glass wall in extension advice?

slavetothegrind

Am in a standard 2 story semi.
I am extending full width and back 4 metres single story lean to style roof with velux windows.
I am taking out the existing back wall downstairs and putting in steel, as per engineers instructions, and am steel framing the rear wall of the extension which will give me a full height and width ope in which i wish to place glass with minimal fixings and hangers visible and doors to the garden, also glass.

Ope is approx. 5.5metres wide and 2.2 metres high at this design stage.

Was thinking of a pair of doors in the middle, made of glass that seperated and slid back towards the side walls in a rail system of some kind thereby bringing the garden into the room sorta thing!

Any advice or experience with this sort of thing would be greatly appreciated

Such as double glazing versus triple?

I have budgeted up to 10 grand for this feature as i figure it will make the house.

Thanks in advance......

sinnerboy

probably ok for cost for aluminium

need to double budget for timber - worth it for WOW factor

blackiebest

Dont mean to debate with you sinnerboy but 20k for a 5500 x 2200 timber section,installed, would be outrageous even for the most expensive commercially available exotic timber.

Mods, if people are prevented from giving facts for fear of been deemed to be pimping then totally exagerated or innocently misinformed information should be censored/corrected also.

OP, your budget, inc VAT, is very generous and I would suggest you could have the most sophiscated system installed and have nice change left over to boot:). The most impressive, IMO, you could use would be a single frame with two pieces of glass, one sliding behind the other. I stress this would be a single frame meaning access to rear of house would be an issue, cranes cost money! Regarding triple glazed... unless the rest of your house was up to scratch then you would only be paying the extra for bragging rights. Should acoustics be an issue then double laminate would be very sufficent. Slide fold is also and option and a very workable one, cheaper than just the slide but definately not so much a WOW factor.

Do not let the sales people tell you it can not be done, it can and it is and only avoided by those companies who dont want to deal with it!

A good "guesstimate" guide to pricing quality wood windows would be by sq mtr, bottom €350 (pine paint finish) to top end €650 (aluclad oak/eucalyptus) fitted ex VAT.

smashey

blackiebest wrote: »

Mods, if people are prevented from giving facts for fear of been deemed to be pimping then totally exagerated or innocently misinformed information should be censored/corrected also.

Where was the exaggeration or mis-infromation?

Mellor

blackiebest wrote: »

Dont mean to debate with you sinnerboy but 20k for a 5500 x 2200 timber section,installed, would be outrageous even for the most expensive commercially available exotic timber.

Mods, if people are prevented from giving facts for fear of been deemed to be pimping then totally exagerated or innocently misinformed information should be censored/corrected also.

Firstly nobody is prevented from posting facts, it is encouraged.
What is banned is pimping, advertising, shilling. Deliberate misleading posts and misinformation.

Sinnerboys post is fine as it falls under none of these. It is however an opinion, as is your post.

A good "guesstimate" guide to pricing quality wood windows would be by sq mtr, bottom €350 (pine paint finish) to top end €650 (aluclad oak/eucalyptus) fitted ex VAT.

This too is an opinion, and probably accurate enough for normal sized windows, but the price of these elements is not proportional to their size.

The price per area increases as it getas bigger, this is obvious and due to increased production, design, materials and transport.

Going by your price, you expect a decent one to cost almost 8K, fitted ex vat, including vat is comes to almost 10K.
If the estimate was 10K, i'd ensure I had budgeted over this cost, add it the crane price etc

sinnerboy

Sorry to all - BB has a point - I was recalling a spend on large timber sliding screens from a couple of years back - ( I looked back on file this am - there were a lot more screens in this case )

So 10k would be reasonable budget , maybe more if you include crane .

slavetothegrind

Thanks lads for your suggestions and help.

The glass wall would be south facing so i have planned two large velux in the roof section not only for light but ventilation on those rare sunny days:rolleyes:

Point taken on the triple glazing issue, double it is...

Am thinking more of a modern approach than timber.
More industrial, using stainless steel framing maybe rather than aluminium.

Another thought hit me, ( lots do but few are trapped!) , would condensation be a problem in winter as the open plan space behind would include a kitchen area?

Should a collection tray detail of some kind be installed on the inside to collect any heavy condensation in winter and allow it to evaporate off rather than letting moisture build up on the flooring?

Carlow52

some nice ideas and pictures on this in the property supplement in the irish times dated 3rd april on page 22 its an advertsing feature <snip>

muffler

blackiebest wrote: »

Mods, if people are prevented from giving facts for fear of been deemed to be pimping then totally exagerated or innocently misinformed information should be censored/corrected also.

Its not our job to go round checking the figures for various components. People are free to offer up their opinion on the estimated cost involved and then its up to others to agree or disagree with that. Thats the idea of having a discussion forum.

You managed to post your own comments without pimping your business which is a credit to you and in doing so you have given the OP an alternative opinion.

250882

Stainless steel on a window frame is probably overkill unless its to be recessed into blockwork or concrete or fixed to a steel column. Aluminium is a good option but so also is timber. If the glazing is south facing then a lower spec is usually better as it allows for more solar gain during the day. what ever you choose make sure that your doors seal tightly when closed which may not be possible with sliding doors.

blackiebest

Joe,

Have no idea on prices of stainless, sorry. Painted timber, 900 Ral colours to choose from, can look very modern, recently seen a graphite paint finish on large section and it looked great. Checked up on some prices and 5100 x 2200 four glass piece installed in painted larch (great timber) was €7,800.00, fitted inc vat. Was installed in three frames, no crane required, and two center panes slid opposite directions behind two fixed on either side. No centre mullion and very nice.

Point taken on sealing for sliding systems however with modern mechanisims this problem is completely eliminated, IMO. Condensation will only occur if you have insufficent ventilation in the room. Glazed units can be manufactured with vents incorporated. A big problem can often be waterpenetration from under or around the frame, use either a cill or a step with an aqua channel.

Have attached image of how it should be done if no cill is used however I would also recommend an aqua channel (belt and braces):)

slavetothegrind

Blackie you are a gentleman of considerable knowledge!
Exactly what we want by the sounds of it and thanks a million for the detail drawing, great to know a little before shopping!:)

leon112

There are a lot of companies designing glass walls ,i was in a showroom in cavan this weekend good to see the product before you commit better than looking at photos, u-values are very important dont be fooled by anything over 1.2.