Windows and doors seems like such common place items in everyday life, but when it comes to choosing your flat, here are a few things you might want to know:

1) Insulated Double Glass windows. I bet your thinking… HUH!?! That’s what I said when I first heard about it. :) To make the best of the extremely unpleasant climate in Kuwait, make sure your flat has insulated double glass windows at least for the larger windows (i.e. except the ones in your bathroom). A double glass window is a window where two panes of glass are placed in parallel with a slight gap in the middle. And usually one pane is tinted. These double glass windows prevent your rooms from heating up during summer and also reduce the amount of air conditioning needed to cool the rooms. An added benefit is that if you crack/break the window (maybe while playing cricket indoors because of the sand storm outside) you have a second pane to prevent the dust from coming into the flat!

2) Window Wire Mesh. Its a good idea to have a wire mesh for your windows too. In most cases the mesh will take up 50% of the window view but that means a 50% less chance of cracking the glass. :) Also during those rare days when the weather is pleasant and you want some fresh air to enter the flat, the wire mesh will prevent pigeons from pooping all over your furniture.

3) Door insulation is another mystery to so many people! Those with large balcony doors can especially relate to this problem. There is always a gap between the door and the door frame. This means there is enough room for a ton of dust to enter your flat and during winter enough space to bring your room temperature down to zero. If your doors don’t already have insulation, get it! The insulation (which looks like a thin stip of sponge with a sticky side) comes in various sizes and colors and you don’t have to be a genius to install it.

4) Door locks though they may seem like a trivial matter can become a real pain if you don’t have the right one. Bottom line is, make sure you don’t use them cheap door locks. There are two problems you have with most door locks in Kuwait. Firstly, if the lock mechanism is not setup correctly (i.e. if its hard to turn the key), you could end up breaking the key while its still in the lock. Secondly, if the door handle feels loose, get it checked or better still replace it. The handle is usually linked to the latch bolt (the triangular metal thingy that keeps the door shut). If its loose, there is a good chance that the spring which recoils the latch bolt will come apart and the door will remain shut! In both cases, you will end up locking yourself in or out of a room or flat and you’ll need to damage the door to get back into the room or flat.