I asked a builder why this was, and he said that the lateral forces created by a slightly tilted window has just enough force to rip the entire side of a house clean off due to houses having the structural integrity of wet newspaper, which is the preferred construction method in the States
US people, dry your newspapers before building your houses!
can’t tell if this is a troll or not. youre telling me people outside the states think we live in wet newspaper?
Well not wet newspaper exactly but I heard you have walls so thin the neighbours can hear your cell division
That’s how we got classics like Shut up, little man!
Depends on where you live. The US is huge and has a wide variety of building codes. I personally never hear my neighbors
I mean it exists for sure, but not something people expect when moving in places. usually correlates to the cost and age. decibels wise, it’s not too different than Europe imo. I lived in France and mother fuckers be yelling from their windows all day. I also lived in Germany and the walls are thick as shit, but mother fuckers have their windows open all day and yodelling. if you live near people, you’ll hear them some way or another. renting in the US is also much simpler. fuck Germany’s renting culture shit.
You’ve… you’ve never been out of your state, have you? 😂
People don’t…shout at eachother out of windows! What sort of savage would do that?
Oh, the ones in the movies you watched about Yurp. 😂
Hitting a wall and having any chance of the wall breaking isn’t really a thing outside the US. Everyone elsewhere notices that a lot in movies and videos. It’s not uncommon for children outside America to ask adults why Americans have paper walls. People being mad and punching a wall and putting a fist-sized hole in it, falling and breaking the wall or throwing anything and the thing getting stuck in the wall. In most of the world it’s you or the thing hitting the wall that’ll break, not the wall itself.
To clarify, the paper (and rock underneath it) are not the structural part of the house, they just cover the actual structural parts (the studs) and provide a pocket to fill with insulation.
The wall isn’t the structural integrity part of the house. And that’s for interior walls. You’re getting your opinions from the questions that children ask in other countries?
It’s an intentional exaggeration, but it’s true that houses in the US are usually built without a proper foundation and with thin walls.
They’re built differently depending on where you live in the states and your environment. I know y’all love staying ignorant to feel superior but this one is still pretty dumb. People in Japan practically have paper walls and I don’t see you guys all up your snobby butts about that. Xenophobic turds. It would take people 10 seconds to learn why some of our houses are built the way they are but they won’t bother if they haven’t by now because they prefer the ignorance.
You’re taking this a bit too seriously, man. It’s like when we joke about the British having fucked up teeth. Just ribbing each other.
It’s preferred because it’s cheap.
Nobody wants to pay a stone mason to put brick on the exterior of their homes. They used timber for a long time, but now all the new houses I’ve seen use the metal studs, which sounds great on paper until you realize it’s basically sheet metal stamped into a U kind of shape that’s the same size as a 2x4. It’s enough to hold up the drywall and maybe some pictures/paintings on the wall plus the occasional wall-mounted TV, but give it a couple hundred pounds of weight and it’s going to crumple into itself like aluminum foil.
Honestly, most of the strength in the wall is now because of the drywall. The “studs” just keep them from falling over.
Not saying timber was all that much better, but it could at least support someone standing on the top plate of a wall without folding in on itself.
Can I get my house built from concrete board instead?
I wish I could have a stone masonry building. My friend’s family used to own a hotel built by a stone mason. He invited us out to watch the company who bought it try to demolish it. Apparently they weren’t expecting proper brick and mortar to be so strong.
Yep, and a lot of modern brickwork isn’t designed to be structural, so many of the components used are basically poor substitutes for the “real deal” so to speak.
Stonework can be the strongest part of the building, or just little more than a facade.
In a nearby town, the second story brickwork of a building came off of the structure and fell into the sidewalk and road. I don’t believe anyone was hurt, but the point is, sometimes, the brickwork is little more than just a wall. Other times, it’s basically keeping the building upright. In that case, the building didn’t go anywhere after losing the brickwork.
I’m sure in your example, the brickwork was providing the primary support structure for the building, and it was built far better than what fell off of the building in my example.
Lol! Imagine thinking this is true.
