acrylic block. They come in fixed and openable forms; I'm attaching a link that I hope works. I'm not in a position to take this project on now, but it's on my back burner. Assuming that the existing windows were properly framed, what is the structural concern, mariascottage? Particularly for windows under stairs/decks, I can't imagine view is an issue. Here is a link that might be useful: acrylic block replacement windows
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I've never seen a large glass block. To me, glass block is so industrial and unattractive-looking. Don't know if you're planning on reselling anytime soon, but it would seem to me to be a huge detraction from your home. If you're looking for something that comes in one piece, that will give you more privacy, what about replacing the window glass in the frame with textured or stained glass? We have small casement windows in our living room--the windows open out, there are screens on them that open IN--so curtains are a bit tricky in summer. Also, in our neighborhood, houses are only 12 feet apart. So we were looking for a solution that would give us a little privacy, would look nice, would eliminate the need for curtains or shades. We went to a stained glass studio and got textured glass to replace the regular clear glass. Since the windows are '9-patch'--we got straw gold for the corner piecess, pale green for the longer outside pieces and frosted/bubbled glass for the large center section. It's a lovely look, that's not only solved our privacy issues, BUT has really upgraded the look of our house, and we get a lot of nice complements on them. You could easily do just the textured glass, though--my sister has done that for her ground-level apt, to provide a bit of privacy for her tennants.
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We are thinking about putting a high rectangular window made of glass block in our proposed 66" shower. It might look something like the photo below. Any guesses on the size of the window in the photo? Any suggestions for changing the size of this window, or its height off of the floor? In the photo, it looks like the top of the window is a few inches below the height of the shower head. Thanks!
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Caroline Soltys
Original Author
last year
thanks - Just worried about how it will look leaving the two rows of block up high
apple_pie_order
last year
last modified: last year
Can the windows be opened in case of fire? Are they one of the two means of egress required in many areas for some rooms? Replacing the blocks could be a good safety move.
olychick
last year
It will look fine to have just the two glass block windows. It would drive me crazy to not be able to see out a window when I wanted to, so I would replace, but you don't need to for the aesthetics. Not sure why anyone would think they'd be any harder to wash than any 2nd floor window on any house. If that's a concern, get windows that tip so you can wash both sides.
3onthetree
last year
"Just worried about how it will look leaving the two rows of block up high"

Don't understand if you mean both upper windows (attic? open to cathedral ceiling? 2nd floor?) would remain glass block, or if you insert a smaller window into the openings which would leave 2 courses of glass block above the window in the same opening.

If you are worried about aesthetics, real windows of course will look normal and fine from the outside. From the inside just depends on which room. But as said you might have to have operable windows anyway depending on the room function and other windows in each space.

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