They are called "casement" windows, specifically turn/tilt operation, and they do exist in the USA. They are typically more expensive than vinyl double hung, and home builders tend to shy away from anything "different" that might scare away home buyers. That's why you don't see them very often.
But if you want them, you can buy them and have them installed. You can even get them in patio door sizes, but the larger the door, the heavier it is when it tilts.
It's really common for people unfamiliar with the door function to lift the handle and think it's locked, and then a strong breeze blows the door inward. Between the noise and seeing the door falling inward, it can be pretty scary.
Source: I worked in construction in the US with European builders who loved these things and couldn't figure out why Americans didn't.
In Italian and French they are caled "Vasistas", from the German "Was ist das?" (What's that?), it's said they called it that way because the first German tourists who saw those windows in France were confused and kept asking for clarifications on how they worked.
In France, a vasistas is a velux roof window. The windows in the picture have been our regular every day windows for a few decades.
Oh really? My bad then. We call those windows from the pic "vasistas" in Italian, and I was always told we copied that word from the French. I just checked whether such a word existed in French, saw that it did, and didn't ask any further questions.
I had to check and apparently a vasistas is originally a transom windows and I’ve one on my house front door. It’s the window panel there is on some doors with worked iron on the other side that you can open but won’t allow people from outside to go in. Historically, people didn’t open the full door when people came to their house, just the window part and German would say was ist das?. And when modern velux windows become popular, they were also nicknamed vasistas by older people for some reason? None of this makes sense.
vasistas
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vasistas
its real, though not necessarily the type of window that you described. also exists in Turkish. i have a Turkish colleague who was very proud to explain the origin of that word to us in Germany :D .
Interesting. Like I said in another comment in Italian it means exactly what I said. From the first line on the topic on Italian wikipedia:
A vasistas (also written wasistas) is a type of window that is also opeaneable on the inside [...]. The system allows the door to rotate down and the opening is delimited by special stops, called opening delimiters.
But apparently, after reading the French wikipedia page they use that word for something else. So it appears that we did steal the word from them, but used it to describe something different.
My expensive vinyl double hung windows in my previous house actually had a casement-like feature and I could easily remove either part. I loved those windows; I wish I could have taken them with me.
I have windows like this in America. But you need 3 hands to work them. I'd kill for a simple lever like that.
You should be able to tilt or turn from the handle. Is it too heavy to maneuver with one hand?
Forget this gimmick, the real yuropean superiority is in proper blinds that are actually designed to block most light. For some reason they are extremely uncommon in north America
I'm going to go absolutely bonkers if I have to deal with one more set of cordless blinds that refuse to lift back up after you pull them down. The unshielded street light that exists only to ensure that I can see my car from my window at night, and shines not only through the cheap pvc but between the slats directly into my retinas, lighting my entire room at least 10 lumens brighter when there's a layer of snow on the ground, is already wearing my sanity quite thin on its own, and I'm not even on the floor that catches the most light from it.
Oh, for their sanity...and it sounds like they're in an environment with cold temps that have snow...blackout curtains will also help with keeping out the cold, keeping heat in. Save on utilities.
I don't want blackout curtains. I like to let some light in the morning and during the day without sacrificing privacy in the early evening if I forget to close them. I also don't like the thick unwieldy material of blackout curtains. Whoever put the stupid street lights out should have to be more considerate of the light pollution they create 😂
Have you thought about installing a blackout cellular shade instead? I bought a shade for this room I'm sitting in that's basically two shades in one: it has a shade that lets in light and one that blacks everything out. If you want daylight, you pull the one shade down, if you want darkness you put that shade fully up, and if you want access to the window you put them both up.
It was IMO pretty affordable. I think the one I bought was around $300, and I have pretty large windows.
::: spoiler Here's what they look like if you're interested
:::
I actually always wanted those since I saw them in my aunt's home but my mom never wanted to pay for them. Then I went to university and lived in various student accommodations. And now that school is done, my next move is in June and I'm actually going to Germany lol.
I'm mostly just lamenting that the american standard is such hot garbage that barely accomplishes what it is designed to do.
Ah gotcha, every apartment I've ever been in and my condo up until I installed these shades had crappy, plastic Venetian blinds that were basically pointless for blocking light...so I agree 100%.
Fair point about the light pollution. In my town they've been replacing the street lights with LED versions and it seems the beams are now more concentrated and lighting the street instead of everything in the proximity.
I hope a change like this may happen to your street in the future.
My dad is a light sleeper and when he has to attend a conference in the US he literally has to bring a sleeping mask to ensure he will be able to sleep properly
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European blinds solve this as well, they are made of plastic and are on the outside of the window, not inside
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At least all countries I've been to have blinds on the outside. Germany and Netherlands have rolling shutters like these: https://www.rollorieper.de/images/rollladen/overview_rollladen_mobile.webp
Southern and Eastern european countries tend to have little doors on the outside like these: https://www.schneider-schoenwalde.de/fileadmin/\_processed\_/3/8/csm_moosgruene-fensterlaeden_d2513c37b0.webp which are made of wood or plastic
I have never been to poland, scandinavia or the baltics, but all countries I've been to have one way or another to completely block light and don't let cats scratch the curtains
How uh do you close them if they're on the outside of the window and you're on the second floor?
But think of the curtains industry! We must protect it
-Some congressional committee, circa 2029
Xommon in central and southern Europe, not sure about northern. They are mostly there to limit sunlight in the summer where the house would be baked otherwise.
