Expert: Richard Taylor, AIA - 5/21/2008

Question
We are buying a 70's "fixer upper" and need help with replacing a sliding door.  The master bedroom is positioned over the garage facing the street.  This exterior wall is flat and the width of the two car garage. The wall peaks in the middle with the roof line.  Originally there was a small balcony, with a sliding glass door used to access it.  The master bedroom was remodeled, pushing the wall out to the edge of the balcony.  As a result there is a railing with slats attached to the wall, that goes across the sliding door for safety's sake.   There is a wall hung window, on each side of the sliding door.  Would it look okay to replace the sliding door with some type of window that would be easy to do?  Or do you have another idea of what to do?  The railing looks terrible and outdated.  We don't want to have much of an expense, i.e. adding something that would require work to the header, etc.  Appreciate any help.  Thanks!

Answer
Diane - thanks for your question!

I've seen exactly what you're talking about before!  The advantage of the doors is all that glass and light, but the railing across it is a real eyesore.

You should be able to easily replace the doors with windows, and you can make the windows as large as you'd like.

A couple of code issues will affect your window choice:

- they'll need to be "egress" windows, which means they have to meet a code minimum size (your window rep can tell you about this) and the sill can't be more than 44" above the floor.

- if they're within 18" of the floor, they'll need safety glazing (tempered glass) which will add a little cost to each window.  Again, your window rep can tell you exactly what the requirements are.

You could use standard size windows if you can find ones that fit the existing opening, or you can spend a little bit more and have them custom-made to fit the existing width.  I prefer the custom choice, as you'll save the difference in time and in the materials needed to rework the opening.

Hope this helps!

Richard Taylor, AIA
www.rtastudio.com
www.rtaplans.com