How to make French windows out of ordinary ones. French windows are a thin line between the house and the outside world. What are french windows or french style windows

AT recent times demand for French windows has increased significantly. This is explained simply - the improvement of the standard of living of our fellow citizens stimulates them to look for new, more comfortable styles of home design. A French window is one of these methods, it not only increases the comfort of staying indoors, but also gives a completely exclusive look.

There was also a living room with windows overlooking the garden. I wanted the whole house to be homey, a little French. All colors are washed out, washed out, unspoken, the interior is bright. To have a completely new character, flowers, some accessories or colorful pods are enough. The decoration of the house is complemented by unusual large-format paintings. Kinga's mother was seen in one of the furniture stores in Gdansk. They were the basis for the furniture presented there. When we saw them, we were delighted, and although they were not for sale, we insisted on getting them.

Unfortunately, it has been found that bringing them home also requires additional treatment. To put it inside, we had to remove the door from the fluffy one! - King. - But it worked. The decor of the house began to appreciate the friends and acquaintances of Kinga and Adam. And so my dream home helped me realize the dream of interior design - Kinga enjoys. It was love at first sight. She spent only one May day there, but it was enough to make her feel that she had found her place on earth.

What is a french window

The French window resembles three structures at the same time: panoramic glazing, a window and a door. The main feature is glazing over the entire height of the room. At the same time, such a window can open like a door or slightly ventilate the room. The sashes can be hinged or sliding. The specific choice takes into account the size of the room. Are established both in city apartments, and country cottages.

A few kilometers from the coast of France, where time passes more slowly and the sun shines brighter. Low rocky cliffs dive here in the ocean, and the southeast coast of the island is one long beach covered with clean, almost white sand. The island seemed magical to me. However, from the birth of ideas to its implementation, several years. At that time, she often visited, each time gazing intently at her search for the "port of fate". The fact that the old fisherman's house on the edge of the harbor can be bought, she learned by accident.

French windows - amazing panoramas from your home

The owner, the host of the local radio station, didn't live in it every day, so he was happy that his slightly dismissive quality found an amateur. Pelaga, with her sincere admiration, gave him a worthy successor who would not only take care of his hometown, but would also improve it, preserving the spirit of the original.


Some developers believe that such structures can only be used in warm regions of our country. This is partly true, but modern technologies allow you to achieve excellent heat saving performance, and therefore French windows can be seen even in the northern regions of Norway or Finland.

On the occasion of the deal, the new owner learned a lot about the neighborhood and neighbors: the seller was the unofficial chronicler of Ile d'Eu, who, through his profession, keeps in mind dozens of interesting or funny stories about the people of Port-Joinville and is ready to share them. be part of the local community.

The house is located in the port area, but the port itself is probably the quietest one you can imagine. Sometimes there are only screams of revelers occupying taverns on the waterfront, says the hostess. The one-story building has two entrances; These are the remnants of the time when the smokehouse performed its original function.


Device Features




All other parts can have many options and depend only on the wishes of the owners. The larger the area of ​​​​the French windows, the stronger the glass needs to be installed and the better the double-glazed windows are needed in terms of heat saving.

The fisherman's owner used the second door after returning from a catch so that the smell of fish and dirt did not enter the living rooms from the front. The structure of the house was in good condition, but the interiors were rather tired; The last owner never ventured into a general renovation, a little wary of destroying the historic climate of the habitat.

Pelagi took the baton with him, surveying the building with respect and gentleness. The old window frames remained, and their frames were painted on the outside, often in subdued color surroundings. From the inside, the natural color of the tree remained. The floors, until recently in every other room, were standardized: today all rooms have matte grey colour, only in the living room a floor of picturesque Cotto Cotto tiles is left.


Advantages and disadvantages of designs

Let's start with the important advantages of French windows.

  1. Enters the room maximum amount sunlight. You can save on expensive lighting today with electric lamps.
  2. Visually, the room is significantly enlarged, becoming more spacious and brighter. Designers use this very effectively to create modern interiors.
  3. Functionality. The French window can be used both with hinged and sliding doors, ventilate the premises with sashes, go out onto a balcony, terrace or street.
  4. The appearance from the window improves, the line between the room and nature is leveled. This feature is especially effective if you live in a country cottage, and there is a beautiful landscape design in front of the window.