Lol imagine reading this as a true statement. Fiction books must fuck you right up 😂
Bro read War of the Worlds and started prepping his bunker
Can you please explain to me exactly why and how it was objectively obvious that OP’s comment was meant to be taken as some kind of joke or satire?
Because if you can’t, I have to think that you are little more than an arbitrarily condescending piece of shit.
Ok, I’ll walk you through it. I am OP btw
I believe the basic structure is called a “bait and switch”, a fairly common writing trick
I asked a builder why this was, and he said that the lateral forces created by a slightly tilted window
This is the “bait” bit. It sounds like a real comment so far
has just enough force to rip the entire side of a house clean off
This is the part where, if you didn’t have the reading comprehension of a six month old duck, you’d start to realise that, perhaps this wasn’t a serious comment. There’s no way a slightly tilted window is ripping the entire side of a house off, surely? That’s the “switch”
due to houses having the structural integrity of wet newspaper,
This line is pretty much only there as a setup to the next line. Houses, I’m sorry to inform you, do not have the structural integrity of wet newspaper. That would be as dangerous as it is impractical
which is the preferred construction method in the States
This bit, unsurprisingly, isn’t exactly true either
I hope, now that I’ve broken the comment into its constituant parts, that you’re rolling on the floor, clutching your aching ribs and laughing tears of joy.
Explaining jokes always makes them far funnier
In this case it’s true, I am laughing more at this than the actual joke (which I also laughed at). This back and forth was the setup and the explanation is the punchline.
It’s like when Americans say British people have fucked up teeth. I don’t actually believe that, I just say it to make British people mad.
Mocking our construction is a European joke that they love because it makes Americans mad. Simple as
Should’ve installed linux 🤷
Should’ve installed velux
Velux just gone through the roof!
I am referring to Linux as ‘tilted Windows’ from now on and you can’t stop me.
No, Mac is tilted Windows, and Linux is open Windows.
I work in a hotel.
One day, a family comes to the reception to tell me that their window is broken, asking me to change their room. I ask if I can take a look.
It turns out, they didn’t know the existence of tilt & turn windows and were scared that the window was going to fall down lol
I’d settle for socialized healthcare
Oh the windows came as part of the deal.
No they didn’t. I’m in Canada and we have socialized healthcare and I didn’t get any damn tilting Windows.
I’ve been lied to!
Damn, that’s a tough decision
How dare you. Just for one second think of someone other than yourself. How do you think the pharmaceutical companies are gonna feel about that? Or their poor shareholders? Pfizer’s CEO only made $33 million last year. How the hell do you expect him to feed his kids when he’s not making that much because your precious healthcare system ate into his meager earnings. The medical corporations are barely scraping by!!
It’s the breeze, isn’t it?
Jokes on you, my windows make a light breeze when shut!
Put a screen in that fancy window and then we’ll talk.
Yeah who the hell wants moths and mosquitoes in their house
It is truly bizarre how Europeans never use screens, make it make sense!!
We had them in Italy. But we also didn’t have these weird windows. Also stop acting like Europe is a small town on an island.
I honestly don’t think of Europe as a small town, I promise- I’m just saying I’ve been in many brilliant countries across Europe and I swear to you that I’ve never seen a screen. Where is the spider protection, I ask you?!
This should be particularly important, I think, in the Scottish Highlands, land of midges, who want nothing more than to feast on your flesh. Still, not a screen in sight, although I must admit you certifiably need a very fine screen to prohibit those pesky wee bastards. There seems to be a sort of gentlemen’s alliance though because it seems that the midge rarely enters a human dwelling, maybe out of fear of pure Scottish fury, but mark my words … they sit and wait.
I will digress also that in our defense, Scots do use midge nets when camping unless we’re on our 10th Tennant’s, in which case it’s really no bother
Its not like the few mosquitoes we have would be smart enough to enter my room through the sides of a lightly tilted window.
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There are no mosquitoes in the UK. And moths are rare. Would be lucky to see a fly.
There are definitely mosquitos in the UK. They piss me off every summer.
No wonder your country is a superpower. We have the other windows in the USA because we do get these flying bastards.
