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Windows Design Dilemma living room

Large Multi-Slide Opening

4 years ago

I am finalizing engineering and architectural layout for my house. It is a mid-century modern ranch. We are removing a beam off the back wall of windows to make it completely open. The room currently is a vaulted ceiling going from 9 to 18 feet high and 27feet long, currently all windows other than a central floor to ceiling vertical 3 foot wide beam. I have the following options:

A) Use a 27 foot steel beam as the header and allow for ~21ft of opening of the entire middle of the wall

B) Use a 16 foot steel beam with two flanking windows allowing a fixed panel with 12 feet central opening

C) Leave as is, have two 8 feet openings flanking a central 3 foot beam

My concern with leaving it as is, is that I feel it takes away from indoor/outdoor feel

My concern with A is whether the 27ft steel beam would be significantly more difficult to maneuver and also whether it would cause too much vibration.

Would appreciate any insights from others that have dealt with walls of windows and large opening. Thanks!

Comments (5)

apple_pie_order
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Are you working with an architect, structural engineer or both? Are you in an earthquake zone?
armchairshopper
4 years ago
What do you mean by difficult to maneuver? It would probably take a crane to set the 27 ft steel beam.

As far a vibration, are you talking about the floor above the steel beam?

These are all questions for the experts that you have hired.
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Fleetwood. Western both mfg awesome aluminum. Just completed our third home with Fleetwood. @rogerc I've done two homes full of Fleetwood in that price range. There could be a significant cost for the beam above with posts and footings to support. At this span we're usually at steel with a moment frame setup depending on how many walls remain for lateral structural values. The imaginary rectangle around this unit needs to be very stiff and inflexible.
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Evan Man
Original Author
4 years ago
I have an engineer and architect. I am placing a shear wall on the other side for the earthquake issue. I was asking here in case anyone had opinions of size of opening cost vs benefit. An engineer and architect can design it but they don’t make the final determination of cost vs aesthetic.
apple_pie_order
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
21 feet of opening is a significant number in earthquake country. Even with a shear wall on the other side, I'd forgo the 21 feet of opening in favor of a pair of openings and a wall in between. In my area, the seismic concerns win for most homeowners. It's not so much fear of collapse in the Big One or fear of pancaking in two-story houses and apartment complexes (a la Sylmar and Northridge). The constant settling and flexing from lots of mag 3-6 quakes affects how doors and windows open and close. 10 and 12 foot exterior door and window openings are affected, so are smaller openings.
Evan Man
Original Author
4 years ago
Interesting I had not thought of that. I am in so cal so lots of earthquakes but the big openings are very popular and since I have the opportunity to create it during the large scale remodel I wanted to see what I could do.

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