Portal:Home improvement/Outdoors/2

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A window is an opening in the wall of a building that allows light and air to enter a room and people to see out. At previous times in history they were merely small oval or square holes in the walls. They are usually glass or a strong, transparent plastic. The word was first recorded in the early 13th century, and originally referred to an unglazed hole in a roof. Evidence of glass window panes in Italy dates back nearly 3000 years.

Various types of windows were invented that allowed light but not weather to pass into a building: mullioned glass windows, paper windows, and plates of thinly sliced marble. In England, glass became common in the windows of ordinary homes only in the early 17th century. Modern-style floor-to-ceiling windows became possible only after the industrial glass making process was perfected. Modern windows are customarily large rectangles or squares with glass surfaces. Churches traditionally have stained glass windows.