The origins of the sash window are partly obscured by time, but this type of window is known to have emerged in England in the 1670's and has remained popular ever since. Widely used in Georgian and Victorian architecture, these windows became popular in America during the Colonial period.
A sash refers to a panel of glass (or today it could be plastic) that is set as one or more panes of material into a frame which slides up and down, or side to side, to open a room to the outside or shield its interior from the weather.
Robert Hooke, a brilliant man born in England in the 1600s, was both a practical man skilled in clock making and surveying, a skilled architect, a biologist, and a physicist. He studied gravity, the properties of glass, and invented a balance spring that led to the development of the watch. It is easy to see how these studies contributed to his window, moving up and down with a weight to offset the pull of gravity, with muntins (strips of wood holding individual panes of glass in a frame) to relieve stress on the amount of glass needed for large panels, and attractive enough to grace a stately home.
As early as the 1670's, sash windows were installed in some principal houses in Britain, such as the Ham house as it was remodeled after Elizabeth, Countess of Dysart, married the wealthy Duke of Lauderdale. The frames were made of wood, and the widows were single glazed.
Glazing is simply a term for a transparent panel, so single glazing is using one layer of glass (or in modern times plastic) which may consist of many panes in a framework of wooden strips called muntins. Double glazed windows consist of two panels in a frame, with an air layer in between for extra insulation from temperature and noise.
Newer materials include soft and hard wood, vinyl, metal such as non-corroding aluminum, and fiberglass. All of these materials have variations in insulating factors (wood is best, followed by fiberglass), durability (wood will rot if not kept sealed from moisture, although proper care will extend its life practically indefinitely), and strength.
The origins of the sash window are not certain, but its evolution is easily traced by the architecture that has used this style down the centuries.
A sash refers to a panel of glass (or today it could be plastic) that is set as one or more panes of material into a frame which slides up and down, or side to side, to open a room to the outside or shield its interior from the weather.
Robert Hooke, a brilliant man born in England in the 1600s, was both a practical man skilled in clock making and surveying, a skilled architect, a biologist, and a physicist. He studied gravity, the properties of glass, and invented a balance spring that led to the development of the watch. It is easy to see how these studies contributed to his window, moving up and down with a weight to offset the pull of gravity, with muntins (strips of wood holding individual panes of glass in a frame) to relieve stress on the amount of glass needed for large panels, and attractive enough to grace a stately home.
As early as the 1670's, sash windows were installed in some principal houses in Britain, such as the Ham house as it was remodeled after Elizabeth, Countess of Dysart, married the wealthy Duke of Lauderdale. The frames were made of wood, and the widows were single glazed.
Glazing is simply a term for a transparent panel, so single glazing is using one layer of glass (or in modern times plastic) which may consist of many panes in a framework of wooden strips called muntins. Double glazed windows consist of two panels in a frame, with an air layer in between for extra insulation from temperature and noise.
Newer materials include soft and hard wood, vinyl, metal such as non-corroding aluminum, and fiberglass. All of these materials have variations in insulating factors (wood is best, followed by fiberglass), durability (wood will rot if not kept sealed from moisture, although proper care will extend its life practically indefinitely), and strength.
The origins of the sash window are not certain, but its evolution is easily traced by the architecture that has used this style down the centuries.
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