Grilles on small windows cover a larger proportion of glass than they would on larger windows. This reduces the amount of light that enters the home and alters the appearance of the home from the street.
In many cases, retractable or folding grilles are a better option than fixed grilles on small homes. Fixed grilles on small windows can make the home look like a “fortress,” especially if the windows are on small frontage. Folding grilles can close the windows at night when the appearance is less important.
What a grille accomplishes on a small terraced house is very different than what it accomplishes on a detached house. A grille on a ground-floor window that is on the pavement is at more of a risk of being broken than a similar window that is set back from the pavement. A grille is more justified on a window on the pavement.
There are also internal grilles. These are fitted on the inside of the window. These are more aesthetically pleasing to the street than a normal grille and are less obtrusive on window frames and the brick. However, these can be defeated more easily than a normal grille.
Finish is more important on smaller window frontages, because there is less house to distract from it. Bare galvanized steel is a clear security fitting. Powder coating in a color to match either the window frame or front door is more aesthetically pleasing and appropriate to blend in, especially on smaller window frontages, as they are often the only windows on the street elevation.
There doesn’t need to be an exact match of door and window grilles, and on a small terraced house, a slightly mismatched pair is more acceptable than an exact match, especially if there are longer distances between the door and front window on a larger house.
Building regulations are often missed, and in this case they apply to fixed door and window grilles. There are a number of exceptions where a fixed grille can’t be installed. For example, it can’t block an escape route from a bedroom in the case of a fire. A key-released or retractable grille solves this issue, while a permanently fixed grille on the wrong window creates the issue.
The cost for a retractable grille on a standard window is roughly £200-£400, and this increases with width and finish. Two grilles in the same order for a door and window usually come in a cheaper unit price than ordering them separately, and this is definitely worth asking about.