Privacy glass for bathroom window

[badmofo]

Hello All,

I have a Victorian terrace built around 1890.

I am currently getting all of my sash windows overhauled and draft proofed. I want to take the opportunity to replace the nasty floral glass in my bathroom window, the bathroom is very much overlooked by my neighbour so I need something quite opaque. Can you suggest a glass pattern that would do the job and be in keeping with a Victorian house?

Thanks for reading!

 

[Ian Bond]

There are some interesting designs here...

http://www.barronglass.co.uk/traditionaldesigns.html

Your neighbour's got no business looking! 8)

I take it that the glass in not obscure then? Would you just need to replace 1 pane?

My bathroom window has got a clear upper pane and obscure pattern lower pane. The neighbour would need a long ladder to look in.

 

[badmofo]

Thanks for the reply!

The bottom sash panes are the horrible obscure floral glass and the top sash has 2 clear panes. I want to get all 4 obscured.

I will check out the link.

 

[Ian Bond]

It's not the original glass is it? Perhaps not.

My house didn't have a bathroom designed into it, so the new 'bathroom' was created and a window inserted.

Do you think something similar happened with you house - perhaps a bedroom converted and the lower panes of glass replaced in its window?

Just wondering if it (although not appealing to you) is valuable old glass that may be worth something, or useful to someone if you could get it out intact?

 

[Anita]

We have an old georgian farmhouse and used simple plain, unpatterened "etched" glass in the bottom sash of our bathroom window, which is overlooked by our neightbour, to give us some privacy. We left the top sash clear so that we could still enjoy the view - and given that our neighbour is about 60 feet or so away - the if he can see anything through the top sash - well good luck to him, cos he's got better eyesight than I have!

However in our previous victorian town house - we used one of the Barron glass designs and it worked extremely well in that style of house - however it was far too ornate for our current property which is of a very simple vernacular country style - rather than the posh /grand georgian style.

 

[chuckey]

In my victorian house we had the lower pane of the upstairs hall window obscure. The design was some thing simple, like fleur-de-lyses (clear) about 1/2" across every 2", with the background acid etched. Some thing similar is available still.
Frank

 

[Gervase]

We just used frosted glass in the lower panes of our sashes in the bathrooms. From the outside you can't really tell they're there, but it reassures the guests that the sheep aren't going to laugh at their wobbly bits.

 

[Cloudscape]

If you chose not to make a statement, you could just go for obscured glass.

On this page (chosen only because it gives clear examples) there's Pilkington's 'Stippolyte' (no. 22 - available from any glass merchant), and 24/25 are as minimal as it gets.

Stippolyte rates 4/5 in Pilkington's 5 levels of obscurity and is very innocuous.

Stained glass artists use glasses like these as backing glass sometimes.

 

[Penners]

We just used frosted glass in the lower panes of our sashes in the bathrooms. From the outside you can't really tell they're there, but it reassures the guests that the sheep aren't going to laugh at their wobbly bits.

Beware, though. Our bathroom also has plain frosted glass too, but the visibility of wobbly bits is directly proportional to the closeness to the glass.

If you're standing very close to the window, every wobble is still very apparent...

...if you care to look - which I emphatically do not advise.

 

[K8]

perhaps not the effect you are after, but if the glass was original and you decided not to risk removing it you could fit a frosted film over the top to gain the privacy

 

[alice]

I know that many people don't like the look, but there're several varieties of semi-opaque shades and louvres...and there's always lace curtains.

alice

 

[badmofo]

Stippolyte rates 4/5 in Pilkington's 5 levels of obscurity and is very innocuous.

Hi,

The sash window man left a pilkington brochure, i think i will go for Stippolyte in all 4 panes, the house is a town house / terrace and next doors window is only 3-4 meters away.

Thanks for everyone's input!