Page:Architectural Review and American Builders' Journal, Volume 1, 1869.djvu/392

 318 Sloan s Architectural Review and Builders' Journal* [Nov., A BAY-WINDOW. TT~7~E will now resume the branch VV of Practical Carpentry and Joinery. Our first plate represents a Bay-Win- dow, an architectural feature, which has become an almost universal appendage to our suburban residences, and of late has been frequently introduced into our citjr mansions. It is often placed on the front of the building, but more generally on the rear, in either situation posses- sing the same general accessories and characteristics. This particular style of window was adopted in England during the Lancas- trian and Tudor periods ; and, from its capability of forming an agreeable and striking trait in the external appearance of a dwelling, lias been always, more or less, in vogue, down to the present time. The great difficulty always experienced in the construction of these windows has been the attainment of a proper degree of security in the arrangement of the shutters, or blinds. Much thought and stud3 r ,/both theoretically and practically, has been expended on this matter by our mechanics ; but, as yet, few methods of solving this problem have been at- tended with any satisfactory result. The chief obstacle is, that, in the generality of instances where Bay-Windows are introduced, only a given space can be appropriated for the opening, which al- lowance has to be rendered as available, as mechanical skill and ingenuity can make it, for the purpose of obtaining all the light possible. In order to accom- plish this, it is requisite, that some plan be devised which will, at one and the same time, afford the most light and the greatest security. One method is to have shutters on the outside. This has its advantages and disadvantages, which we will briefly enumerate. In a climate as changeable as that of the United States, where the temperature ranges from extreme cold to extreme heat, during the various sea- sons of the year, an outer protection to the glass is beneficial ; in the summer, by shielding the glass from the ardent rays of the sun, thus preventing it from becoming heated, and the heat itself from being refracted or reflected into the apartment within ; and, in the winter, in a similar manner, by protecting it against the cold wind and frost, which, when in contact with the glass, will be conveyed into the apartment. On the other hand, we cannot speak in any favorable terms of the architectural ef- fect produced by these shutters or Vene- tian blinds, when placed on the outside of the building : there is nothing attrac- tive, or agreeable to the eye, in the ap- pearance they here make. The great dif- ficulty, that is usually encountered, in placing the shutters on the outside, is the want of wall surface, for opening them back ; and their unsightliness, when open. But, on the whole, the bene- fits derived from their being so placed, in the protection, they afford to the glass, from exposure to the weather, give them a much higher claim to our notice and approval, than another me- thod, which has also been tried, viz. , that of blinds within. One objection to inside blinds is, that the amount of space necessary for the concealment of their folds, when the window is open, occasions an exterior appearance of over-massiveness in the jambs. It is also found, that the depth of the jamb, or the thickness of the wall, in many instances, does not allow soffits to be formed, for receiving the folds. To obviate this difficulty, we are obliged to have recourse to the method of folding one-half, of the entire Bay-Window, to the side jamb ; or, in other words, a window and a half to each jamb. This usually makes four or five folds to each