"Standard Window Sizes"

I do structural drafting and the norm is we are working for, or with an
Architect. On occasion we do work for existing home owners that are needing
plans from a Structural Engineer for small home additions. Normally the
window and opening sizes are specified by the Architect for our drawings, so
I have been looking online for a listing of "Standard" or "Typical" window
sizes for use on these occassions without success. It appears that most
window companies can provide any size within a given range for a particular
model, but we would prefer to specify something that they can easily get at
the local home builder supply company without a special order. Can someone
point me to a online reference or post some type of list they use?

 

http://www.andersenwindows.com/UE/ProductGuide/Residential/
http://www.pella.com/products/windows_patiodoors/default.asp?path=/products/windows
http://architect.marvin.com/products/windows.cfm
http://www.lincolnwindows.com

 

Chip:

"Standard" window sizes vary between different areas of the country. I
would advise that you check with local building supply companies on
their most popular sizes.

By the way, thanks for all your contributions to the newsgroup over the
past. I, and all the others, appreciate you and your hard work.

Thanks, again,
Harold

 

<< but we would prefer to specify something that they can easily get at the local home builder supply company without a special order.

I suggest contacting some of the local lumber yards and asking them directly. Ask them for the brands of windows and common sizes for typical rooms in a house; bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, etc.

I would be suprised if one of their sales reps would not be glad to give this information to you. The main reason being that you are specifying a product THEY sell. Depending on how many lumber yards in your area, you may get info. for many major brands.

 

They vary between manufacturers, there aren't really industry-wide standard
sizes as per other construction products. As others have said, if the
projects are local, then contact your local builder supply companies to find
which products are commonly stocked. They might also give some guidance on
commonly-used sizes. What might be a "standard" rather than "custom" size,
for a given manufacturer, will still require a special order if it's not
normally kept in stock.

Also, bear in mind that for residential work, any room used for sleeping
must have an operable window of a certain minimum size to meet emergency
egress requirements. Egress windows will be identified by the manufacturer.
Code officials often -- but not always -- interpret any enclosed room, with
a door and a closet, as being a potential bedroom, regardless of its label
on the floor plan, and require it to have an egress window. You should find
out how your local building department treats this issue.

 

Thanks to everyone for their input. Looks like I'm in for a trip to a supply
house.

 

Your Welcome. I'm just trying to help others like many have helped me.

 

Before I joined the land of CAD-topia, I worked in the home department of a department store. Among the stock that we sold were window mini-blinds. I learned very quickly that there ain't no such thing as a "standard" window. Another thing I learned is that customers are the funniest things. Just like clients, I guess.

 

Anderson and Pella have lines of "stock" window sizes for quicker shipping. Both companies have these on CD-ROM for the asking.

Marvin is a high quality line but no "stock" sizes.

In the upper midwest, there is Weathershield and Hurd but these are generally considered a sort of second tier quality.

There is one company, Eagle Window and Door Co., in DuBuque, IA , 1-800-324-5354, that makes an excellent line of windows on par with Andersen and Pella. Their stuff is also available on CD-ROM

 

Chip, a few further thoughts...

You mentioned "window and opening sizes" on architect's drawings. On a "custom" or "ful service" job, the architect would usually assist the owner in selecting every component and finish, and specify all these things in detail, so the builder can quote a firm price on a well-defined quality level. In those cases, we'll usually show the exact model numbers of the selected windows, and give the corresponding "rough opening" dimensions for the framer's convenience. But of course these services cost time and money.

On a minimal "builder's" set of drawings, we'll keep things much more generic in order to hold down our fee, if that's what is desired. I would guess that this is your situation, since an architect isn't in the loop. The assumption is that the owner and builder will make all the detailed decisions, such as choice of window manufacturer, which aren't specified on the drawings.

There are a large number of "traditional" window sizes which were more or less standardized, back in the days of plain old wooden window units. Many vendors still make windows within an inch or so of those sizes, in addition to new sizes. But the actual size of the window unit, and therefore the rough opening dimension, will vary among vendors. Sometimes the "nominal" size is the actual outside frame dimesnion; sometimes the frame is slightly smaller than the nominal dimension. So you can't give a rough opening size without knowing the actual choice of window unit.

In these cases we give only a nominal window size and description, such as 2'-8" x 5'-6" double hung, based on our library of 250 or so "common" window sizes. Dimension the window to center of opening and leave it to the builder to find the closest available window size and calculate the rough opening needed.

