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Purpose of triangular wood bits in the corners of windows?


Batainte

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STORY

Been experimenting with a refit of a 41ft 1990 narrowboat and have arrived at the stage of reaching window panels. After removing the wall panels noticed that all the battens holding the window have rotten and were generally in a bad condition. As a result stripped everything down to plate, removed old window frames and made new ones, then reattached the windows to that.

 

PROBLEM

When stripping everything off, noticed the little triangular bits and just chucked everything away as i assumed someone was cutting corners when fitting the frames and it was easier for them to cut straight angles and add the little edges later on. To replace the old holding frames, the new one was made with a nice angle to fit the curvature of aluminium window frame, then covered it with a layer of bitumen onto as a protection from moisture buildup (see pictures). The window itself has been rescrewed back onto the new holding frame and used a high performance sealant to stick everything together between the steel plate.

Unfortunately forgot that previous holding frames were different shapes so didnt bother about replacing the triangular bits as i assumed it was easier for the previous person to do it this way.

 

QUESTIONS

Would anyone be able to explain the purpose of these wooden bits?

Should new holding frame be replaced?

 

 

Thanks

A5-B4-F97-D-ED1-F-4197-A3-F9-FFC04-AB226-FD.jpg

DB0-F7-CC9-342-D-4-C04-913-E-41-BAE15205-AA.jpg

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5 hours ago, Batainte said:

QUESTIONS

Would anyone be able to explain the purpose of these wooden bits?

Should new holding frame be replaced?

Like @WotEver I’m not quite sure what you mean but I’m assuming you mean the little triangular bits of wood in the bottom corners of the wooden lining to the inside of the window... if so then the answer is decorative purposes 

 

simple as

 

eta if you have made some sort of lining that matches the frame rounded corners then you have a done the same job some might say a better job ! 

Edited by jonathanA
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This was the first time working on the refit and actually the first project working on a canalboat, so pardon the lack of descriptive terminology.

 

Someone has mentioned these on the thread below

 

 

 

The picture below was posted by someone from another thread where the "triangular bits" are more clear (unless its part of their interior design)

 

 

image.png.e5a59a57ce7658cb5efe82a1f7c27784.png

1 hour ago, jonathanA said:

Like @WotEver I’m not quite sure what you mean but I’m assuming you mean the little triangular bits of wood in the bottom corners of the wooden lining to the inside of the window... if so then the answer is decorative purposes 

 

simple as

 

eta if you have made some sort of lining that matches the frame rounded corners then you have a done the same job some might say a better job ! 

Thank you, its clear now. Was under the impression that these serve a purpose which i am unsure of.

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Thanks for this.

And their purpose is as @jonathanA mentioned- purely decorative- nothing to do with protecting the windows, reducing condensation or some other magic trickery?

When anyone fits out a boat from scratch why wouldnt they produce internal battens/ window holding frames with the relevant curvature to fit the shape of the window in order to avoid changing these every now and then?

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They're there just to fill the gap between the usual rectangular wood framework of the inside, and the curvature of the window frame corner. The triangular type piece in most cases does not extend to the frame edge that meets the glass. And rather than a simple triangular shape, it is usually slightly shaped and decorative, thus, making it less obvious that it is just a gap filler.

 

 

Edited by Higgs
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These triangular pieces are 'gussets'. They strengthen the corners of the frame by acting as a triangular brace and providing a larger gluing area.  When a thin frame is made on the bench it would be very floppy and probably break at the corner joints before installation. As said previously they are often  shaped to match the window frame.

Edited by Flyboy
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17 minutes ago, Flyboy said:

These triangular pieces are 'gussets'. They strengthen the corners of the frame by acting as a triangular brace and providing a larger gluing area.  When a thin frame is made on the bench it would be very floppy and probably break at the corner joints before instalation. As said previously they are often  shaped to match the window frame.

 

In ordinary woodworking/frame making terms, that would be true, but in the context of this area by the window, this piece provides no strengthening to the structure. It would be unusual in boat fit outs for this piece to be made part of the wood battening at the early stage, which is when this would be fitted in your example, as a piece. The piece in these areas is only cosmetic.

 

 

Edited by Higgs
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2 hours ago, Batainte said:

And their purpose is as @jonathanA mentioned- purely decorative- nothing to do with protecting the windows, reducing condensation or some other magic trickery?

Correct. As Mike says, it’s better to give them some shape as opposed to a crude triangle, purely because they look better that way. 

1 hour ago, Flyboy said:

These triangular pieces are 'gussets'. They strengthen the corners of the frame by acting as a triangular brace and providing a larger gluing area. 

Nahh... they’re purely cosmetic. 

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7 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Nahh... they’re purely cosmetic

I suspect that in some cases they are the only material between the cabin airspace and the inside surface of the steel shell at the window corners, and are thus the only insulation there. Poorly fitted they will allow moist air to get behind, and consequent condensation leading to mildew and rot...

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1 hour ago, David Mack said:

I suspect that in some cases they are the only material between the cabin airspace and the inside surface of the steel shell at the window corners, and are thus the only insulation there. Poorly fitted they will allow moist air to get behind, and consequent condensation leading to mildew and rot...

Possibly in some rare cases, but look at the image in post #4. The internal cladding is sealed up to the edges of the frame. I would suggest that’s typical. The corner pieces are purely cosmetic. 

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Thank you all for comments about these.

So my understanding is that "gussets" primarily are used for decorative purposes.

 

Id agree a little with @Flyboy about floppiness of such a curved  piece which was used as a holding frame. Actually when the window was screwed onto it, it did feel that corners may just come apart if the screw would get forced even further- however nothing bad happened with any of them.

 

Technically "gussets" also come in handy by making the window holding frame more sturdy if just a few pieces of straight timber have been used for this purpose- effectively camouflaging the angular edges and making them appear curvy.

 

Probably did a went the extra mile by fabricating mine, but quite happy with the result.

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11 hours ago, WotEver said:

Correct. As Mike says, it’s better to give them some shape as opposed to a crude triangle, purely because they look better that way. 

Nahh... they’re purely cosmetic. 

And make it look crap.

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10 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

I have been on your new boat.  And I'm coming on it when you have finished done some work on it.  And I have a camera, so be nice to others ...

 

 

Ha Ha aslong as you bring the cider, girly cider if you like lol.  If the gussets had more of a curve as in the next pics, a lot better to look at. Just my opinion. 

 

And dont forget i have a camera, i will again take all the pics of the ins and outs and cockups again, infact i dont even like my boat i last did.  some real bad design flaws in it.

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