Victorian Bay Window Roof Construction

Replacing timber sash windows with sealed double glazed units without any compen.

Victorian bay window roof construction.

Bay window italianate late to the party in the 1880s these took over flat front italianates when lot sizes got smaller which resulted in using bay windows to increase square footage. Bay windows are typically rectangular or polygonal and the most common internal angles are 90 135 and 150. Don t get me wrong. Dating from the time of construction is compounded by gradual erosion of materials over time long term neglect of mainte.

These original bay windows are usually found in reception rooms most commonly at the front of the house. In the 1980s many victorian houses had their roofs re clad with large interlocking concrete tiles. House builders in the late victorian and edwardian eras took advantage of the new regulations and presented their windows in bays which allow more light into the building. When a bay window is installed on a gabled end or in the middle of a wall and there s no roof overhang right above it a small roof or skirt must be built over it.

Roof skirts must also be built above any window that sticks out beyond an overhanging eave. Being relatively heavy they have caused some roofs to sag alarmingly. Large bay window on a small house. Also it is common for small trees to be planted in the front gardens of victorian properties which draw water from the soil and can cause the bay.

Cracking around bay windows. Bay windows encompass all aspects of masonry measuring setting out template making banker work carving and fixing. The bay windows usually had their own roof made of tiles or lead. Canted bay windows with a straight front and angled sides became a particularly fashionable and popular characteristic of middle class victorian houses and villas.

I seem to be the go to man in southwest london for bay windows. You may also want to install long screws to affix the board even more securely. Interlocking concrete tiles also look clumsy and are unsuitable for areas where intricate detailing is required such as on bay windows. Bay windows proved popular and continued to be incorporated in a large number of houses built in the 1920s 1930s and beyond.

Bay windows are a prominent feature of victorian domestic architecture but were originally incorporated into designs during the english renaissance period as a means of making a room appear larger providing better views and admitting more natural light than a window which was flush with the wall line. A common problem that occurrs with bay windows is that they have often have little in the way of foundations and so settle at a different rate to the rest of the house.