There are screens for tilt windows. You put them on the outside instead of the inside.
Yeah, but most places in Europe don’t have screens regardless.
American with these windows. I have screens. I also don’t like them very much.
Imagine not having screens in your windows.
This post was made by the flying insects gang.
I’m in the US and have these windows. They have screens. They’re also not that special. I prefer the regular windows
I was starting to wonder if Europe didn’t have insects, because the hotels I’ve stayed in (in Europe) that had them didn’t have screens for them.
We have civilized insects, they respect our privacy and don’t enter unless they must.
You’re joking but that’s basically it, it’s just not an issue in most places.
I have these windows in Moscow, Russia since recently (had old windows with separate wooden frames with thick glass made somewhere about 70s, they looked nice though) and like that I can the the sill as a table with laptop and tea and some stuff now, and tilt it instead of moving the laptop aside.
Ah yes, the good old Russian anti-defenestration windows. I assume you have the FSB-mandated variant that is capable of both tilting and swinging, for… ease of access?
In America we have to keep our windows closed to keep out the fent smoke and bullets.
your walls won’t save you from the latter tho
Bullets are not ghosts, they can’t go through walls, stupid
They can go through shitty American drywall
post brought to you by brick wall gang
If bullets can go through drywall then why am I allowed to shoot anyone who enters my home? That would clearly be dangerous /s
Rifle rounds will go right through brick too unless they’re as wide as cinder blocks and filled. Shit’s scary.
I think it’s a joke that American houses (in the eyes of Europeans) are made out of sticks (stud framing in the house) and paper (drywall is made from gypsum and has a paper backing)
In European countries, their houses are made of tougher materials like stone, concrete, or some other material I’m forgetting about
It’s a known thing in America that stray bullets end up in people’s houses (and sometimes their residents) when it’s an American holiday like 4th of July or Memorial Day
America tends to build with the cheapest materials. So wood framed houses are clad in wood or plastic
Australia copied a lot from America. Our houses also are wood framed, but we use brick cladding and concrete tile roofs
New tech is more available now. If I were to build today it would be out of foamed plastic and reinforced concrete (as insulated concrete forms). And I’d use tilt/swing windows
yeah in some states like the Tornado Alley or California (earthquakes) ig that might actually make more sense since sometimes such materials might withstand more force than brick
Not an issue in Australia, but I bet brick stops or slows bullets more than wood
Our brick construction doesn’t do well in earthquakes. If a roof is going to fall on you, you don’t want it made of tiles
Yeah pretty fucking unthinkable
One European downvoted you for speaking the truth
I downvoted because I’m French.
I downvoted you because you’re French.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but that style of window doesn’t allow you to open it fully, right?
They open fully. The tilt feature is 10-15 degrees, but they swing open fully like a casement window in the US. At least the ones I used did.
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You can have screens. I don’t understand why everyone thinks these windows don’t have screens
Not if they rotate 90 degrees like others are saying unless it’s some sort of magic screen
The screen just stays in the “hole” of the window. Doesn’t matter if the window is tilted or fully swung open. Very simple.
I was talking about the window in the picture in the comment I replied to.
Yeah I mean of course not in a prison. Which cell block is that?
Opening from the bottom is inherently worse
it’s inherently superior because you can have the window slam onto the fingers of a person trying to crawl in through the window
In Europe we use roller shutters for that
You can have them on residential buildings‽
I live in Europe and I have only seen them in commercial settings to protect store and stuff.
You can have them where you want. They makes some nice things nowadays.
It’s pretty normal to have them on every window, at least in Germany
Here, integrated window blinders are very common. But if you don’t have them you will probably use some sort of curtains (either normal or roll down).
They open from the top as well.
At that point why do you even need windows?
The worse part is now they’re built cheaply so the screen is only the bottom half. You can still open the top, or from both top and bottom for convection, but now you get bugs
If you get windows one step above “cheapest available” you get a moveable screen.
Windows are the kind of thing that are generally built locally for multiple reasons. So your experience will vary greatly based on what the window factory in your area is doing.
