[tinpanalley]

Pardon my North American sensibility and ignorance but I have to know 2 things...
1. Why do unfurnished apartments in Paris typically not have air conditioning? Is buying your own floor unit for example allowed if one can't be places in the window? I know the temperatures aren't supposed to get very high, but for a few years now we've heard about temperatures in the high 30s (celsius) in Paris, haven't we?
2. Is there really no way whatsoever to put screens in windows? I make my own here in the states with screening materials from hardware stores. But I have two cats, and I'd rather that they weren't tempted to take off or have anything happen to them while observing pigeons!

If anyone has reasons for these things or knows about policies, etc. I'd appreciate it.

Thank you!

 

[Bevdeforges]

Pardon my North American sensibility and ignorance but I have to know 2 things...
1. Why do unfurnished apartments in Paris typically not have air conditioning? Is buying your own floor unit for example allowed if one can't be places in the window? I know the temperatures aren't supposed to get very high, but for a few years now we've heard about temperatures in the high 30s (celsius) in Paris, haven't we?

It's rare to get more than a couple of days of temperatures over 30 C in the summer here in northern France. The big canicule (heat wave) was back in 2002, I think - but since then the summers have actually been rather cooler than normal. Air conditioning is expensive (due to the energy costs involved) and only really needed for perhaps 5 days a year. Floor units are surprisingly large, but I suppose you could get your own. The big question is how you are going to vent the unit (usually require taking out a pane of glass in one of the windows - something the landlord may or may not want you doing).

2. Is there really no way whatsoever to put screens in windows? I make my own here in the states with screening materials from hardware stores. But I have two cats, and I'd rather that they weren't tempted to take off or have anything happen to them while observing pigeons!

Have you looked at most windows in flats and houses here? Normally, the windows open into the room from the near side of the wall. You could conceivably put a screen on the outside part of the wall (say, just behind the shutters), but with stone walls particularly, there is no place to build in a "track" to hold the screen.

A couple years ago there was the attempt to market screening material here in France. I was sorely tempted, but wasn't sure how I was going to secure the screens in the window spaces (still allowing for a "balcony" for the cats to sit and enjoy the evening breezes). Evidently I was about the only person even to consider this because the screening material has all but vanished from the market. (It is still available if you search for it - but you would have to determine what you would need to make it work in the windows where you are living.)
Cheers,
Bev

 

[tinpanalley]

The big question is how you are going to vent the unit (usually require taking out a pane of glass in one of the windows - something the landlord may or may not want you doing).

Yes, exactly why I thought a smaller sized floor unit would work. They're cumbersome but unfortunately we sweat a lot in summer and I would be lying if I said "we'll get used to it". I know we won't but it's not a good enough reason to not move there.

You could conceivably put a screen on the outside part of the wall (say, just behind the shutters), but with stone walls particularly, there is no place to build in a "track" to hold the screen.

Yes, I totally understand the dilemma. I'm good with things like this so I could probably come up with something that didn't upset the landlords. Bugs are one thing, but my cats are a far greater concern. One of the two simply won't think twice about jumping after anything that flies nearby.

 

[tinpanalley]

Any chance that you or anyone else remembers the name of that brand that made the screen material?

 

[maartenvd]

Yes, exactly why I thought a smaller sized floor unit would work. They're cumbersome but unfortunately we sweat a lot in summer and I would be lying if I said "we'll get used to it". I know we won't but it's not a good enough reason to not move there.

We lived in a temp apartment last summer which had a floor-standing rolling unit that vented with one of those flexible 15cm diam hoses hung out a window. It cooled a living room but very very slowly during the hot 2-3 weeks. Worked better in a small bedroom. (Even with a window slightly open to put the hose out.)

I'd say in Paris there were between 4 and 6 weeks last year where at least a fan was necessary and an air conditioner would've been quite nice.

(...screens for cats in windows...)

