10101 shutters

If you mean wooden shutters then the outside,if insect's are a problem in your area then go ahead with the screens.

Well Ron I would suggest shutters be placed on the outside as they will add character to the facade and shoud be more practical security wise.
On the outside, when closed, they will also help to keep the hot sun off the glass and therefore keep your house much cooler in summer.
As for the insect nets perhaps you could have one in the kitchen, one window in any lounge and perhaps all the bedrooms as you and your guests can then have the windows open on the cooler evenings/nights.
You can have your rete made to measure by a falegname but there are also some standard ready made ones available that you could install yourself.
Have fun with your renovations. :smile:

[quote=ron austin;93971]I am in the middle of preparing a list of requirments for the up-dating of my farmhouse.Could someone advise me as to the siting of window shutters.i e.outside or inside,also do I need insect screens fitted to all windows.
Any advice would be appreciated[/quote]

external shutters are mainly a matter of esthetics ,apart from costs but as said are useful especially if you won't be living there all the time.Insect screens i personally would consider indispensable anywhere in italy.it's not just or only for mosquitoes,it's even more important for flies,wasps,hornets,bats and the rest we've found,for example that we never have even spiders in the house now as we have screens at every window.recently our cat ripped open a screen since then in that room even from a fessure you'd be amazed what has come in.Our windows had the screens built in by the people who made them as installing them afterwards doesn't look nice because one see's this horrid anodised frame.don't forget the double glazing too.

[quote=ron austin;93971]............Could someone advise me as to the siting of window shutters.i e.outside or inside,also do I need insect screens fitted to all windows.
Any advice would be appreciated[/quote]

Shutters on the outside - as long as the windows open inwards

Fly Screens? - I'd suggest you assess whether you need them when you are at the house in the 'fly season'.

If you have wooden shutters and are not using the house all the time, make sure you pin plastic bags or strips to the shutters to frighten the birds away when they are shut. We've got 5 shutters which have big holes in them from the woodpeckers. You'd think there would be enough trees to go at in the Parco del Gigante but no, they had to pick on our house!!

[quote=alan h;94005]Shutters on the outside - as long as the windows open inwards

Fly Screens? - I'd suggest you assess whether you need them when you are at the house in the 'fly season'.[/quote]
believe it or not but the worst time for things coming in (thru windows) is not particularly spring summer (when it would be enough to have a lighted room with an open window and everything will be there) but september thru until even december as it gets colder insects and the rest will look for warmer places......
on the other hand we now never have insects spiders flies and their friends in the place not even cobwebs.

[quote=Sebastiano;94037]believe it or not but the worst time for things coming in (thru windows) is not particularly spring summer (when it would be enough to have a lighted room with an open window and everything will be there) but september thru until even december as it gets colder insects and the rest will look for warmer places......
on the other hand we now never have insects spiders flies and their friends in the place not even cobwebs.[/quote]

[B]Do[/B] take Sebastiano's wise advice. Shutters are great for the aesthetically pleasing look, for the added privacy they give and for keeping the house cooler. Unless you want to add to your keep fit routine by jumping up every time you hear that zzzzzzzzzzz by your ear, add the fly screens. You will hardly notice them and they are worth every euro.
Annie.

My advice would be to look & see what is local to the area (if anything) or to the type of house you have as here there seem to be 2 types of country house- the rustico with external shutters or the plazzo style (though still a farmhouse) which traditionally have the internal shutters

I read somewhere (can't recall when or where) that internal shutters are the traditional Italian way of doing things and external shutters are an import from France. ...For what that's worth.

I can see advantages to both: Interior shutters are much more pleasant to open and close if you need to do that in wet, cold or hot weather. Exterior shutters can look nice and if you use them to keep the heat or cold outside, they probably are more effective at that than interior shutters since the air-space outside (rather than inside) the window acts as insulation. Also, while they may exist, I don't recall ever seeing louvered interior shutters and solid shutters mean you can't (as we do at this time of year with our exterior ones) keep the shutters closed most of the day with the slats open a little to let in light.

As far as insect screen are concerend, I'm with those who consider them a necessity. There are far more bugs of all sorts around in Italy (particularly in Spring) than I ever saw in Britain. A window open for just a minute or two - especially at night - will result in all sorts of wildlife coming in to check out your house. Even in the middle of winter, an open window is likely to attract [I]something[/I].

We've had windows open all the time for the last couple of months and even though we're fanatical about keeping outside doors closed and window bug screens down at all times, we [I]still[/I] get the odd mossie whining around the bedroom!

I'd strongly recommend a combination of double-glazing, shutters (inside or out, depending on your preference and local traditions) and insect screens on all windows. Also, if you opt for exterior shutters, make sure that the screens can be down while the shutters are closed and the louvers at whatever position you choose. I mention this because, on our house, some of the shutter and bug-screen assemblies are arranged so that the insect screen can be down only if the shutters are open. If the shutters are closed, the insect screen can be down only if the louvers are fully shut. This is very irritating since there's a street light immediately outside our bedroom window and it's impossible at this time of year to have the insect screen down with the shutters closed and louvers angled to keep out the light but let in some air.

Allan

We have both the metal external shutters and the roll-up type and I think the metal type with the horizontal grille is much to be preferrd and seems to be universal herabouts. Single or double-glazed anodised aluminium unitson the inside work very well. If you can get pull-down mozzy nets integral then all well and good. If not then you can retro-fit them providing you have enough space between the inside handles of the shutters and the interior glass, not forgetting the nets will have have little handles on the base. I have fitted my own house with these, you MUST have nets here, the fitting is a bit of a fiddle as measurements must be spot on and a bit of hacksaw work is required. Wood shutters look good on a really old building bit my experience of external woodwork in Italy is that it very soon deteriorates due to the climate.

My company does insect screens if anyone was interested. just pm me.
I am not advertising as I think this would be against the rules, its just that someone said they had to wait 3 months for them! :wideeyed: