Balcony within the loft space
This is an idea implemented by the owner of a single-family house who flooded the renovated loft space with natural light by installing FAKRO Galeria balcony window.
“For us Italians a house is a great value, especially when our family lives here for many years. We mean a wooden house typical for pre-Alpine valleys, built in 1951 on the outskirts of Pinerolo (Turin) which is now used by the third generation of owners.”
After sixty years of operation, the entire building has undergone a thorough renovation, thanks to which it has gained usable space under the roof, creating a specific studio – library, guest room, bathroom and technical room.
Renovation works included such operations as structural reinforcements required for anti-seismic protection, elimination of moisture appearing on the walls, improvement of energy-efficiency performance as well as complete replacement of the roof structure with characteristic planes of varying inclination angles.
The current owner explains: "Taking advantage of tax deductions for thermal modernization of the building we have made only slight technical changes (keeping dimensions of the building) that allowed us to install more durable beams and apply insulation materials under a new roof covering material.
In practice, the previously existing roof was entirely removed and then rebuilt with a new wooden truss. After completion of works related to the insulation of external walls, the house has been renovated without destroying those architectural features that make it stand out among surrounding buildings.
South-facing roof with a pitch of 35° has been equipped with a solar panel consisting of photovoltaic modules and thermal collectors used for generating electricity and water heating for own purposes. Two FAKRO Galeria balcony windows were installed between the panels, which in addition to providing direct influx of fresh air and high quantities of natural light, present new external appearance of the house".
Why these windows have been chosen?
“The law on the loft conversion applicable in the Piedmont region (Regional Act 21/1998) states that all spaces below 1.6m in height should be enclosed by walls or fixed furniture, but it is not required to close such places near direct light sources. Therefore, our goal was to gain an additional bright space by installing balcony windows that allow for full use and illumination of the studio and library space which passes the light on further to other rooms.
After the market research, having regard to the design assumptions concerning the distance between new roof beams, FAKRO balcony windows turned out to be the most suitable solution. We are proud of this choice as these windows allow us to enjoy the outdoor surroundings thanks to panoramic view from the balcony which is created by two sashes”.
A roof window manufactured by FAKRO was also used to ventilate the bathroom.
Innovative windows to be fitted within the attic space
FAKRO FGH-V P2 Galeria is an innovative, large roof window whose sashes when opened create a balcony.
The upper top hung sash opens upwards protecting the space below, while the lower sash can be tilted forwards, and thanks to the built-in rails creates a small balcony, allowing easy access to its recess.
When closing the lower sash, balcony rails are hidden inside the window and are not visible above the roof surface. Elements concealed under the window flashing do not collect dirt or spoil aesthetics of the roof. Once the balcony window is open, barriers are always dry and clean to secure trouble-free operation.
Operation of the window is extremely easy. The sash when rotated through 0° - 45° is supported by an innovative supporting mechanism which allows leaving the open sash in any position within this range, while a special lock enables safe and easy cleaning of the outer pane.
Handle in the lower part of the upper sash comes with two-step micro-opening and the V40P automatic air inlet enables room ventilation, even with the sashes tightly closed.
The window is manufactured in vacuum impregnated high quality pinewood coated with two layers of ecological acrylic varnish. It is equipped with the topSafe system which improves resistance to break-in attempts.
Galeria balcony windows can be fitted with a wide range of internal and external accessories.
The FGH-V P2 window comes with a safe, single-chamber glazing unit 4HS-14-33.2T filled with argon (Ug 1.1 W/m²K) with external glass toughened and internal glass laminated, anti-burglary class P2A. Despite large dimensions (255cm in height, 78 and 94cm in width), FAKRO FGH-V P2 balcony window features very good parameters:
- Uw 1.5 W/m²K;
- soundproof performance Rw 35 dB.
The window is suitable for pitches from 35° - 55°.
