Even tho it’s 30 degrees out, I’m obsessed with this summer question. Our last place had bars on the windows that allowed us to leave our windows wide open 24-7 all summer long and live largely a/c free. For both personal preference and hippie carbon-sensitive reasons, this made us very happy. Our new house does not have bars on the parlor level windows. They are really grand windows and I love not having the bars on them during the winter. However, it seems like it would be pretty easy to climb in from the stoop, so I’m not sure how we could leave the windows open in the summer. I see a lot of people with no bars on the parlor. Is there a security system that would allow us to leave windows open like that but still provide protection? Or is there a way to just have bars on in the summer?


Comments

  1. Do you know your current neighborhood crime stats? Look it up. Talk to your local police precinct and ask them if it’s a safe option to leave windows open without bars. I’d bet money they’d say no. There absolutely are break-ins everywhere, even in the best neighborhoods in NYC. The first thing our own local precinct says to everybody is don’t leave parlor floor windows or windows on fire escapes open or unlocked.

  2. What about locking louvered wood shutters on the interior side of the window? Its not fort knox, but I think it’s a mistake to have a situation where it looks visually like anyone could just walk/climb right in. This is how theft happens in most low-crime neighborhoods–an open window or back door. Someone could kick the shutters in or saw through them, but would be much less attractive than 3 open windows on the front of the house. Plus shutters would keep squirrels, cats, rodents, etc. out as well.

  3. Might be worth considering half a window worth of bars, or an iron fence on the stoop to keep people from making the leap. I love bars and if you get them done nicely they don’t feel like jail.

  4. Open the windows from the top if you are nervous. Somebody could techically still get in but they’d have to be Spiderman. I like having the windows open but don’t leave them open when I go to sleep.

  5. To each his own–
    I like my windows open as well; but I don’t like uninvited guests in my home. My basement and 1st floor windows ALL have both bars and alarms. Upper floors have alarms only. There is both good light and a pleasant breeze.
    It is important for me to have a means of escape. That may mean that my TV will go out the window; better than someone burning up.
    Since the iron bars are more decorative than criminal in appearance, their look doesn’t make me feel less ‘free’. They are attractive and secure, and allow me to sleep at night.
    I think that my area is… pretty safe. For NYC.
    In this troubled economy I don’t want to make my home look accessible. If some one is going to break into a home I’d rather they not break into mine. Since most crime happens in the home, I want to be safe in mine.
    I never had an unobstructed view of the water anyway. To each his own–

  6. I’d get an alarm system or a dog.

    Although…
    Back when I lived in the Slope, my brother in law came to visit when we weren’t home. He decided to let himself in through the parlor window. We came home to his fat ass hanging out the window and our dog sitting there looking at him.

    So, it has to be an unfriendly dog.

  7. Motion Sensors installed within the room connected to a security system that contain these windows would do the trick. Then they can be as wide open as you want and if anyone attempts to enter the room they’ll be greeted by an alarm.

  8. There are “stops” that fit on frames allowing you to open the windows so far & nor further. They come in many different styles. I have them & leave windows about 7 inches over night. Be warned, though, since it looks unattended, you may have people trying to get in. I had that 2 years ago – ripped the screen & did damage to the window frame.

  9. Parlour level???? I leave mine open. I even leave the one remaining window on the deck open. Is your area that unsafe?? At the very least, isn’t the one that’s not close to the stoop safe to leave open???