Before Pelagi, together with her two sons, Guillaume and Benedict were able to relax in the interior, it was necessary to adapt the functional program to new needs. Two walls were destroyed, which made the little fishermen's house sigh. One of the first rooms has a modern contemporary bathroom. However, the original empirical layout of the interior has been preserved; Thanks to wide door, transition rooms feel more spacious.

The natural advantage of this habitat was natural habitat, organically built into dense harbors. And this, after a little modernization, you can live here almost like a hundred years ago. New house was not only a dream, but also a new beginning. She also found herself in the role of a conservative - she carefully updated the fallen arguments, giving them a new expression. The decor of her own home was the first fruit of a new interest: an optional but highly successful combination of local handicrafts, good modern design, vintage equipment and art.


Now about the shortcomings, not a single architectural design can do without them.

Table. The main disadvantages of French windows.

NameShort description

Is it possible to do?

All this, the lady of the house, has been replaced by a rich color that belongs to her favorite means of expression. A strong purple dress is the backdrop for nautical details in various shades of garnet. In a small dining room, raspberry blue meets blue, cobalt, green, and yellow. Strong color accent appears even between the house and neighboring buildings of the courtyard: it is shaded by a large yellow sail, which makes the sun shine here even on a cloudy day.

The courtyard is the housekeeper's eye; the original stone floor, which remembers the times of the first inhabitants, wonderful cool feet, and the end of the pleasant climate is a wall of untreated boulders raised by climbers. Pelaga rests here as soon as she jumps out of a nearby gallery, where she opens and sells old furniture, jewelry and everyday items, as well as sculptures and paintings brought to the island. Thus, she managed to get closer to the ideal: in a dream place to combine personal life with work and passion.

Measures to insulate and improve safety require the installation of thick impact-resistant glass, and they are not cheap. Double-glazed windows, as a rule, are two-chamber and more, with special coatings to reflect thermal infrared rays.

On hot summer days you will have to use air conditioning. One air conditioner consumes at least 3 kW of electrical energy.

It is very difficult to wash high and large deaf glass. Especially if they are installed on the second floor and above. Sometimes you have to involve professional clearing companies, and not everyone can afford their services.

History of French windows

Window frames are essential and necessary to insulate any type of home from the weather, hot and cold seasons and therefore less energy to heat or cool the home itself, as well as to calm the environment. Replacing window frames means an important economic investment, but when choosing the right product with high quality insulation materials, costs will rise over time, so you will have to choose a product that will last.

How long does it take to install a window?

The main elements of each window, or rather, each window design. Gasket system, glazing, central and flat. Frame frame, frame frame and post. It all depends on the type, shape and number of windows. Self-cleaning throughout the house takes a professional team, usually 1-2 days. Rule of thumb to calculate window installation time: 2 professionals can replace 4 windows in less than one day, about 4-5 hours. Of course, he must come first and measure to order the right one. It may take only 1 week, but sometimes even 3 weeks.

Some people have a fear of open spaces. For them, staying in a room with transparent walls is uncomfortable and nothing can be done about it.


As for the large weight, this disadvantage is relative. french windows have a significantly smaller mass than a brick or wooden wall. And increased loads on the load-bearing elements of the frame and sashes for high-quality modern materials not a problem (they are calculated with a margin of safety).

Depends on the company we use. The most important thing is to entrust this work to specialized teams in this field. Checking the dimensions and cleaning the base is very important for a thorough check. If the substrate is not sealed properly, there may be gaps that can allow moisture and air to enter, leading to drafts in the home and mold.

Installation of mechanical fasteners. Isolation and protection of the compensator. Depends on the type and shape of the window. In general, we distinguish between standard, balcony and flat windows, i.e. Also consider the size of the windows and which side they open. Unopened windows, fixed glass.



What affects the cost of French windows

Not only brand awareness should be taken into account when choosing a product. The prestige of the company, of course, matters, but some of them abuse the trust of consumers and raise prices unreasonably. Modern competitive market conditions force new, less well-known companies to produce very high quality products and sell them at a fairly low price.

Sliding windows with tilt and turn. Also here it all depends on their number and type of windows, as well as how many and how many professionals will take care of it. The rates are different, but they move between. Raw assembly, i.e. just installation and sealing with foam, can be from 10 to 24 gold per meter.

Which is best for my window: curtains, blinds or shutters?

