Casements!

Thanks for the suggestion. But won't multiple casements side by side have trim or wall in between?? I also was told casements are expensive too...

A word of caution that may be applicable to your situation. On New construction I had the desire you did. My house is in a fairly rural county with usually less stringent building requirements. After my first iteration (which was basically a wall of glass), the county required a PE (professional engineer)load analysis which forced me to scale back considerably. I could keep the wall of glass but would have had to have almost all steel structure to handle wind loads. see photo

You're going to be restricted by building codes for structural support. There is no way around that. You'll have to work with whatever minimums are required, and get over the purity of the dream while getting the most glass space as possible and as little wall space as possible.

What does the wall consist of now?

"You're going to be restricted by building codes for structural support. "

You can make a very large opening in even a weight bearing wall.

It just takes money and height for the required beam.

And possibly some actual engineering if you need steel to hold thing up.

Thank you all for your responses!
Windowdog: the house is not yet built. I am working right now on the plans and quotes so it is all up in the air...
Ikbum: your windows look great and that might be the direction I have to take but it is still quite a bit different from my dream window (below). Anyone know what kind of budget these run for?? I read somewhere $800/foot. Is that correct?? If I may ask, Ikbum, what kind of cost do I have to look at for your kind of patio doors & windows??

[mediterranean living room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/mediterranean-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2109) by new york architect David Howell Design

$800 a foot for what? I can pretty well guarantee you that there is quite a bit of steel in that wall and would be a hell of a lot more than 18,000 if your wall is 22 ft like you mention earlier, That wall conservatively would be 4 times that price without batting an eye!

Really?? I had no idea a window could be that expensive...Ok, now I am really worried...
Has anyone any alternative to this?? Not all door have to pen. Some can be static, i don't mind. The goal is to have as much glass as possible. Any suggestions???

That is much more than "a" window. Other than what you same up above there are not many other options and anyway you look at it it will now be anywhere close to what your thinking of in the $18000 range.

How about pocket or sliding doors?

Depending on window brands, and whether you want to open them or not will affect how large they can be.

I wouldnt be so sure. If you go with large fixed glass pieces, they can be quite cost effective. When you start adding doors, then the price climbs rapidly. Fixed windows (Marvin Integrity, Andersen 400s, Pella) all run around $30-45 sqft here. Say you went with a fixed wall of windows, 22'x12' high, or 264 sqft. x45 you are at $12,000. Casements bump up to $40-55. That image you posted appears to be more of an aluminum storefront style of glass. Those run around $65-80 around here as well. This puts you closer to the $20k range and more. Again, this is all for fixed.

Yes, I don't mind fixed windows. Thank you Izerac, your info is very useful!! I think I am going to go with sliding doors, surrounded by fixed windows + transoms. I have 2 walls that need windows like these so $20k each would bump the whole cost too much. I guess I have to start playing the lottery otherwise...

I think Izerac has the best solution. The outswing french with fixed panels (woold/ultrex) were a little over $4k (8' tall x 12' wide., 5' wide opening). The fixed panels $40 sq ft. An 8'x 10' slider with 3' wide opening a little more than $2k. I would look at aluminum fixed windows with an integrated large slider or two. Do not overlook the cost of interior trim for "conventional" windows, this makes the aluminum like you are looking at a lot more attractive.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will look into this right away!!!

You still have not addressed the cost of the engineered wall which will either need steel or engineered lumber both of which are not cheap. When i was speaking of pricing i was trying to include a reasonable idea of that as well.

for a 22' foot span, steel will be the most cost effective and smallest you can go. engineered wood prices (glulams, paralams, lvls) costs would be greater then steel by quite a bit, and a much larger (wider and deeper) member. However with a 22' span, your bending forces in the center will be dictating the size, so its going to be deep no matter what you do, unless you are under a full gabled roof. The most cost effective way is to break up the span with small posts. Several 4x4 posts spread accross that distance will greatly reduce the header size and the cost. However then you would not be able to achieve that commercial look you are after. You would look more like lkbum picture posted above.(however that is placed under a gable so loads are minimal).

Right on the gable load. Our biggest was the wind load on the wall face (large area x average wind = BIG load). We do have steel in this house, just not on the window wall. We had to have steel posts to support the steel that went through the first floor to reinforced footings in the basement. Biggest problem with steel is it is heavy. We went through the exact same descision making process and using steel posts was the best option for the most light. Wife overruled that based on how it would be trimmed.

I would love to see the result of this conversation. Any photos of the window wall that eventually got built?

Without " breaking the bank" ? Your project is an expensive endeavor, there is no way not to break the proverbial bank, it is what is is. You either want to spend the amount of appropriate money and have it done correctly or you dont.

i would suggest waiting a few years until you can afford it, you dont want to cut corners on something like this or your project will wind up costing you triple the amount and that doesnt include stress.

Daisy71 , Did you ever discover a solution to your problem? We are facing the exact same thing right now with a house we are planning to build. I picture a wall of windows 30 feet across, but the bid I got could buy a house.

We had the same issue with the house we are currently building and we had to have a Moment Frame (MiTek Hardy Frame system) installed on the back of our house for shear. It added about $11,000 of cost. We have mostly windows and sliders on the back of our house.

Any pictures of your finished windows?

I would love to know what you decided to do. I am going through the same decision process now, and would appreciate your advice.

I'm purchasing a home with the same dream of Gable Glass. The structure seems to have post and beam construction and we're not in a high wind area. So I'll be watching closely for comments and I'll contribute if I find anything helpful.

sorando: You said you settled on the 3 panes and was $3k installed. Is this the total amount? $18K is so not in my budget but I would love to have the window walls. Your pic looks awesome. The seams are incredible and hardly visible. I'm in the process of having a house built. Probably the last house for me so I want to make sure I can have some of the things on my wish list. If you have vendors, ideas, suggestions on how I can reach this goal I would be so grateful.

LC For window walls, I love the butted glass look. You might want to view "Paul Mclean Floating Glass House" on utube for a great example of butted glass. It's probably going to be the most cost effective way to get wide open expansive views in terms of glass cost. Putting a lot of glass in a wall will require structural considerations that most likely will have to be certified by an engineer. Engineers are not necessarily expensive. I put a heavily windowed wall in one of my remodels and it was $500 for the engineer. Well worth the cost to get my plans approved. Single pane butted glass does have it's pitfalls mainly a much lower r-value than double paned, Double paned glass panels will significantly improve the r-value, but definitely consider your local temps. Double pane will have a visible seam, but a aluminum furring strip would cover that and not be too obtrusive. I've priced a double pane laminated 6' x 9' piece of glass at Home Depot at $2400. Installation will be a little pricy, but much less than what I've seen from some of the national glass companies. I would contact a local glass company and talk to them about butted single pane and double pane glass. Key conversation would also be with your builder and a structural engineer. Wood frame walls with minimal surface area will require lots of structural ties.

Window World 4'x7' double hung is $200.00 each..white only..Build a frame to support the opening..pop in the windows

windows can be expensive- price a b747 windshield... the guy looking for a large window wall and framed in wood: look at Loewen Timber framed windows. up to 20 ft height. Not cheap but they exist and pass the load and sliderule stuff.