Our solar house has nine clerestory windows, and four of them can be opened for ventilation. But opening them requires either a stepladder, a motorized opener or a 7-1/2-ft. tall assistant.
After pondering the problem, I made my own long-handled opener from a 4-ft. length of 1/2-in. dowel and a short piece of 1-1/4-in. dowel drilled and glued onto its end. I drilled a 5/8-in. dia. hole into the end of the larger dowel to accommodate the window crank. The device looks like a corncob pipe with a long stem.
The opener worked the first time out, and it’s still in use after five years. I can even use it in the dark, when the wind blows up in the middle of the night.
Bill Stable, Green River, WY
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #46
