Jeff Doubet shares Spanish grille design tips and insights. See photos and learn how cement window grilles are installed in Spanish-style homes in Santa Barbara, CA. Go behind the scenes and be inspired to build one of these quintessential design elements into your own project.
For those interested in incorporating a Spanish-style window grille into a remodel or new build… I thought I would show you what one looks like “out of the box”. I custom designed this 2″ thick cement grille for my client, and it was shipped in a wood crate. I placed my (1″ x 11″ x 13″) coffee table book on top to give you a feel for the size of it.
Spanish Grille Finish Detailing: What to Expect
As you can see in crate packaging photo above, the Spanish window grille is a rough cast concrete part. If you look close, you can see a chip board texture in the cement finish. Chip board is used by the manufacturer as an affordable material to make a temporary mold for casting a cement panel.
The solid rectangular cement slab is then cut with a waterjet to the custom design I specified. I had previously sent the manufacturer a dimensioned drawing of what I wanted, and based on the window size we were installing it with.
Steps For Plastering A Concrete Spanish Window Grille
To look good, this rough cement part will need to be coated with stucco plaster. A few days later, I stopped in on the Spanish home remodeling project. The stucco team was prepping the cement window grille for installation. BELOW: Before the window grille gets installed on the house, it is partially finished on the ground.
ABOVE: The stucco expert applies a first coat of plaster to the backside of the Spanish window grille. The reason he is doing it this way is because it is much easier to work on the stucco finish details while the grille rests flat on a table. Once it is installed vertically in the small window opening, it is much more difficult to reach into the various diamond sections.
Here the Artisans further refine their exterior plaster work by using inexpensive paint brushes and steel trowels. As the cement stucco begins to harden up, the trowels are used to press and work the stucco into a smoother finish. They are working on the interior side of the grille. Note the metal angle brackets secured to the window grille. These will be part of the installation process.
ABOVE: The heavy concrete Spanish grille has been hoisted up into the window opening. Now the builder checks for the level as he fine tunes the positioning.
Once he is happy with the adjustment, he will permanently secure it to the wall. Note the metal brackets in four corners of the panel. 3 stainless steel screws will anchor each bracket to solid wood blocking in the wall. See more Spanish Window Grille Projects, here.
A Few Technical Tips for Installing an Exterior Spanish Grille
While planning for your own decorative and functional Spanish window grille, there are some important things to think about before installation. Remember, once installed, it is permanent! Your window grille will need to drain properly when it rains. Water gets through the open grille sections and will need to drain somehow.
AFTER Photo: You can see three thin slotted holes at the bottom of the grille design. These slots allow the rain to properly drain from this window grille design. Another thing you will need to plan for is how will you clean the window glass once the grille has been permanently secured in place. On my design projects, I specify an “in-swing” window. The window is installed before the grille is installed. Simply open the in-swing window to have access to both sides of the window glass.
Well friend, this wraps another site visit episode in beautiful Santa Barbara, California. I hope you enjoyed learning how to infuse more Santa Barbara Style into your own Spanish interior design project. Scroll to explore more helpful links and resources for designing and building your own Spanish-style home and landscape.
