Quite why they are called wreckers I don't know. Perhaps because the bars stop burglars getting into your home and wrecking the place. We opted for wreckers mainly because of the end position of our apartment and the fact that we are not really overlooked by any neighbours. Also, we had already had the security man climb in through our kitchen window in the middle of the night (see Janices post)!!! Elsewhere on HN the majority of properties do not have wreckers and there seems to be no major problem with house breaking. Anyway, I posted a few pics the other day. Some are just lovely views taken from LO so that we folks back here in the UK can remember just how fantastic it looks out there. But I also put up a couple of pics of the wreckers that we chose to have on 19b. And here's a few notes to go with them.....
We had our grills on the windows set to the outside of the ledge. This was so that we retained a good are of ledge for placing plants etc on. The first design we looked at would have placed the grill so that it fell in the middle of the ledge, leaving little space fore or aft.
The wrecker for the patio door has 2 opening gates, each with a central hinge. This enables each gate to fold back against the wall without too much obstruction. If you have these, make sure that they bolt well into the floor at the folds to prevent them being opened without a key. The first design we looked at was simply 2 opening gates, which would have problems folding back flat as they would catch on the pillar on one side and catch on the arch on the other side. Other people have opted to go for a concertina design, which also looks good and is effective. I also hear that some folks have had problems with handles on wrecker doors not being in the right place. Ours don't have handles so can't comment on that problem. For the rear patio we opted to bring the grill out halfway (the aircon units sit beyond them) allowing us a reasonably secure lock up area for garden furniture etc. Each grill is black and contains the same swirl design as on the existing twin bedroom window grill. Also we have the identical design as our neighbours, Su & Eddy, so it all matches in very nicely.
We used GM Fabrications. Their quote came in cheaper by some €300 than others we had prices from. They worked fast, all fitted within 2 hours, and very little adjustment was needed on site as they had measured twice and taken templates in advance. Gary & Mark are English, very friendly, turn up on time and clear up after themselves. Highly recommended.
Hope that some of this helps others to decide whether to have wreckers or not and, if so, what the design options might be.
Terry 19b