Full height double-hung vs. transom for parlor windows

Some companies (Marvin, Parrett, Hirschmann etc.) offer triple hung which might be a solution here. The middle sash can be opened for air flow.

Guest User | 4 years and 2 months ago

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hotpinksharpie | 4 years and 2 months ago

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I’m replacing the windows in our brownstone and doing all double-hung Marvins. I’m on the fence about our full-height parlor level windows. Our current old windows have about a 2-3ft high transom at top with a double hung underneath it. This isn’t as attractive as a full height double-hung would be, however it allows me to open the windows from the transom down, or from the floor up. I have window ledges with window boxes under the windows so I almost always choose to open these windows from the middle down which gives me a nice head-level airflow even if I just crack it.
A full height double-hung would definitely be more elegant but I’m worried about the fact that I’ll only be able to open from the bottom. and to get a nice amount of air flow I’ll have to open them a lot to clear my window boxes.

Anyone with this type of window have opinions about how it opens. Or does anyone have a solution other than these 2 options for tall parlor floor windows?

And my othe r quandary – what does everyone think about black vs white for the interior of the window frames. Doing all black exterior.

thanks in advance.

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 4 years and 2 months ago

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I have transoms with leaded glass in front and left those when my windows were replaced years ago. Our back parlor windows didn’t have transoms and thus are very tall. Some installers recommended installing transoms there because the triple pane sashes I wanted are so heavy. Maybe I should have done that because I’ve had balances break several times over the years. I eventually had the top sashes fixed in place and got heavier duty balances for the bottom.

stevecym | 4 years and 2 months ago

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As someone who services doors and doors with transoms, to add to bob’s good advice above, i would say it would be better to install transoms. This way if something goes wrong later with any of the components, you will end up having to service a smaller piece which i would hope would mean less cost and would be easier for the service person, say a glass person. Doors with transoms are easier and less costly to service.

helen40

in General Discussion 4 years and 2 months ago

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Owner of a brownstone with full height parlor floor windows. We replaced the lousy aluminum replacements found here when we bought with double-hung Marvin Magnums for the parlor front and standard Marvins for the rest, all with black exterior/white interior.

We can open the windows from the top down and the bottom up and just slide the screen up and down to protect the open gap. We can get plenty of front to back airflow if opened just a crack (even with a window box, which we have on the 2nd floor). Not sure why you don’t think you could open from the top down.

Many other houses on the block have bricked up the bottom to allow for the installation of a “standard” window. It looks terrible. We did not consider an upper transom.

hotpinksharpie | 4 years and 2 months ago

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Hm, I guess I thought I wouldn’t be able to reach. The ceilings are tall and I’m short. Do you need to stand on a ladder and physically push it from the very top? Or is there another way to open it? TIA

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 4 years and 2 months ago

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The problem with my very tall back parlor windows is that when you open and close the lower sash the upper sash gets pulled down a fraction of an inch. Then it won’t latch and I have need a ladder to push the upper sash up from the top. It’s a real PITA that I eventually “solved” by having the upper sashes fixed in place which isn’t an ideal solution.

helen40

in General Discussion 4 years and 2 months ago

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@hotpinksharpie We generally unlock the window and then push the upper sash down from its bottom. It works every time. As long as you can reach high enough to get some leverage on the upper window’s lower part, you can open it. Like Bob Marvin says, though, sometimes its hard to relock the windows after reclosing. They dont always perfectly align. A good push can get them aligned. For us, its not enough of a problem to fix them in place.

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 4 years and 2 months ago

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I should clarify that we didn’t have the upper sashes fixed it place specifically because of the latching problem. The balances in two of our tall rear upper sashes failed when we were away a few years ago and they came crashing down. Fortunately our next door neighbor, who had a Jew, noticed, lifted them, and secured the latches. Since the heavy-duty balances we needed were fairly costly and we never open those windows from the top (since they’re so hard to reach) we only had new balances installed in the lower sashes and fixed the tops on place. The new balances make the windows much easier to open. As I mentioned previously these tall windows are triple-glazed and this VERY heavy.

Guest User | 4 years and 2 months ago

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> @Bob Marvin
> next door neighbor, who had a Jew
I am going to assume you meant your neighbor had a key… but… wow… that’s quite an autocorrect…

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 4 years and 2 months ago

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Yes, a key of course. The screen on my little iPhone SE is SO small.