Hello,
For our single-family home currently under construction, we chose anthracite-colored windows on the outside. The inside of these windows is white. We also decided on the opening directions of the windows. However, we did not specify or approve any further details with our site manager regarding the windows.
The windows have been delivered and installed. They look great until we noticed the position of the handles. They are not centered vertically but rather located in the lower third of the windows. Here are a few pictures:
Of course, we expected the handles to be centered vertically on the windows. Our site manager says this is standard practice and has “always been done this way” by the company, so it is not considered a construction defect.
However, when we look at the handle positions in our current rental apartment and consult other homebuilders, construction companies, and window manufacturers, we come to a different conclusion. In those cases, the handles are centrally positioned, or if no other information is provided, a centered position is assumed.
Our site manager and the contracted window manufacturer explain this positioning with a specific grid system, where the handle height depends on the window height. Here is the document they sent us after installation and upon request:
This explanation makes sense and is understandable. It reduces costs by limiting the number of standard gear mechanisms that need to be produced.
However, we were not informed about this beforehand and are very dissatisfied with the result. After all, we will be seeing these windows multiple times a day for many years.
Does this issue constitute a defect that must be corrected?
Thank you in advance.
Benjamin
For our single-family home currently under construction, we chose anthracite-colored windows on the outside. The inside of these windows is white. We also decided on the opening directions of the windows. However, we did not specify or approve any further details with our site manager regarding the windows.
The windows have been delivered and installed. They look great until we noticed the position of the handles. They are not centered vertically but rather located in the lower third of the windows. Here are a few pictures:
Of course, we expected the handles to be centered vertically on the windows. Our site manager says this is standard practice and has “always been done this way” by the company, so it is not considered a construction defect.
However, when we look at the handle positions in our current rental apartment and consult other homebuilders, construction companies, and window manufacturers, we come to a different conclusion. In those cases, the handles are centrally positioned, or if no other information is provided, a centered position is assumed.
Our site manager and the contracted window manufacturer explain this positioning with a specific grid system, where the handle height depends on the window height. Here is the document they sent us after installation and upon request:
This explanation makes sense and is understandable. It reduces costs by limiting the number of standard gear mechanisms that need to be produced.
However, we were not informed about this beforehand and are very dissatisfied with the result. After all, we will be seeing these windows multiple times a day for many years.
Does this issue constitute a defect that must be corrected?
Thank you in advance.
Benjamin
BennyBvB schrieb:
I hoped so too, but somehow I keep noticing it again and again. Of course, you're currently very focused on it! You even started a separate thread in a building forum, so right now you’re probably noticing every handle in every house, which is completely normal. But you don’t even live there yet! Give the handles a few weeks to settle, and your hope will come true, I promise. 😉
Myrna_Loy schrieb:
If you haven’t addressed the topic of handles, then the manufacturer has simply used their standard solution.Standards are usually not discussed. Window size, features, and the color of the frames. Everything else is reliably left to the general contractor. You don’t discuss the rafter thickness in detail either. Myrna_Loy schrieb:
But soon you won’t even notice it anymore.Hmm... When I read this thread this afternoon, I thought “that’s fine, nothing is standard,” ... and then I glanced at the window handles in my office, which are installed in a similar way. The room is very tall, and so are the windows, which works well in the office.
At home, I don’t have windows like that. Maybe we can compare with our bedroom window, although at the time we didn’t pay attention to the fact that the room height would only be 235 cm (92 inches). Thus, the window isn’t 126 cm (50 inches) tall but only 116 cm (46 inches). (By the way, we don’t even notice it anymore 😉 )
Anyway: A sill height of 100 cm (39 inches) seems quite high to me; our finished floor level is 85 cm (33 inches). So what do your 100 cm (39 inches) refer to exactly?
That would make a difference of 15 cm (6 inches) in height (our bedroom handles are at 115 cm (45 inches)).
BennyBvB schrieb:
Ceiling height is 2.58 m (8 ft 6 in) on the ground floor and 2.62 m (8 ft 7 in) on the upper floor.
The sill height is 1.00 m (39 inches) and the window height for the affected window is 1.26 m (50 inches).Is that the rough structural measurement? How tall exactly are those windows? It’s not a defect. Since your room dimensions are custom, there is no standard measurement related to the frame, only with respect to the general height.
By the way, window handles don’t really affect the overall room appearance or stand out significantly.
Winniefred13 May 2021 11:12To me, the handles look completely normal. On both our old and new windows, the handles are also not in the middle but positioned lower down. I think once your house interior is finished, you probably won’t even notice it anymore. Keep your chin up—there are definitely worse things on a construction site!
Winniefred schrieb:
Chin up, there are definitely worse things in construction! No, I strongly disagree: this is not "just harmless," but ergonomically actually better (except for the very tall individuals over 1.90 meters (6 ft 3 in), who should also inform the planners about their specific height requirements in other areas of the house). The only reason for its rarity is the overwhelming influence of the “Saint Safe-Standard,” the patron saint of the conventional 1.58 meters (5 ft 2 in).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Wow.... I have to admit, I never imagined there would be different handle heights. So I actually went through the house to check for the first time. All my handles are positioned in the middle. So I can understand the original poster’s point. Off-center handles would not work for me either, to be honest.
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