Installing windows backwards in Midwest

[Rachelz]

I did look at old threads and saw several people mentioned installing windows backwards. Is this something you can/ would be OK to do in the Midwest where we get lots of snow? Fall and spring are very capricious so we might have great weather for a week, then it snows in May! Any downside to backward window installation?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Honestly, I never heard of it. In my coops, even though only a couple have glass windows, even those are always wide open year round. The amount of snow that can get in is minimal even in the worst storms. Doesn't faze chickens. The critical thing for chicken health is maximum fresh air. On one building that only has one glass window, there is always a box fan on the window sill blowing into the building 24/7 twelve months out of the year. Never had a sick bird. Oxygen trumps warmth.

 

[wrathsfarm]

I installed a storm window in one of my coops. I could raise the bottom half or lower the top half and it opened from outside. On the inside I stapled screen up with t 50 staples to cover the whole window to stop bugs and bees. (Did no good). I then stapled 1/2" HC with 3/4" galvanized fence staples just enough to hold in place.
Over that a stapled 2" x 4" fencing every where wire met wood near opening and then screwed trim to cover staples and cuts. I liked that I could just run out and open/close window without having to go into the coop, especially at night if a storm popped up.

Don't have a pic of inside but hopefully I explained it enough for you. These pics were taken before the coop was finished.

 

[aart]

I did look at old threads and saw several people mentioned installing windows backwards. Is this something you can/ would be OK to do in the Midwest where we get lots of snow? Fall and spring are very capricious so we might have great weather for a week, then it snows in May! Any downside to backward window installation?

Do you mean a standard double hung window installed so the top opens instead of the bottom?

Installing a window other than suggested by manufacturer can lead to leakage. There are ways around it depending on how the coop is configured for precipitation shedding(roof overhangs etc).

 

[perkolator]

Leaks will happen - windows have an integrated drain for any water that gets in the channel and routes water to the exterior side, which would leak to the interior if installed in reverse. I suppose you could plug the holes, but then the water won't drain from the channel and it'll likely overflow and have water get in regardless. That angled window could work in reverse install though, as water wouldn't sit inside the channel

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Leaks will happen - windows have an integrated drain for any water that gets in the channel and routes water to the exterior side, which would leak to the interior if installed in reverse. I suppose you could plug the holes, but then the water won't drain from the channel and it'll likely overflow and have water get in regardless. That angled window could work in reverse install though, as water wouldn't sit inside the channel

Right. That's why I can't conjure the reason for either upside down or backwards. Perhaps another reason I made my own windows. After all, they are chicken coops. I had 6 of them.

 

[Penpal]

If the window is set backwards it can open from the outside and be locked or unlocked from the outside. One of those photos shows a slider. It opens left to right instead of up or down. If left unlocked it can be opened from the outside, I have done it when I locked myself out of the house.