Glazing for a private house in Batumi: windows, panoramas, curtain walls, terraces

Glazing for a private house in Batumi: what we decide before building

Windows in a house by the sea work harder than almost anywhere else: wind-driven rain, salty wind, strong summer sun and damp in winter. We start glazing for a private house in Batumi with the design, not with choosing a profile. The size and position of openings, lintels over wide sliding doors, where the window sits in the wall, sills and flashings are all decided at the shell stage. Leave it until later and the window has to be fitted to the opening rather than the opening to the window, and large glass walls end up dearer and worse.

We install windows in new houses we build ourselves and in shells left by another contractor. Before ordering we go through every opening: what the room is, where it faces, where the wind comes from and where the sun falls, whether it needs a door to the terrace. That decides the system: a bedroom needs warmth and quiet, a door to the pool needs a wide sash without a high threshold, a staircase needs a two-storey curtain wall.

Which windows suit a house by the sea

In one house we often combine profiles matched in one colour outside: uPVC in bedrooms, aluminium in the living room and on doors. A detailed comparison is on the aluminium or uPVC windows page. We do not fit cold aluminium without a thermal break in living rooms: in winter it is wet with condensation every morning.

Glass for Batumi

The main job of glass here is to keep out the sun, not the frost. A large window facing south or west without solar control turns a room into a greenhouse, and the air conditioner never stops. So for living rooms and panoramas we use multifunctional or solar control glass: it lets light in and reflects heat. For bedrooms by a road we fit double glazing with panes of different thickness, which damps noise better. Glass that starts at floor level, glass in balustrades and glass over walkways is laminated: when struck it cracks but stays in the frame.

Installation: where the window sits in the wall

A window lasts as long as its installation joint. We make the joint in three layers: a breathable tape outside that keeps rain out, foam in the middle, and a vapour-control tape inside that stops moisture from the room getting into the foam. If the wall is insulated externally, we set the window forward into the insulation on brackets, so there is no cold corner at the reveal. The sill flashing goes under the frame and under the facade render, with end caps, so that driven rain does not get into the wall. Every joint is photographed before the reveals are closed.

• openings measured after plastering or from the finished levels in the design;
• lintels over wide openings checked for deflection;
• a terrace door threshold flush with the floor and a drainage channel outside;
• trickle vents or ventilation, otherwise an airtight window traps damp in the house;
• insect screens and roller shutters if the house stands empty for long periods.

Large openings: panoramas, sliding doors, curtain walls

For the sea view, living rooms in Batumi are built with glass from floor to ceiling. For such openings there is panoramic glazing with fixed and opening sections, lift-and-slide doors that open half the wall, and bi-fold systems. On staircases and in double-height rooms we install curtain walls on a stick system. If the whole wall of a building becomes glass, that is facade work, described on the facade glazing page.

Terrace, conservatory, balustrades and canopies

A glazed terrace extends the season: in April and November you can sit there without a blanket, and in a downpour the furniture stays dry. A conservatory goes further: a warm glass room with its own roof and heating. Glass balustrades on terraces and balconies keep the view open, and a canopy over the entrance protects the door from driven rain. How such houses work as a whole is described on the houses with a terrace and panoramic glazing page.

How much glazing a house costs

uPVC windows installed cost from 330 ₾ per m² of window, thermally broken aluminium windows from 780 ₾, glulam timber windows from 1 020 ₾ per m². A floor-to-ceiling window with toughened and laminated glass from 1 110 ₾, a lift-and-slide door from 1 500 ₾, a stick-system curtain wall from 780 ₾ per m². Sliding terrace glazing from 1 050 ₾ per m², a turnkey conservatory from 2 580 ₾ per m² of floor area, a glass balustrade from 930 ₾ per linear metre, a glass canopy from 1 380 ₾ per m². A survey and glazing design for a house with a specification and details from 1 080 ₾. The final cost is set after the survey and an agreed estimate.