Removal of old windows Installation of new windows can be from 28 to 48 gold per meter. A warm unfinished movement is between 45 and 65 gold per meter. Curtains are usually chosen. Because their assembly is very simple and, in addition, beautiful curtains can be found for little money. For years we thought about blinds and rolls, immediately we thought about public places, shops, etc. they performed this function before heating and space heating, and against burglary. Today they also have a decorative function.


What to look for when choosing a particular product?




Simple rules for choosing the elements of a plastic French window make it possible not only to save money, but also to improve the performance of the structure. In addition, the failure of one cheap piece of fittings can cause complex breakdowns, the elimination of which will require significant costs.

Sophisticated window decoration gives the interior character and style. In the market, we can find many different types of shutters and blinds. The most popular roller blinds are Roman blinds. Roman blinds or roman blinds are ideal for decorating windows instead of traditional curtains. These blinds are best suited for the kitchen and living room. Roman blinds add elegance to the rooms and are very comfortable to use. Plus, you can sew them yourself, which means they can be made from any fabric.

Make your room even more original. You choose the material, color and patterns that you think best suit the interior. You can also deal with what works best for your home or apartment. Roman blinds are suitable for linen, synthetic fabrics and cotton linen.


Some mistakes when choosing a place to install French windows

The popularity and prestige of designs, together with the desire to look prestigious, leads to the fact that French windows can be seen even where the French themselves would never have thought of putting them. In European countries, the main criterion for choosing architectural element– functionality, economic feasibility and design. We often have different selection criteria. Where are French windows installed?

When choosing fabrics, consider their thickness. The thicker the material, the heavier and heavier, the worse. Also you don't have to choose woolen fabrics, thick upholstery and jacquard if we decide on Roman blinds. When choosing curtains, we can even choose thick upholstery materials. If we want Roman blinds to also smooth the interior, they should have an additional lining on the left side of the blinds, that is, the side of the window. We distinguish between two types: black, that is, dimming, and thermo, which reflects solar energy.

As already mentioned, the size of the windows is one of the factors in making the right decision. Don't put Roman blinds on windows more than two meters wide. At this width, they will not be well spaced, and besides, it is difficult to find material of this width. Being allergic, the decision about Roman blinds is also being revived, because the material, which is immediately installed in the window, accumulates a lot of dust, more than ordinary blinds.


In short, where they show all their advantages. Exit from the room to the balcony, loggia, terrace or street. That is, where not only large areas glazing, but also doors. Why can we sometimes see such structures as glazing of balconies? Where is this “happy and proud of himself” owner of French windows going to leave the balcony?

When thinking about blinds, the first thing that comes to mind is aluminum blinds. But it has gone into oblivion. They just went out of fashion. Blinds have been replaced with curtains. Blinds do not bring pleasant appearance for example, they can provide blinds with an appropriate choice of fabrics, their colors and patterns.

How to change regular windows in french windows?

But there are places in homes where blinds are best suited. For example, wooden blinds or bamboo blinds are ideal. They insulate the interior and wood construction works much better in the kitchen. French windows can add charm to any interior. French windows are characterized by many elements and are characterized by elegance and style. With a little patience and precision, it's not difficult to change regular windows into French windows.

Important! The main difference between the French window is the size from ceiling to floor and the presence of doors. Such windows are installed to improve lighting and exit from the room to the balcony or to the street, that is, in the facade walls. And they always carriers, remember this! Never dismantle facade walls in residential buildings!

The best option is to provide for the installation of a French window at the design stage of the building. If you really want to redo the exploited, then seek the advice of an architect. He must have a construction project and, taking into account the characteristics of the building and the information received, draw up a plan for the safe installation of French windows. In most cases, you will have to install large, powerful lintels or special columns to support the second floor ceiling. Do not engage in such work yourself or with the help of unskilled builders.


For example, let's take the installation of the structure in the room for access to the balcony. The variant of the house is almost unrealistic - interfloor floor slabs lie along the front wall and rest against the interior partitions. That is, it is possible to disassemble the facade wall without complex additional special construction measures. We repeat once again that this option for building houses is extremely rare, never break anything yourself. Only an architect can authorize or develop a plan for restoring the load-bearing characteristics of facade walls.


