Window Poles

[Richard1978]

Was anyone asked at school to use one of these to open or close a high window?

I remember the hook at the end was an odd shape like, an S sideways.

As they tended to be heavy I wondered if many windows ended up being broken by them.

I remember then at most of my schools, but one school had something even odder for opening & closing the windows.

It was a fixed set of cranks & rods connected to a set of windows at one end, & at the other end a slot in a rod fitted over a screw thread fixed into the wall.

A wing nut was on the other end of the thread to hold the rod in position.

Very hard to describe, & I've never seen anything else like it.

[amethyst]

Re: Window Poles

I remember in primary school which was an old school obviously,we had those high windows your drescribing.But I think it was only the teacher was allowed to open or close them,with the long poles

[Richard1978]

Re: Window Poles

The other high windows I remember with an odd opening was in the hall at my primary school.

This was operated by a system of wires, like a bike brake cable but a lot thicker, connected to a crank handle mounted on the wall.

I can remember the headmaster often operating this, normally before opening an assembly.

[Mulletino]

Re: Window Poles

I have one at home which I use!

We have some louvre windows high up that can't be reached without it so use that to open/shut them.

[staffslad]

Re: Window Poles

We had window poles at junior and secondary school, but only teacher was allowed to open/close windows. I also remember occasionally a kid from another class would be sent to see if his/her teacher could borrow the window pole.

[darren]

Re: Window Poles

i can only ever remember teachers opening these windows at school.

Why did the windows need to be so heavy.
You would imagine any window should be able to be opened from the room it was in without using a pole.

But in college we had some very high up windows which may have been opened with poles.

I always imagined the hook on the pole in a question mark ? Shape.

[Powdered toast man]

Re: Window Poles

Our secondary school had the crank-handle and thick cable setup for the window openers. It was called 'Teleflex'

[marc]

Re: Window Poles

I certainly remember the window pole. The top being brass, shaped like a letter S. It simply slid into a ring, pulled downwards then back slightly to open the window. I think they replaced this with a long endless cord going around a screw type wheel that travelled along a rack. I can't remember any windows being broken. I remember another window, in a school I visited, having a crank handle. This was connected to a long metal rod, with a cog at either end, connected to the top window. Turn the handle to open and close the window.

[big kid]

Re: Window Poles

i remember them from primary school. the janitor used to go round the whole school opening and shutting the windows at the start / end of the day.

[darren]

Re: Window Poles

Old School Window Opener Closer Cast Iron with Short Wood Pole.

[Gothic]

Re: Window Poles

They still use them in Gymnasiums that have fold away basketball hoops.

[DSCOMAN]

Re: Window Poles

Don't remember that version Darren,
Remember it as Marc described!!
And sometimes a window would break if it hit it...

[sixtyten]

Re: Window Poles

This was the type we had at school..

[Richard1978]

Re: Window Poles

This was the type we had at school..

Yes that's how I remember them.

[zabadak]

Re: Window Poles

Ours were nowhere near as shiny!!!