Where I live, single hung windows (only one sash) are most common, so only one screen is needed. Double hung windows are less common because people don’t want to pay for the expense of the additional sash (a lot of springs and mechanisms needed for a sash). A screen is an expense too, but nowhere near the expense of an additional shaft. Possibly the intent was to allow for opening the top to making cleaning easier, but that’s usually accomplished by having the top “fixed” portion of the single hung window be able to tilt out because putting all the springs and mechanisms for an additional sash for a feature to make it easier to clean isn’t necessary.
Yeah… I worked at a window factory before. The calculations needed to figure out the tension needed on the springs so that it will counter the weight of the sash was fun.
It entirely depends on who installed the windows and what brand. Our windows are amazing and high quality.
At least you get screens. Where I live mosquitoes are common and yet screens are very rare.
Ok, our windows can open from the sides or tops as well :D
That window design looks like it would never seal properly. Here in Germany any window from the last 30 years or more will not let any air in when its fully closed.
Why wouldn’t it seal?
It seals. There’s a small recess underneath the window lined with weather stripping that when pressure is applied from closing the window and even locking it, it becomes air tight.
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We actually have the opposite issue. Windows here seal so well that indoor air quality slowly drops if you don’t run the central fan all day.
While I agree that our windows are generally superior from a functional perspective, the Americans have us beat in the fact that you can’t install a window AC unit in our windows.
Hence we get to just die in the increasingly common heat waves. Not great - we’ve got to figure this one out.
Before portable ACs are mentioned - I’ll point out that they have terrible efficiency, and connecting the tube to blow out the hot air is still terrible with European windows.
Mini split heat pumps.
All you need is a 3cm hole in the wall to run a refrigerant line from the outside heat pump unit to the wall unit.
Window AC units are pretty poor efficiency too, IIRC
What if I can’t make a 3cm hole cuz I’m a rentoid?
Make a temporary 3cm hole
I rent and could install AC because it is a home improvement. You could ask if it is allowed.
I’m sure if you pay the AC unit yourself nobody will oppose lol
Rent a place with air con installed?
There are the freestanding air conditioners. They have a hose you put in the window. There are plastic seals you can buy that fit in the windows to seal off the exhaust. They aren’t perfect but they are better than nothing.
And this is a thread about how those won’t work with European windows
I live in Europe, have one, and they work just fine thank you. They just don’t put the whole unit in the window. See here
That looks like shit
This is likely going to be the answer, yeah, but I believe we need to see some improvements in installability for the average person - a window AC unit does afaik not require a specialist to install, while a mini split, while possible to tackle for a handy person, is a lot harder, leaving the average person to have to pay for someone to install the unit.
Window ACs are not the best from an efficiency perspective, but they do beat portable units by a large margin.
EDIT: looks like it might actually not even be legal in the EU to install a mini split yourself - you need to be certified to handle the refrigerants.
Installation is also more than 50% of the total cost of acquisition, so we’re hitting upon an affordability issue here as well.
I’ve just been looking into this in the UK (so Europe, but not EU).
You can now get split units that come pre-filled with a safer refrigerants that a DIYer is allowed to do themselves.
I would still get an electrician to do the electrical side though. 1KW constant load should definitely be on its own circuit.
Yeah that’s a good point about affordability. I guess I’d hope for government subsidies or at least supply & demand market forces to address that before it becomes an essential thing, especially if they replace gas boilers too as a move to reduce carbon emissions.
In the world of theoretical wild policies, there’s a really good argument for subsidizing heat pump installation for places heating with fossil fuels or direct electricity at more than 100% of the cost of installation. I’d love to see that kind of project. One can mostly just dream, though.
Not true, modern window units are very efficient
Window mounted units are still terrible for comfort. External AC unit is like 300 euro + 300 euro for installation. It’s not a big investment and you get totally silent unit. In Europe people will use portable units if it’s short term and install external one if it’s permanent.
The quoted prices I saw for installation were a lot higher, more like 700 euro, but that probably depends on the cost of labour where you are.
