[TrueBlue]

I designed a summer house on the water a few years back that involved some creative engineering. The owner wanted the effect of being outdoors in a sheltered pavilion during nice weather.

All first floor windows extended from floor to headers - set 8 feet high with three vertical overlapping sash, that telescopically slid down into a double wall design integrating wall pockets extending below the floor level. The sash were weight ballasted with pulleys - no electrics necessary . . . essential for a remote island on the Atlantic. Adjacent 8 ft high bypassing exterior doors, level with a stone patio, slid into wall pockets.

Making the custom units waterproof was easy enough, but to be hurricane resistant, storm shutters rolled down on side jamb tracks from recessed rollers in the overhanging soffits above. After a few years, the units have held up very well through a few storms - but we've yet to have a major hurricane hit the coast since construction . . . the true test. Nature rebels against man's attempts to harness it's wrath.