Bay windows: features and benefits

Standard windows are installed inside openings located in the plane of the wall. But in addition to standard windows, bay window designs can also be used when glazing the room. The bay window structure can be rectangular, trapezoidal, polygonal or semicircular. But its main difference is that it is placed in the protruding element of the facade. At the same time, the bay window is almost always glazed — primarily for natural lighting of the niche, which is formed from the side of the room.

The glazing of the bay window is a rather difficult task. This is due to several aspects at once:

• It is necessary to determine the optimal glazing configuration.
• It is necessary not only to fix the structures in a large opening, but also to dock them with each other.
• Fasteners and other elements need to be selected so that the bay window structure is not damaged under loads.

We will tell you about when it is worth installing bay windows and what you should pay attention to in our article.

Bay window glazing and its advantages

Bay windows have been used in architecture for quite a long time — so their popularity is very stable. Most often, bay window designs are made part of the facades of country houses, but in principle it is possible to embed a bay window in a multi-storey building and in a compact cottage.

The list of advantages of glazed bay windows is impressive:

• The first, obvious advantage is an attractive appearance. The bay window organically complements the facade and becomes an important accent that emphasizes the decorative potential of the building.
• The second plus is additional natural lighting. Due to the installation of bay windows, the area of the light opening increases, and much more sunlight penetrates into the room. For the glazing of the bay window, windows with a large height are usually used — and this allows you to illuminate not only the niche itself, but also the area adjacent to it.
• Finally, the addition of a bay window allows you to get a gain in useful area. The niche that forms inside the bay window ledge is usually used as a recreation area or a small greenhouse. But if the bay window is large enough, you can place a dining or work table there.

In addition, a staircase can be placed in the bay window — conventional or spiral. Such a decision is justified from the point of view of saving useful space: most of the stairs are located in the bay window and therefore the stairs do not occupy an area in the room itself. In addition, the glazing of the bay window provides good illumination of the steps.

How can a bay window be glazed?

The design and dimensions of the bay window can be different — therefore, the glazing schemes are used differently. The simplest option is to install several separate windows, which will be separated by piers of small width. In this case, no special difficulties are expected — yes, you need to accurately perform measurements and choose the right fasteners. But almost any team can cope with the task: specialized installation skills of bay window structures are not needed here, ordinary accuracy is enough.

Pay attention! If the width of the piers is small, you can combine the windows in the bay window with a common window sill. We wrote about the technology of joining window sills at angles in an article devoted to the installation of this element.

But the option described above is a somewhat outdated solution. Most often, when glazing modern bay windows, the structures are joined without piers. At the same time, the docking angle depends on the configuration of the bay window, and usually exceeds 90 °. In this case, the requirements for the professionalism of the masters of measurement and installation increase many times:

• The first requirement is the most accurate measurement of the dimensions of the structure and the construction of a high—quality sketch drawing. In contrast to the installation of structures in a standard opening, in the case of bay window glazing, it is impossible to leave gaps for joining structures. The more precisely the individual details are adjusted, the neater the glazed bay window will look.
• The second important aspect is the mandatory use of connecting profiles, without which it will not be possible to qualitatively join the structures at an angle. A square profile is used for docking at 90°. But for the connection at large angles, a more complex solution is used. The basis of the bay window connector is a reinforced round-section pipe, on which adapters are installed. Adapters can be placed at different angles, which makes such a connecting profile a universal solution for bay windows of different configurations.
• Finally, the quality of installation as such is also important. When glazing the bay window, all structures are precisely adjusted to each other and perfectly aligned horizontally, vertically and plane.

Windows for bay window glazing

With a significant height of the bay window and a large glazing area, the performance characteristics of the structures used for glazing themselves are very important:

• Firstly, the rigidity of the profile system is important. The use of an insufficiently rigid profile will lead to the fact that the structures will deform under the influence of weight and wind loads. In addition, it will not be possible to mount the joint between the connecting profile and the frame of the main structure reliably enough.
• Since one of the priorities of bay window glazing is the maximum of natural light, it is worth choosing profiles with minimal dimensions of the shutters. A good solution would be WDS 6S — an increase in the light opening in such windows is provided just by reducing the height of the sash.
• A large glazing area can cause increased heat loss. To reduce the thermal conductivity of the bay window, it is worth choosing for its glazing not only a profile with a large number of chambers and a significant width, but also high-quality double-glazed windows. The optimal solution is a two—chamber energy-saving double-glazed window with argon filling of the chambers.

In addition, do not forget about the design. Laminated windows (single- or double—sided lamination) look very organic in bay window designs - especially with the right shade selection. In addition to the lamination of the profile, you should also consider the possibility of installing decorative glazing — tinted or textured glass, film stained glass, double-glazed windows with sprats, photo printing, etc.

Using modern metal—plastic windows, you can make a bay window not only very beautiful - but also reliable, convenient, and also very energy efficient. This applies to both bay window elements in private homes and bay windows in commercial or office buildings. At the same time, it is very important to choose the optimal configuration of structures for the glazing of the bay window, and all work — from measuring and sketching to installation and finishing — should be entrusted to highly qualified craftsmen. 

You can order a high-quality professional installation of metal-plastic windows by following the link