There are also non-monetary aspects to this issue - I’m not allowed to make any modifications to my facade on account of it being made out of asbestos, for example. I’d have to get a specialist to cut the hole to make that work. It’s also a bit tricky to fit in an outside unit - or inside unit for that matter - on my walls.
I’m in complete agreement that mini splits are superior, but the downsides do exist and need to be acknowledged.
Yep, I’m just saying that 90% of people in Europe will simply go with external AC. Where I live most new apartments simply come with central AC installed and roof top units. But that’s in southern Spain, AC is a must.
Absolutely. I’m speaking mostly from a Swedish apartment-perspective, where ACs have been optional basically forever, but the climate crisis is quickly making them more and more mandatory each year.
Integrated AC ftw bebeh
I admit I’m an American and my windows don’t open that way, but I’m not sure why whoever made that meme thinks that means a light breeze can’t come through them. Because… a light breeze can come through them.
Yeah while the European windows are interesting I don’t really get why having a window open 50 different ways is useful. It seems like an over-engineered solution to just cracking the window. I also can’t imagine it’s more reliable than the good ole vertical/horizontal sliding windows which are just a window in a track.
Many houses in the northeast have the old school vertical sliding windows with an extra glass pane that can be dropped in front of the screen. This creates an air insulated barrier between the internal and external glass panes and even on the 100+ year old windows I’ve seen they insulate very well.
Keep in mind, they usually don’t have central HVAC, so opening the window 50 ways is their temperature control. They’re not necessary in the US, but I still think euro windows are neat.
The main purpose in my opinion is that when the window is tilted open, it’s still almost as safe as when it’s closed, while still giving you a breeze inside the house. Keep in mind that this windows are sturdy and quite heavy with often triple glass so is not something you easily brake or force.
Newer model have crazy good insulation.
I get it’s all memes and fun, but I am so tired of this constant ‘Europe does this better’, ‘USA is supreme for that’.
Irrelevant, Canada is clearly better than all of you.
Canada is like USA but with French and you worship Britsh monarchs… Like you tried to get worst of both worlds
But at least the Canadians have healthcare and weed.
Okay I wish we had legal weed
Masses divided are easier to control
They don’t have that problem in Australia.
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The only people that tire of it are the ones who lose the most 🙃
Yes, you’ve clearly won at… uh… tilty windows? Good job 👍
Sounds like something a person lacking in tilty windows would say
Who needs tilty windows when you have ac
It’s like you died halfway through that sentence because of the lack of light breeze and we will never know what word you were trying to type that begins “ac…”
Ac is a common shortening of air conditioner/conditioning
“AC” is. “ac” isn’t.
We also have affordable medical support but it’s getting old bashing USA about that
You know what’s not getting old? Americans as much as Europeans!
10/10 pun.
For the Americans that’s 12 out of half a football field
Please keep it up. We can get on y’all if you ever jail somebody for a Tweet again.
Here’s hoping the school shooting & medical debt memes are in the back of our minds come election time!
The sad thing is that this time we can’t really have fun on you for voting dumb orange man because he’ll probably have negative effects to us too :(
Sorry :(
“Hey guys, constantly bashing each other is getting old”
“That’s because we’re better than you!”
You’re acting way more 'merican than you realize.
I can just slide my window up a bit.
What quantifies a bit in this particular case?
Just a tad. Hope that helps, thanks!
I don’t use windows. I prefer linux
In a world without borders and walls there is no need for windows and gates.
Try not to talk about Linux on Lemmy challenge (impossible): failed.
They aren’t standard in the US, but I promise you these windows exist here. My parents installed them in their home
Yep. Source: am in Colorado and have triple pane tilt turn windows, and know several others with them. They are super nice and slowly growing in popularity.
Anyone who has worked in high-end construction can tell you that they’re very common in rich people’s houses. The reason you don’t see them more often is that most people don’t want to pay for them. Americans tend to value the size of their houses more than anything else, and since McMansion developers know this, windows are one very easy way to cut costs.
They’re also a lot more common in older homes (like mine) because if you’re going to replace all your windows (which you should do for energy reasons), you might as well get the good ones.
I have a middle income home with these windows. I prefer regular windows that go up and down.
