The device of an exploited attic allows you to save expensive meters of living space. The room in the roof is used for a variety of purposes, but whatever its purpose, it is important that the rooms are comfortable and light. Of course, lighting can mostly be artificial, but this is applicable for non-residential premises (wardrobe, storage room, technical rooms). Windows not only save money on electricity, but also allow a person to feel comfortable in the room.
Attic windows can also be installed in the front wall. But if the room is large, such a clearance may not be enough, then it becomes necessary to install windows in the sloped part of the roof. Their size is chosen depending on the volume of the room, but must be at least 10% of its floor area. To improve insolation, experts recommend placing several gaps on different sides of the roof..
Their number, location, size need to be thought out at the planning stage of the attic, because the structure of the roof rafter directly depends on this. The width of the structure should not exceed the pitch of the rafters. Manufacturers of translucent structures offer several standard sizes, you just need to choose the appropriate option. The height of the opening is selected depending on the slope of the roof: the smaller the angle of the roof, the longer the window. This is done to allow sufficient light to enter the room. The height of the structure relative to the floor is not less than 90 cm.The upper part of it can be at around 2 meters.
The material for the roof windows is wood (used more often) or plastic. For rooms with high humidity, metal-plastic structures are used, or wooden ones, but with a special protective coating. There are also many other characteristics: double-glazed windows, opening axis, micro-ventilation function. Their choice and availability depends only on the preferences of the buyer, and the set of characteristics may vary.
Nevertheless, for a roof window there is a very important characteristic that often determines the convenience of its operation: the opening axis at the top, middle, bottom, side, combined. The upper axis allows you to fully open the opening by lifting the glass unit up. This is convenient, since the structure does not interfere if there is furniture nearby. The middle axis is very common, as it is the lowest in cost. It allows you to rotate the glass unit along the central axis. Opening along the lateral axis is standard for ordinary windows, in the case of dormers, this is called a hatch window. It allows you to go to the roof and serves as an additional emergency exit. Window-balcony is a recent trend. This design opens in the middle, dividing into 2 parts, the railings are automatically extended. In this case, the room serves as the floor, but due to the slope of the roof, the window protrudes outward, and the opening turns into a balcony.
No matter how high-quality the selected designs are, all their positive aspects can be leveled out during unprofessional installation. Installation of a roof window is a troublesome business that requires specific knowledge. Therefore, it is better to contact the seller of the structure for help, usually these companies have teams of installers and give a guarantee for work. But still it is worth knowing the basic installation rules in order to control the workers.
First of all, the frame must be installed without distortion. Around the opening along the entire perimeter, you need to glue the waterproofing and vapor barrier. Install a water outlet above the window, which does not disturb the insulation layer of the roof. It will be correct to determine the evenness of the slopes. If a window sill is installed, it is necessary to provide a gap between it and the structure itself, for the flow of warm air. There must be a heater under the opening.
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