Installation instructions for French windows

The weight of structures can reach hundreds of kilograms. To improve the heat-shielding properties, at least two-chamber packages should be used, and the thickness of tempered glass can reach 6 or more millimeters. Pay attention to the quality of the profiles, their width must be at least 8 centimeters, inside a reinforced metal profile with a thickness of at least 1.5 millimeters. In addition, the number of air chambers is at least 6 and 2 contours of insulating rubber around the perimeter. it minimum requirements, there is an opportunity to buy better products - excellent. There is no way to pay for goods of minimum quality - refuse to install French windows. There are many other cheaper and equally effective ways to solve the problem.



Special attention refer to accessories. Never install French windows with silumin fittings. This alloy is only beautiful in appearance, but in terms of physical properties of strength it is not at all suitable for such a heavy structure. All fittings must be made of stainless steel only. Of course, such strict requirements for the quality of materials for the manufacture of French windows significantly increase the cost.

We do not recommend assembling structures on your own, seek help from professionals. Why? Firstly, during assembly, you need to accurately measure and cut the profiles correctly. Any mistake leads to the fact that the profile must be thrown away and replaced with a new one. Incompetent actions of the assembler can increase the cost of French windows at times, this amount is always more than you have to pay for the assembly. The company itself is responsible for errors, the customer does not pay for damaged materials.



Secondly, the large weight of the elements requires very high-quality and reliable fixation. This parameter depends on the correctly selected hardware, and on the practical skills of performing plumbing work, and on the availability of special tools.

Thirdly, only professionals can develop a solid design of French windows, taking into account actual loads. If necessary, additional imposts are provided, places and methods of their fixation are thought out, etc.


Fourthly, professionals will be able to develop a design project taking into account linear dimensions, material characteristics, features of the interior of the interior and the wishes of customers. That is, all individual differences are taken into account.


Taking into account these comments, we consider it superfluous to describe the development of the project, the procedure for ordering elements and the technology for assembling the structure. There is a desire to reduce the cost of construction - take care of it self-installation. This can be done without the involvement of expensive specialists. By the way, the quality will be no worse, and in many cases better. Masters work very quickly, often miss quite important technological moments. The fact is that their earnings have nothing to do with quality. How to install French windows yourself?

Step 1. Check the dimensions of the opening and frame of the French window. Rarely, but it happens that for one reason or another they do not coincide. You can only adjust the opening in facade wall. Use electrical and hand tools, constantly check the length and width of the opening.

Step 2 Clear the installation site of construction debris. Vacuum the perimeter of the opening where the window will be mounted to remove dust. The better the surfaces are prepared, the stronger the structure will hold. And this is very important, we have already dwelled on the reasons above.

Step 3 Check the window for completeness. If the company respects its customers, then its representatives will tell you the installation technology, give strong anchors, and share professional secrets.



Step 4 If double-glazed windows are installed, remove them. To do this, the plastic glazing beads are dismantled, the bag is carefully pulled off and removed from the frame. Fold double-glazed windows in a free place, be sure to use wooden slats as linings. Watch the angle of inclination of the packages, do not let them slip off and fall on the floor.


Step 5 Prepare your tools. You will need an electric drill with a hammer drill, a hammer, a screwdriver and a level. The level should be as accurate as possible, but to fully guarantee the vertical position of the frame, it is advisable to check with a plumb line. This is the most accurate and simple measuring tool. Not everyone manages to set the laser level correctly; such actions require practical skills. And an ordinary one can have an unacceptable error.

Important! If the frame has a slope, then the doors will open or close on their own, which is very inconvenient when using. But these are not all problems. Structures are heavy, during movement due to the mass they acquire high values kinetic energy. As a result, strong blows against the frame and loosening of the fixation point, decorative plaster along the perimeter of the French window it cracks and falls off, the tightness of the seams is broken, etc.

Step 6 Attach the frame to the opening, mark the places for installing the anchors. Please note that for fixing French windows, you need to use only anchor hardware, not dowels. The latter do not have sufficient strength and cannot guarantee the reliability of fixation.

Step 7 Drill holes in the base frame profiles. Use an ordinary drill, carefully clean the recesses of the profile from metal and plastic chips.

Step 8 Once again put the frame to the opening, set it in level and fix the position with wedges. Fix securely, eliminate the possibility of falling during the production of subsequent work.


Step 9 Drill holes in the wall, ceiling, and floor with a Pobedite brazed drill bit. The distance between them is about 40 cm.

Important! Pay special attention to the corners - this is where the maximum loads are concentrated.

