Cost of installing larger windows
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Anonymous
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Hi
has anyone done this? How much would it cost to put in large sized windows on average? We are interested in an older brick home but it could use more light in my opinion, Was wondering if it would be crazy expensive as I can't figure if they would have to tear down the wall to do it Thank you! |
Anonymous
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Depends on the details but in general it's going to require opening walls at a minimum, and re-brick-work around the openings.
If youmean really big enlargement, or enlarging first-floor windows on a 2-story house, the existing headers may not be sufficient. In that case, you're talking structural modification. This is not easy. Somewhere between "wow, that's a lot more than I thought" and "might as well knock it down and rebuild." |
Anonymous
| We dug out/enlarged a window in the basement in our last house to make it an actual bedroom. I think it was 3 to 5 grand and that was a while ago. |
Anonymous
Me again. That house was siding and not brick which I imagine made it easier/less expensive. |
Anonymous
| Also, if you want to enlarge vertically as opposed to horizontally, that's probably structural. |
Anonymous
Very useful information, thanks. Never thought it would be that complicated ! |
Anonymous
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If you go watch a house being built, in the framing stage, you would understand.
The window is an opening, an interruption to the structural integrity of the wall because no drywall studs can go through it. To compensate for this, a huge header beam is used, and the 2x4/2x6 lumber flanking the window are doubled/tripled together. I could potentially see a window getting extended down, but anything else is a serious structural change. It may be possible to add additional panes to the sides of a window, flanking the original window, thus leaving the structure of the original window intact. You would then keep the original framing and encase those into a decorative mullion. |
Anonymous
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We did this on a rambler in Vienna. We went vertically on 3 windows and vertically and horizontally on 1 (made it into a double-sized). It was $500 extra per opening, although we did it in conjunction with replacing all the windows in the house, so they got tons of money from us. We had vinyl siding. If it was brick, it would have been $1000-2000 extra per window. I interviewed a couple window companies while we were looking at houses, and learned to eliminate brick houses if they needed more light!
The double window took an entire day on its own. All this work does mess up the interior walls, so you will need to fix that and replace the interior trim and window sills. This work was not included in our price. DH and I are pretty handy and did it on our own; if not, you will need to factor that into your cost as well. Oh, and the double window required re-routing some electrical wires. Again, DH and I did that, but if not, you'll need an electrician. |
Anonymous
| not worth it, you may need permits etc... cause it's structural. It would be easier and cheaper to install a skylight or sun tunnel. |
Anonymous
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This was not the information I was hoping to hear but better now than later.
Will have to reconsider and weigh pros and cons. Thanks again. |
Anonymous
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I have not tried them but have heard that Solatubes bring in a lot of natural light:
http://www.solatube.com |
Anonymous
THose are wonderful! We had them in another state. |