Bathroom window - in shower/tub

[kec]

It's been ages since I've checked in here but we're just beginning the restoration of our ground floor bathroom. Almond Home Depot everything is going and something appropriate to a 1919 bungalow will be back. My questions are about the window.

The original double hung is long gone. We've had glass block that came with the house. We'd like to return to a double hung, but because it's in the tub/show...we're concerned with water.

Here's what we're considering:

1. To get around the water issues, is fiberglass a good option?
2. Specifically, how about Marvin Infinity with Everwood in the interior? The door, door framing and medicine cabinet will all be stained oak and I believe Everwood can be stained.
3. All other windows in our house are original double hung, 4 over 1. I think we can get this style in fiberglass.
4. The window is on the ground floor, and is north facing. Because it never gets direct sun, protection against the sun isn't a huge concern.
5. Because it's a ground floor window, frosted glass is a must on the bottom sash. We'd also prefer tempered glass.

I'm open to hear comments/criticisms/other suggestions. Thanks to anyone who can help with this decision.

[kelt65]

I have the original double hung window in my bathroom, and the shower / bath comes about 8" across the window sill. No problems. I thought about putting stained or colored glass in mine, right now it has a cheap blind that came with the house.

[kec]

Thanks kelletim.

At least we were able to remove the 1980s HD tile floor and find the original hex tile red daisy floor which cleaned up really well. And which will have a place of honor.

[TexasRed]

Kec01 - How exciting to find a hex tile floor preserved under the Homer D stuff. What an awesome discovery!! We would all love to see a pic of that floor. hint, hint

As far as your window conundrum. Sorry, I don't have an answer about the fiberglass window. Perhaps if you did install a regular wood window, you would be okay with a good oil base paint job!? IDK. It depends where exactly the window is in relation to shower head. Will the window get a lot of water spray directly on it or just some splashes? Hopefully one of the awesome window restorers or general old house experts will chime in to answer your question properly.

I have dealt with a window in the tub /shower before. This was not an old house (late 80's model), so it already had a vinyl window, but wood jamb and sill. We ended up tiling all wood surfaces inside the window jamb. It looked great and solved the issue of water sitting on the sill. You can put a slight slope on the sill tile that isn't noticeable to the eye but facilitates water run off. (Our tub surround was all tile as well). If you will have tile on the walls surrounding the tub, I think it would be fine to tile inside the jamb.

Possibly the one thing I do know - current code requires tempered glass on the lower sash. You said you wanted tempered and it is a sensible choice anyway. Since it is on the ground floor, go ahead and do frosted glass on that lower sash, you and your neighbors will be glad you did.

Good luck with your bathroom project! Don't forget sharing pics is required for all restoration projects.

[Don M]

A lot of old houses had double hung windows in the tub area. Of course a lot also only had tubs with out showers so water spray wasn't an issue. Our 1978 vintage ranch had an aluminum slider in the shower area. It had a ceramic sill. We didn't have any problem with water in or around that window. I think a little care may be required so water doesn't become a problem.