They're all over the place in France and Germany. Also saw them a lot in Greece but I didn't visit that many places here tbh
proper blinds that are actually designed to block most light
You mean roll shutters?
Childhood home had both tilt & turn windows along with roll shutters, all imported from Germany in the late 70s when no-one in North America had them. I’m doing a frame-off reno on my current to add exactly those features.
You mean roll shutters?
Yes, I was not sure about the English terminology 😅 I was a bit shocked when I went studying in Canada and discovered they were basically alien technology to them
Some people say this is why Hitler ordered operation Barbarossa. Not smart people , but people.
Glad they're gone
Edit: -6 votes? 😅 Geez Lemmy is even faster at jumping to conclusions than Reddit!
No, those new-fangled bureaucratic politically-correct continental windows from the EU.
Everyone have these in Europe. So good. Can someone please find the patent to figure out who is the best euro country?
You forgot the one where the window is fixated just in one lower corner and it looks so vulnerable and creepy at the same time
The first time that happened to me I freaked out thinking the window was falling out of its hinges.
I still am freaking out every time it happens. What happens if you actually don't scream and fight for your life by pressing against it and putting it back into a closed position immediately? What happens if you just let it happen and let go?
It holds on the one corner until you push it back in.
Source: did this way too often as a kid with our balcony door, accidentally and on purpose
If you let it fall into this position from the original window position, like if you unlock it and wait for a wind gust, it may break the one remaining hinge off and fall flat. Not the best thing to experience, and replacing the window is not either
Oh yeah I should have said, it's certainly not something you should do a lot or keep it like that haha. They're definitely not designed to be in that position.
This isn't even counting the metal window shades. I miss those things so much. Absolute dark.
Can do that with other materials pretty easily
My local home store has cloth ones that are measured to your window and have rails, you just slide them down over the window and it blocks the light 100% eithout heating as much
o yaya as long as it has rails, prolly great! That style is just not nearly as common here from what I've seen. I have not had the same curtain experienceoutside EU. I feel like it's one of those things that's hard to explain.
Mine wasn't fancy electric like this one, but even so, it's so magical to live that life: https://youtube.com/watch?v=QpRg3648gBY
uhhh... what? I'm not trying to disagree with you about the transparency of metal... I'm just saying that I've seen a lot more blackout curtains that miss a spot than I've seen full-coverage curtains that let light through.
Now put some screens in them.
Love those windows. Thought about trying to get some in the US and omg they are expensive here because they’re uncommon.
omg they are expensive here because they’re uncommon.
Encountered the same issue when I wanted double-layer track curtains. Almost ubiquitous in Germany, but unless you order custom, own the place, and can afford to have them installed, all you get in the US is a shitty aluminum rod that's clunky to use and liable to fall out of the holder or get ripped off the wall...
The fourth is where you accidentally put the handle diagonally and all hinges unlock except one bottom corner.
Yeah, I came here to ask if the window falls out if you accidentally turn the handle while it's open from the 2 to the 3.
What's so special about this simple mechanism? Even 50 year old windows can do this here.
They are also everywhere in the ex-USSR countries. I think, China, too, has them, based on the rental properties photos that I've found. I also looked at rentals from India and found lots of them seem to have those weird windows with bars, but on the inside(?). Does anyone know what's up with that?
I have these windows. Perhaps not coincidentally the house was made by a German. The windows were fabricated in Canada though. The technology is leaking.
You can turn the handle into horizontal position, open the window, then turn the handle all the way up , and it will fall a little forward, like both modes combined, and seemingly hanging on just the bottom hinge (it's not, there's just a retracting bar at the top hinge).
You can also usually lock the second mode mid-way by jamming the handle at 3/4 position.
It's when you open all windows for a short time to let a gust of wind rush through the house to refresh the stale air. No shock, just quick 😊
Double paned windows are basically standard.
I looked at getting trippled paned windows a while back, and the benefits were marginal compared to double paned from the same company. It seems that once you're already in the higher end of the market, they don't do much over good double paned.
Yes, but also no. There are a bunch of other factors that contribute to a windows performance; manufacturer, type of gas used in the cavity, spacer material conductivity, thermal bridge free frame design, low e coatings and solar reflectance, and the quality of the installation matters most. Then there's the windows efficiency relative to the rest of the assembly. If it's a building code basic 2x4 wall from 1970 then you're absolutely right, it would be overkill putting some triple pane krypton filled window in. But if you've got a foot of exterior insulation and are pushing a u value of 0.13 on your wall assembly then you need windows to match.
Source: certified Passive House designer, the most demanding energy standard for buildings available, that originated in ..... yup you guessed it, Germany.
I have a relatively new house (built 2006). I came to the conclusion that the extra money spent on triple paned windows would be more effectively spent on improvements elsewhere. Like a heat pump or hybrid water heater.
In the end, we weren't able to swing the windows at all, but did replace our crappy doors.
Sadly code minimums for newer builds haven't really changed drastically in decades. It's all just 2x6 with batt and poly, fundamentals the same as it has been since the 1970s. My 2019 build just had the shower lines freeze because they're against an exterior wall (-30 cold snap, but still).
You're probably right though that a heat pump is a better investment. Redoing the entire building envelope is a big ask if it's not deteriorating and needing work anyway.
Everywhere in Europe. It’s just a meme on tiktok by americans that they are German windows