Don’t forget the mode where it’s anchored only in one corner and you freak out because you feel it will fall out any moment despite you know it won’t
Wait, it doesn’t fall like that?
No, nothing will ever happen. Don’t worry
CHAT, IS THIS REAL???
The “ever” is maybe stretching it.
I think it can survive the occasional mis-opening. But I wouldn’t do it regularly, not leave it like that for a day.
Like “yeh, you’ve fucked up but I’m fine for now. Please fix me and never do it again” kinda scenarioPutting it back in place is kinda difficult, iirc. It’s a scary “oh, shit. Put it back, put it back” moment. It’s a lesson in not playing around wuth the door (ah, yeah, mine was a big balcony door window (small balcony, big door))
Wait what? IS THIS A MODE AND NOT ME MESSING UP??
Yeah! It’s the “you messed up mode”.
I feel like it’s a “can survive, but please fix quickly” kinda scenario.
I have no doubt the mechanism can support it. But used regularly will likely break something (where the entire fucking window falls into your room)It’s one of the things everyone experiences but no one talks about
I experienced so many heart attacks for that damn thing and now i discover it was just one of the modes 😭
I’m still not convinced it’s an actual mode and not user error, that everyone hides under the rug by frantically pushing the window close somehow
Let’s just say it is an unintended mode
We have those windows in Ireland, they are generally made and designed by Velux who are Danish.
Why is a normal window there? Or does it do something special?
They are all one window. You turn the handle in different directions to get it to do different things. The “normal” one is just shut and locked
Lemme clarify - do you mean just this (this is a normal window to me, common like sand).
These are extremely uncommon in North America, unfortunately.
Haha yeah, my b. Most windows in NA just open up and down. If you are lucky, it will have a little release for it to open inward for cleaning, but I dont think its supposed to be used in that orientation. Doesnt seem sturdy
These types of window are great until you want to get AC in a rental & realize that you now need to attach 1-2 hoses to them whilst also getting a good seal. Then you’d actually prefer the American style slide-up windows (ask me how I know) :/
My back door does this. No one knows how to use it besides me.
Wait, doors can do that too? I have to try this on our door (I think it’s the same model as our window), so it might work.
Yep. Had it 30 years and it confuses all that come to it for some reason. Yet it’s so simple. Handle in the middle like a regular handle opens it normally. Handle up opens it in tilt.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
What’s with all houses getting those nowadays?
The handles of the current generation German windows even have a 45 degree position; the window is then opened on a tiny slid.
I lived in Germany for several years and moved to the U.S. and purchased a “fixer-upper” home. On the docket for replacement were the windows. To make a long story short, the cost of replacing every window on the house with a normal American window was within ~$1k of the price of a single “German” window. The cost to replace all of the windows with the German style was nearly the total price of the home itself.
So yeah, I would love to have those windows, but they’re not made or at least readily available in US markets.
Now I wonder how much an American window costs over here
Those are just regular windows
Your dignity
This. I have these windows in one room in the US because I installed them myself. IDK if they are significantly cheaper in Germany, but for the price to have one professionally installed in the US I could have actually replaced the entire wall with floor to ceiling windows.
Just checked a local factory, 50x50cm is 100 € for a regular window and 200 € to open both ways (entry level PVC, not including installation).
All in all it’s not unheard of for bigger jobs to be south of 1000 €/window for professional installation, though you can get them for half that if you know the right contractors.
You can do the same with American windows–spend the cost of an entire house replacing your windows.
Andersen and Pella windows.
Economy of scale magic
I always wonder why are they associated with Germany. Aren’t they the standard in most of central Europe? We’ve had them in Poland since the 90s.
It’s like the French toilet, I mean the Danish toilet, sorry the Turkish toilet…
Because they were invented in Germany. But yes, they are the standard in most of Europe now, in some countries they are known as European windows
I am thinking of airtight windows! No other country can build such airtight and beautiful windows. - Angela Merkel in a 2004 interview, answering the question of what emotions Germany arouses in her
My American windows can also do this if I push hard enough.
My drunkenly installed American windows (previous owner, not me 😉) ALSO do this, but randomly throughout the house!
Some are so tight you break a sweat moving them (“locked”), some are so loose the top part falls out (angled), and some work normally (the normal one I guess)
I mean. Yes?
For why these are superior:
Fully open mode = big hole for air go thru.
Slanty mode = very windy ez, rainy ez, rainy and very windy… just close window.
But, the innovation I miss more than the windows were the roller shutters.
First of all, light blocking. Forget blackout curtains or something, just roll down the shutters and no light is getting in. If you work nights or something, you can block the sun completely and sleep in the dark. Along with that, the light is being blocked while it’s still outside. Why does that matter? Light means heat. In summer you don’t want the heat inside. Block it at the shutter and it doesn’t come inside to heat the inside of the house. Compare that with blinds, curtains, etc. In that case, the light has already entered the house before it hits something and heats it up. With white curtains you’ll reflect a lot of the light back out, but you’re still heating the interior of the house. They also reduce noise, add security, protect in bad storms, etc. But, to me, blocking the light and keeping the heat out was so much more important.
Ich will zu Dort gehen
Fr though I hate my shitty apartment blinds so much. It’s midnight with the lights off and blinds closed amd I can read next to the windows
Am American.
…What?
German windows are (like a lot of things in Germany) extremely well engineered. This is a point of pride and whenever I have hosted Germans at my house (I’m Australian) they have actually brought this up with me.
It’s become a bit of a meme.
So their windows… Open?
If handle is rotated 180 degrees up from the closed state, window would tip slightly but not fall down. This allows room to ventilate while not opening window fully. Possible pros: doesn’t make room too cool, doesn’t let rain inside, presumably wouldn’t let burglars inside as tip point is too narrow to squeeze through. Maybe something more, dunno.
If handle is rotated 90 degrees, window opens as normal.
I havent met so many Americans or non-EU people in my life who have different windows in their homelands. But those who I’ve met, like our type of windows more than theirs. Also, these are sturdy AF and foolproof. Never saw one with a broken frame.
Two different directions depend on the handle orientation. The handle correlates to the pic below it.
Took me a minute.
I love these types of windows. Just need to add some mosquito/bug nets are you’re all set.
