Image Credit: Martin Holladay
More Musings of an Energy Nerd
I recently walked through a neighborhood in a Massachusetts town on the South Shore. As you might expect, the homes facing the ocean tended to be more luxurious, while the homes a few blocks in from the beach tended to be more humble.
It’s fun to look at houses from the sidewalk (or, in this case, the beach). During my stroll, I ruminated on house design and construction quality. In this blog, I’ll focus on two themes: the first concerns shutters, and the second concerns flashing and water-management details.
What are shutters?
Shutters serve many purposes. During a storm, they can protect window glass from wind-driven projectiles. When the homeowners are away, they can provide security against burglars. In crime-ridden neighborhoods, they can allow residents to sleep with an open window that admits fresh air while still excluding intruders. On a hot afternoon, they can exclude sunlight while still allowing a breeze to enter the house. In Alaska, they exclude bears.
Traditional shutters are usually made from wood. They can include louvers that permit ventilation, or they can be solid. In most cases, the width of a shutter is equal to half the width of the window it protects. Shutters hinge outward, and are usually secured in the open position by simple hardware so that they don’t flap in the wind.
Sadly, shutters have fallen on hard times in the U.S. In many cases, builders no longer include any hinges, turning the shutters into useless decorations. The shutters are simply screwed to the wall and can’t even be closed. Here’s what I don’t understand: if the purpose of the shutters is decoration, why can’t the builder get the proportions right? Why are decorative shutters almost always too narrow — less than 50% of the window width?
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9 Comments
Fun read.
Thanks Martin.
I wonder...
Did you happen to notice if there was staining on the other side of the left tower (on the side facing the right tower)?
Response to Lucas Durand
Lucas,
To the best of my recollection, there were no noticeable stains on the other side (the north). The reason may, of course, have to do with the locally prevailing winds -- or the flashing details.
Well, here goes
While on vacation with my family on the cape, I took a moment to read the latest blogs. Imagine my surprise when I saw a photo of the very first residence I ever built. I am primarily a commercial developer, but when the boss asks you to build him a house….So I sighed and thought, “Oh no, what did Martin say about this?” and read on.
It was actually while building this house that I joined this website so I could learn more. So I knew I had to respond to the article so that I, and perhaps others, can learn. Plus it seemed wrong to come here to ask questions and not give back when the very rare opportunity arises.
First I will give some specs on the building. It is set on helical piers with breakaway panels on the lower level, has structural steel framing with wood stud infill, 6-8 inches of open-cell SPF, Zip System sheathing, and Jeld-Wen hurricane-rated windows and doors.
I will also give some background in defense of the architect. The towers were incorporated to allow the owners to have a view of both Boston and the sunset from their home, while staying within the restrictions of the zoning by-laws. The many steel balconies and cat-walks were to pay homage to the owners’ occupation, which is a steel erection. The design also keeps the expansive decks shaded throughout most of the day, while offering privacy from the neighbors when on the deck. Though large, the home is smaller than the previous structure, and an effort was made to increase the view and light that came through for the neighbors. It is also a summer residence with very limited winter use. Thus the owners were not primarily interested in energy efficiency (I am just the messenger) and had other items they devoted their budget to. Finally, the owners love their home and are very happy with the design.
Martin timed his visit perfectly, as the house started being re-painted last week. Actually, depending on when he visited he may have seen the house before being repainted, but after being power washed. This may be semantics, but when talking to the painter I said the shingles were worn, versus being stained. I am not sure if that makes a difference. Martin could not see it from the beach, but there is some staining/mildew on the siding near the deck, where there is another smaller flare out. The shingles (Cabot Cavalry) were mostly factory dipped, except for some of the arches and upper levels which were locally dipped due to the architect rejecting the arches a few times and a six week lead time from the factory for more shingles.
To answer Lucas, the shingles were faded on the inside of both of the towers, but not on the outsides. This was strange to me as the sides not shown in photo take the greatest brunt of the winter storms. I had thought it was due in some way to the cat-walk, but after seeing the photos I am not too sure. I must now consider that it could be errors in the detailing as well. I wish this article could have come out before the repainting, so I could investigate better.
I know I am not really adding too much here, but I am not too sure what else to add. I will answer any other questions I can. Of course, Martin, if you ever plan to be back in the area I would happily ask the owners if you could take a closer look; then after that we can relax on the deck. I will bring the beer.
Response to Kevin Karlberg
Kevin,
Thanks so much for your informative comments and your kind invitation to share a beer on the deck of the house in the photos.
When I began reading your comments, I experienced an emotion similar to yours. You thought, “Oh no, what did Martin say about this?” I thought, "Oh no -- I bet my drive-by conclusions were glib and misguided!"
Anyway, thanks for sharing the builder's perspective. And I hope we get a chance to have a beer and look closely at the flashing together -- maybe next summer.
the darn screens get in the way
Martin,
Thanks for the very timely post. I'm considering operable shutters to provide shading for a Passive House retrofit. Louvered shutters plus inward opening casements will allow air to come in but not light. Great! But wait, the darn insect screens get in the way of actually operating the shutters as needed on a daily basis for sun control. I'm back to looking at overhangs, awnings, and exterior solar screening unless someone has a good suggestion.
Response to Kristen Simmons
Kristen,
Casement screens are on the interior -- they are easy to temporarily remove and replace.
Kristen, Australia & New Zealand have a solution
First I am a home owner and not a builder, but I am always impressed by quality craftsmanship. In both countries they use a lot of high quality steel widows. I have never seen that quality of window here in the states. Most tend to be stacked awning windows, hinged at the top and pushed out from the bottom, so it presents the issue about screening that you mentioned. Their solution is a screen with a rigid yet flexible magnetic strip about a centimeter wide forming the edging of the screen around the entire perimeter. You just slap it in place over the window frame outside the movable window and handle/locking mechanism. When you want to open the window just grab a corner of the screen and pull back till you can reach the handle, open the widow and just drop the screen. It slaps right back in place because of its rigidity and the fact that most of the screen is still adhered to the steel frame around the window. Just do the same to close the window. By the way I found most glass steel sliding-doors to also be very heavy and of high quality.
Maybe I have gone too far off topic, but I fell in love with the awning windows and sliding glass doors, and what a beautiful, effective and simple screen idea for Steel windows.
I suppose you could router out a wooden window and put in some small steel strips and create the same effect. As to the availability of such screens here, I don't know. I expect someone on these blogs would know. Just some rambling by a non-builder.
Regards,
John
Response to John Chrestman
John,
If you have steel windows, the screens you describe sound like a good solution.
Unfortunately, steel windows are a thermal disaster. Window manufacturers know that if they want decent performance specs, they need to build window frames out of pultruded fiberglass, vinyl, or wood.
Exterior Shutters
I own a company that sells exterior shutters. I find that customers are increasingly concerned about proper size than in the past. We do attempt to educate the consumer and assist in training about proportion. Even though all shutters can be made functional, only about 25% are actually installed with movable hardware. I think about shutters every day, and notice every house and building with shutters that are too small for the opening. Thanks for your article.
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