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Windows and Door

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Quiet Shed - This article is part of a series.
Part 4: This Article
Made from offcuts and shortcuts.

Windows
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Windows are typically a major expense. But I did not need anything fancy, so I decided to make my own simple windows and door. I wanted light, ventilation, and soundproofing.

I had a spare sheet of 10mm twin-wall polycarbonate, enough for the north windows. And enough spare 6mm acrylic for the east and west windows.

I was aware that the polycarbonate is a better thermal insulator ( U = 2.9) than the acrylic ( U = 5.2 ish). But I didn’t find out until later that the polycarbonate is a very poor acoustic insulator, because it is light and rigid. I came back to that later with secondary glazing - see the soundproofing page.

Fixed polycarbonate panels
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The fixed polycarbonate windows were super simple. Just cut to size with a box cutter, run a bead of silicone around the edge, and screw it on. I also sealed up the ends of the channels with silicone. Technically they are supposed to be installed vertically not horizontally, but that’s just the shape I had.

Twin-wall polycarbonate fixed window installed

Awning window
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The middle panel was to be an inward-opening awning window, for ventilation. Having no experience with window frames, I designed it like a cabinet door: the opening part is face-fit with hinges and latches. The opening part (sash?) I made from 30x40mm primed pine. It is rigid enough.

Window sash, glued and dowel joined

Then I attached polycarbonate to one face of the sash in the same way I did the fixed panels.

Twin wall polycarbonate ready to be attached to awning window

Then I just screwed it in with hinges at the top, and a latch on each side.

Awning v1, closed.

At this point there were two problems:

  1. there was no way to hold the window open;
  2. once the ceiling was plasterboarded, the window hit it restricting its opening.

Both of these problems were solved by replacing the hinges with a friction stay. It holds the window open, and it has a kind of sliding pivot so the top of the window comes down as it opens. As it is designed for windows that are inside a frame (oh I guess that is how normal windows work), I had to mechanically translate the force with rigid wood panels.

Awning v2 with friction stay, closed.
Awning v2, open.

Fixed acrylic panels
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The east and west windows are triangular following the roofline. Acrylic panels are attached on the outside, just like the polycarbonate panels.

I had one piece long enough for the whole of the north window - except a minor cutoff at the end which I filled with plywood. But the south window had to be made from two pieces.

Cutting acrylic is a horribly messy business

It is hard to find anything that will stick to acrylic. It laughs at most sealants and tapes. The notable exception is this specialist VST / Acribond double-sided tape. I used that for a seal, and also screwed the panels in.

Mounting acrylic panels on specialist double-sided tape

Secondary glazing
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See the soundproofing page.

Door
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It’s a pet peeve of mine that people neglect doors when thinking about their building fabric. They might have an amazing wall construction but stick a standard door in it. Here was an opportunity to make my dream door. I wanted it super solid. Offcuts of 17mm plywood for the outside face, and a 35mm timber frame behind.

Door outside face and timber frame ready to be glued and screwed together

For the inside face I used 3mm MDF sheets. That brings the thickness to 17 + 35 + 3 = 55mm which is the maximum that an off-the-shelf latch set can handle.

3-layer door construction. Latch/handle set installed.

I applied waterproof flashing tape to the structural opening. Then constructed a jamb from 110x18 and 66x18 primed pine. Note that 110 - 66 = 44, so the door has to protrude 11mm outside the jamb. (Because I hadn’t thought through my door design until too late.)

Waterproof sill tape applied to the structural opening
Completed door
Quiet Shed - This article is part of a series.
Part 4: This Article