Window width and position grid

Hello everyone,

Quick questions for understanding due to lively discussion with my government:
-The bricklayers have so far proposed window grids of 12.5 (from brick grid): e.g. 101cm width, 113.5cm, 126cm,...
-For aesthetic reasons, the question now arises whether it is significantly more expensive/unstable etc. to choose a 105 width due to excessive cutting of bricks.
-The same would apply if we want to have the windows as exactly as possible at certain wall positions that do not happen to hit the grid.

Is this to be avoided/does it become excessively expensive or is it not an issue in your projects?

Request to the preferred mason will be sent next week. Tending to want it easy of course, but they calculate based on QM wall area.

Thanks and best regards

Windows are normally manufactured according to measurements.

-The same would be the case if we want the windows to be positioned as precisely as possible at certain wall positions that do not happen to align with the grid.

Well, name me an "exact" window position! What should it look like and why? Don’t get me wrong, I can think of examples too, but if I have a cabinet depth of 38.5 (at the planned window), I don’t align the wall to 38.5, but to at least 40 … and if the architect or his draftsman finalizes everything, it can also end up being 45 or 50. You don’t consider single wall lengths on a house, but design a house according to functionality, cost awareness, and visual proportions.

choosing a 105 width would become significantly more expensive/unstable or similar due to excessive cutting of the bricks.

The client doesn’t have to bother with such nonsense at all. If anything, he should say what he intends, wants, or thinks about it. In terms of professional implementation, in my opinion, he should hold back.
And yes, cutting is not nice and the walls also look patchy. There are enough photos of such narrow broken piece bricks in professional construction forums where this is criticized.

Is this something to avoid/does it become excessively expensive or is it not an issue in your projects?

Yes, it should be avoided if there are other options. Such piece material in a wall is by no means a big deal.

-For aesthetic reasons, the question now arises whether it is clearly more expensive/less stable etc. to choose a 105 width due to excessive cutting of the bricks. [...] Is something like this to be avoided/does it become excessively expensive or is it not an issue in your projects?

Insofar as follow-up communication for questions probably isn’t very important to you anyway, it probably did you no harm that you asked this question during my absence. Since it is a FAQ and roughly ten silent readers follow each thread opener, I will nevertheless address it:
2. I can hardly imagine the optical difference between windows for rough opening sizes of 101 or 105 cm; you can at best see it in direct comparison. Both sizes are equally feasible with custom-made windows;
1. see the search term "Pfuschertaschen" [botched weak spots] which is always a topic for me, trying to avoid deviations from the nominal dimensional rhythm as completely as possible.

And yes, cutting is not nice and the walls also look patchy. There are plenty of photos of such narrow broken pieces of bricks in professional construction forums where this is criticized. [ / ] Yes, it should be avoided if there are other ways. Such a piece of cut bricks in a wall is by no means a disaster.

Violations of the nominal dimensional rhythm lead to corresponding complications in each course regarding the lap length. How much this affects stability (tendency to crack) depends on the "amount". However, every botched weak spot is a blemish on the thermal homogeneity of the masonry. If it were only a beauty flaw that is plastered over anyway, I would not "get upset" about it.

Quick clarification questions due to lively discussion with my government: -So far, the masons have suggested window grids of 12.5 (from brick raster): e.g. 101 cm width, 113.5 cm, 126 cm, .. [...] -The same would apply if we want the windows as exactly as possible at certain wall positions that do not happen to fall on the raster.

The openings themselves largely don’t matter to the masons. What is relevant are the lengths of the wall sections before/after/between the openings (and in windows with sills, of course, also the width of the openings and their rhythm deviations—"floor-to-ceiling" windows thus practically have no relevance). In short: much less important than the window dimensions are the lengths of the wall strips. From a facade design point of view, such 4 cm ideal grid deviations are compensated almost invisibly.

But as I said: what annoys me personally even more is that it was only triggered by your question today that I noticed how much you dampen the joy of the other discussants with your question-averse communication behavior.

By now the walls are up and I think the masons managed... It ended up being 106cm wide. As requested. The fixed price for the masons has not changed either. Sure, they must have added something somewhere but overall it’s OK. After all, we’re not building a Town & Country.