Window quilts
Hi, I’m planning to make Warm Window quilts/Roman shades for the windows in our home. The house was built in 1914 and we’ve gutted and renovated the house by building an interior wall to give us 9-11” deep window wells. My question is should the placement of the shade be on the trim of the window (which I prefer so that I don’t lose light coming in from the folded shade at the top of the window) or should i place it a half inch away from the glass? My concern with installing it on the trim is that it would create a deep enough pocket of air that would create a convection current to happen between the window and the shade. If that were to occur would it be pulling warm air from the inside of the house? The Warm Window material is not a fully air sealed system. The material has a layer of Mylar sewn between two polyester batting layers plus it has a piece of backing towards the window and the designer fabric on the inside of the shade. My understanding is that because the Mylar is sewn to connect to the other fabrics, the needle holes mean that it isn’t air sealed. Is my concern about a convection current occurring an issue? Or will it still keep more heat in than not having any window covering? We are located in zone 6A, coastal Maine.
Thank you!
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
Yes your quilts will stop a lot of heat loss but understand the glass will now be much cooler and likely to fall below the dew point of the air in your home. When the glass is below the dew point water will condense and runs down the frames and sills. The relative humidity of the room will be lowered and keeping paint on the windows maybe a challenge. If you allow the water to accumulate the wood may be damaged.
I am not saying don’t do it just understand it is a double edged tool and it cuts both ways.
Walta