When I did some research last year most of what I found was rolls of netting meant to be stretched between hooks that you screw into the façade outside the window. Totally impractical if you also want to, say, be able to go outside and sit on your terrace sometimes. Possibly compatible with metal shutters, though.

Called "Filet de protection pour chat", e.g.:
Filet de protection pour chat Trixie, vert olive - À prix avantageux chez zooplus

 

[tinpanalley]

We lived in a temp apartment last summer which had a floor-standing rolling unit that vented with one of those flexible 15cm diam hoses hung out a window. It cooled a living room but very very slowly during the hot 2-3 weeks. Worked better in a small bedroom. (Even with a window slightly open to put the hose out.)

I'd say in Paris there were between 4 and 6 weeks last year where at least a fan was necessary and an air conditioner would've been quite nice.



When I did some research last year most of what I found was rolls of netting meant to be stretched between hooks that you screw into the façade outside the window. Totally impractical if you also want to, say, be able to go outside and sit on your terrace sometimes. Possibly compatible with metal shutters, though.

Called "Filet de protection pour chat", e.g.:
Filet de protection pour chat Trixie, vert olive - À prix avantageux chez zooplus

Thanks! That's all really helpful. The ACs I've seen here have another option as well which is to have their own water container inside them and then shut off when they reach a certain level so you can dump out the water.
And for screens I was thinking something a little more tightly woven like what is used here for window screens. Dense, but not so dense that it blocks light. But this product you've showed me is really great too! Keeps the cat inside and the pigeon outside, right?

 

[maartenvd]

Thanks! That's all really helpful. The ACs I've seen here have another option as well which is to have their own water container inside them and then shut off when they reach a certain level so you can dump out the water.
And for screens I was thinking something a little more tightly woven like what is used here for window screens. Dense, but not so dense that it blocks light. But this product you've showed me is really great too! Keeps the cat inside and the pigeon outside, right?

Yeah, the rolling A/C had a water catchment tank like that that you had to empty if you didn't have a hose to a drain. Every A/C is going to have that issue... (and with hardwood floors everywhere...)

For DIY, the hardware stores definitely have rolls of mesh and possibly also rolls of netting. I forget what all I've seen at brico stores.

I've love inset or hook-mounted screens with their own frames, though. That'd be great.

 

[tinpanalley]

Yeah, the rolling A/C had a water catchment tank like that that you had to empty if you didn't have a hose to a drain. Every A/C is going to have that issue... (and with hardwood floors everywhere...)

For DIY, the hardware stores definitely have rolls of mesh and possibly also rolls of netting. I forget what all I've seen at brico stores.

I've love inset or hook-mounted screens with their own frames, though. That'd be great.

I've made those in several apartments here in New York but the thing is that here the window frames have a track for screens. I'll think of something that doesn't piss any landlords off.

 

[maartenvd]

I've made those in several apartments here in New York but the thing is that here the window frames have a track for screens. I'll think of something that doesn't piss any landlords off.

One place I lived in in the U.S. had external screens which hung from flat wide hooks at the top and had a latch at the bottom. They had rubber gaskets so they rested softly against the window frame. In the winter, one would take them off and replace them with a set of storm windows that went on the same hooks. Pretty minimal installation impact: two hooks at the top, one or two hooks or latches at the bottom.

 

[-mia-]

Mosquito netting is called filet moustiquaire. You can get the kind that sticks on to the window frame (auto-agrippante). You can also get a kind that doubles over so you can walk through by pushing them aside and walking through the middle. Those are not perfect, but useful if you have windows that lead to the terrace, balcony or have animals that need to go out, etc.

http://www.heliopresto.com/boutique/images_produits/moustiquairepourporte-z.jpg

3 SUISSES - Filet moustiquaire pour fenêtre WENKO - ...autres - Maison

(i do not know these companies, i just looked for images to illustrate).

 

[tinpanalley]

Wow, mia, thank you so much!! I'll look into this further.