Step 10 Anchor the frame, check the reliability of the installation, shake it with great effort in different directions. As soon as structural vibrations are found, immediately find and eliminate the cause. When tightening the anchors, do not overdo it, do not deform the profile.


Step 11 Replace windows and doors, insert double-glazed windows. Check the functionality of each element. Adjust their position if necessary.

The process of installing French windows is over, you can start finishing work.

Final stage

There is a significant difference here from the installation of ordinary plastic windows or doors. How are these elements mounted? Masters in several places fasten the frame with dowels, then, without removing the expansion wedges, foam the space between the frame and the opening with mounting foam. All hope is that the foam will firmly hold the structure, and the quality of fastening with dowels does not play a key role. In most cases, such hack work passes. The windows are relatively light, the opening of the sashes is done infrequently and very carefully.

For French windows, this technology is not suitable. Heavy weight, frequent opening of the door, the likelihood of slamming with great force significantly increase the load on the frame fastening hardware. You will never find yourself on foam, structures should only be held on anchors. You can check this with time. Do not immediately foam the cracks, open / close the doors with great effort for several days. If building dust appears on the floor between the frame and the opening, this is a problem, the anchors do not hold, they stagger. Because of this, dust appears under the places where the dowels are installed. Strengthen the hold immediately.


If everything is fine, clean the surfaces of dust, thoroughly moisten them and lather. Start foaming from the bottom up. Allow time for complete cooling. With a sharp construction knife, cut off the excess that protrudes beyond the planes. Surfaces can be sealed with ordinary putty. If the structure on the dowels is held firmly, then cracks will not appear. If not, no finishing will hide your marriage. Always remember that foam is needed only for quick and high-quality insulation, and not for fixing structures.

The development of a scheme for a complex and large French window should be carried out by specialists. You can express your suggestions, view the proposed options and choose the final one. But let developers be responsible for reliability. If the French window is small, then try your hand on your own.


Mounting such a complex, expensive and heavy structure is no place for ill-conceived experiments. Strictly observe the technology of construction and installation works. Do not save on trifles, the result of such actions can be very sad.

Don't work on your own, get help. If they also have building experience, great. Do not rush, all materials should have time to gain design strength.

Stained-glass windows have pleased the eyes of our ancestors since ancient times. Their relevance does not decrease even today, despite the wide variety of materials and decorations. If earlier the production of stained-glass windows was the lot of a few masters, then in modern world almost anyone can learn individual ways to create them. Read more.

If during the operation of the French windows the adjustment of the doors is violated, they close with difficulty, jamming appears - do not make great efforts. Start adjusting the elements. Each design has its own adjusting elements, carefully study the purpose and function of all rods and bolts. Until there is an understanding - do not unscrew anything. Illiterate actions often give a negative result. Another tip - before adjusting, open the door, put a wedge at the bottom to prevent the structure from completely lowering. The door can be very heavy, it is difficult to hold it with your hands.

Video - Installation of French windows on the balcony

(4 Votes)

French windows appeared in the south of France, in Provence. This is an incredibly beautiful region, with wonderful landscapes that the locals wanted to let into their home. It was for the purpose of admiring the French Provence that large, high windows were invented.

Houses with French windows came into fashion and appeared in other European countries. So, in Spain, French windows in a private house were installed overlooking the courtyard, garden plot, to the patio area. Here are some examples of photos of the exterior and interior of houses with French windows.


Kitchens with French windows were also very popular.


And here are the French windows overlooking the balcony


Installing French windows overlooking the balcony is considered the easiest idea, as it does not require redevelopment of the apartment. This is how French windows look out onto the balcony.

The most important thing to consider when installing French windows in an apartment is light. It is important to focus on how the daylight will reflect on the interior of your home. For example, the reflection from the snow cover gives a lot of daylight and tends to darken the interior.



Glass for a French window in a private house or apartment must be of high quality, durable, withstand strong gusts of wind, etc. It will certainly be colder indoors than with regular windows, think about it! Today, in townhouses and luxury homes, you can increasingly find French windows in apartments, the prices for such housing are much more expensive. The idea of ​​installing French windows in an ordinary-type apartment will require redevelopment in accordance with the law.


As for the design of French windows, it is worth noting that it is better to leave windows as windows: you do not need to decorate it with extra slats, dividers, stained-glass windows, etc., because a French window was created to admire the view from the window. Don't litter it! Light organza curtains or Japanese-style curtains will be appropriate.