Our generic sizes are loosely based on Pella sizes for various windows -- double hung, casement, and fixed units. However these are fairly "high end" windows and you may need something more like "second tier" quality -- such as whatever the local Home Depot stocks. You'll need to derive your own "generic" sizes from whatever is easily available locally. I'd suggest rounding up the actual unit dimensions to the next whole inch, and give it that way without reference to the manufacturer. Leave the owner/builder some lattitude for making their own selection, otherwise you're probably getting more involved than your fee justifies.

As I mentioned, any window in a "sleeping" room must be sized for egress, and local code interpretations can vary on where this is required. Also, windows in certain locations are required to be tempered glass for safety, and again some building departments interpret this differently. Normally it's the builder's responsibility to verify these requirements. If you're denoting windows in a generic way, as I think you should, it's not a bad idea to add a couple of general notes reminding the contractor to verify egress and glazing requirements for all windows. Windows of the same nominal dimension from different manufacturers may have different clear opening dimensions for egress puposes, due to differnces in frame design.

Hope this helps.

 

It's not a good idea to "help" the "framer" by furnishing R.O. information. If it's somehow incorrect, YOU are responsible.

Contractor's normal activities should be covered in a written set of specifications based on Construction Specifications Institute practices and recommendations. Sounds like we're talking residential architecture here but that does not dismiss the need to have written specifications to cover all those little things that can't easily be expressed via drawings.

Written specifications can answer a lot of questions before they're asked.

 

It's not a good idea to "help" the "framer" by furnishing R.O.
information. If it's somehow incorrect, YOU are responsible.

That's what I said. I gave him a pretty detailed explanation of why he
shouldn't be anywhere near that specific on a minimal set of plans.

In a different scenario, things could be different. If the window selection
has been definitively made, and the exact units chosen in conjunction with
the manufacturer's rep, there's no good reason not to provide RO
information. Of course, it could somehow be wrong -- so could anything else
on the drawings! Transposing numbers in the window's model number would be a
more serious and expensive error, if it didn't get caught, than getting the
RO wrong. In high-end residential work, it's not uncommon to provide both
the model number and the RO on a window schedule.

dismiss the need to have written specifications to cover all those little
things that can't easily be expressed via drawings.

Read the post. It's a structural firm doing plans for small home additions.
No architect involved, and it's implicit that these are pretty minimal
plans. I've never seen a job of that nature that contained enough design fee
to do detailed specs. As I said, the drawings will generally cover only the
basics and the owner and builder will settle on "all those little things"
between themselves. If there was money to hire an architect to do an all-out
job, the question wouldn't have been posted.

Most residential work, except at the extreme high end, is done without
detailed formal CSI specs and usually without even having a detailed
owner/builder contract. For better or worse, it's a much more loose and
casual approach than is normal in other kinds of construction.

 

Check out CGI Windows -- www.cgiwindows.com

They have the Industries Best Impact Resistant Windows and coming out soon with a New Impact Single Hung with PSF testing over +/- 150 ..Check them out..Single Hung is due by end of the year to early next year...Best French Doors in Industry..All Aluminum Products simulating Wood..

 

Sorry to get back to this so late. "Detailed specs" as you refer to them are intended to cover not only issues of quality and performance but also contractual matters referred to a General Conditions. I DID read the post and the fact that it's a structural engineering firm doing small house additions is NOT a rationale for omitting some written specifications covering issues which cannot be adequately communicated to all parties graphically.

In 35 years at this type of work, it's my experience that the little projects give the most heartburn and time expended for which the professional is usually not compensated.

 

In 35 years at this type of work, it's my experience

Please, I beg you, take your concepts of how a one-room house addition
should be properly done, complete with 5 lb project manual and full suite of
AIA documents, and deliver this all as a speech to your local home builder's
association next monthly meeting.

Be sure to include a fee schedule for having a licensed professional
generate sufficient paperwork to paste over the entire actual project
several layers deep -- more square feet of verbiage than total surface area
of the addition.

I'm sure they will find it very entertaining. You could probably book a tour
of HBA's as a comic act.

 

Dear : Don't dump on me because you have worked with architects who don't fully understand what they're doing (or it sounds like you don't).

The role of the builder is to build the building, period!

The role of the architect is to provide the minimum graphic and WRITTEN documentation necessary to properly communicate what is to be built, where it is to be built, how the various components are to be assembled in relation to each other, and the quality of materials and performance expected (the written part), period!

Try working sometime with professionals who are NOT content to "let the contractor work it out in the field"; you might actually enjoy the experience!