Window sizing question

[dougpete]

Greetings -

I am building the 2 story cottage plan, and am planning on making the porch wrap all the way around the building.  On the plans it looks like the upper front windows are 2'6" x 3'6".  Judging by the front elevation sheet, it looks like the 3'6" high windows will fit between the top of the porch roof and the soffit of the main roof.

Is that correct?  (I can't tell from the Porch Section how where on the second floor wall the porch roof comes in)

Doug

[John Raabe]

Yes, the windows on the second floor as drawn are no more than 3'-6" tall. This fits in nicely with the porch roof at a 4:12 pitch. It leaves plenty of room under the window sills for flashing and trim.

The one window that would change for a full wrap around porch is the stair landing window. I will need to go higher.

Additionally, if you wanted deeper windows that come down lower, you can make the porch roof shallower - say 3:12.

[dougpete]

Thanks John,

I'll make a note of that. 

One other question - how high should a window over a kitchen sink be if the counter is "standard" height?

[MountainDon]

11 - 12" from countertop to window sill seems about right. That's partially dictated by window size and top of window to ceiling distance. For some reason I like to keep the space above the windows the same if at all possible, It's aesthetically more pleasing, IMO.

[John Raabe]

I agree with Don. At the main floor I like to align the tops of the windows with the tops of exterior doors (usually ~6'-10 1/2"). This allows trim to work better around a room.

In upper floors I usually lower the headers to 6'-8" or even 6'-6" to give a better downward view of the outside and match up better with lower ceilings.

For a kitchen window I start at the header and work down to the height of the backsplash or trim around the countertop. This can give you an expansive window (such as a 5' wide x 3' tall) to look out. Setting the window at countertop height (seen in some custom houses) can be tricky and problematic.