The Washington times., 1929-05-06
Help For the Man Who Wants to Build
Steel Windows
Ilnpart Refinement
And Character
BY The Architects Small
House Service Bureau Of the
United States, Inc,

BY The Architects Small
House Service Bureau Of the
United States, Inc.
Steel windows and masonry walls
intrigue any architect. 1t Is a COM
bination such that they seem to be
made for each other for many types
of architecture. They do not seem
to work so well with colonial archi-
lecture as they do with the other
types; that is to say, from the point
Of view Of appearances alone. This
IL no doubt because we have come
to think of the double hung window
which 10 essentially q wooden
affair, as an important part Of
colonial detail. But for the other
types steel easements have a mark
ed fitness.
Why? Principally on account Of
the narrow margins of mouldings
between the glass and the masonry,
the character Of the wall construc-
ton seems to be fully expressed.
The combination of delicate lines
about the glass against the massive
effect Of the masonry lends empha-
sis to the substantial construction
Of the wall itself. It may be called
an architectural refinement.
Standardized Sizes
Now it Is much easier to make a
frame of wood than 1t Is Of steel. A
variety of sizes can be obtained in
wood that are not available in the
steel sash excepting at greatly in
creased expense. One can have a
wooden window of almost any size,
but steel sash, in order to have
them economical at all, must be
standardized. They must be manu-
factured in a variety Of fixed dimen-
sions in order to bring them within
the economies of the modest home.
Manufacturers of steel sash, real
izing this fact, have studied their
product and, in collaboration with
the United States Department Of
Commerce, have standardized their
product. They have agreed on GER
tain definite sizes. So the small
home builder interested in this type
of equipment may be assured that
the particular manufacture Of sash
most appealing to him may be OBJ
tanned without special fabrication
when the architect specifies any Of
the agreed upon stock sizes.
There is variety of hinge equip
ment and a variety of hardware, the
necessary devices to fasten the win
dow, that may be obtaned with
stock metal windows. The home
owner thus has opportunity to
choose types Of operation and fast
enings that appeal to taste and
purse. In batteries of windows,
that Is where three or more sash
are placed in a single opening, 1t Is
customary to fix some of the sash;
that Is to say, they do not operate.
But there is also q variety here
for choice.
Screens for Easements
In equipping these windows with
screens, it Is necessary to realize
that these must go on the side oppo-
site to the swing Of the windows.
II they swing out, the screens go
ON the inside. This is not an in
convenience as far as operation OF
the sash is concerned or otherwise,
and it certainly adds greatly to the
life of the screen cloth.
If the screens are of wood, the
offsets or stops where the sash fit
between the castings should be wide
80 as to reduce the projection Of
wood into the window opening. 1t
is possible to obtain screens that
slide in slots arranged IN the win
dow jambs and which roll into
pockets above the windows. These
permit the return of the plaster
into the masonry opening, making
an extremely pleasant architectural
effect, The narrow margin of metal
edging the screen Is in keeping
with the essential character of the
steel window.-Copyright 1929. The
AkAt
Bureau Of the United States, Inc.