I have a 80″ wide window into the back yard but backyard access only through the garage. Figured I could put a sliding glass door in place of the window. The window header is half an inch shy of 80″. This is an aluminum framed window which I assume has some type of nailing flage imbedded into the stucco exterior wall. What is the preferred option – just take the recip saw to the aluminum frame and slip in the door, or cut the stucco and remove the nailing flange. I am leaning toward just cutting out the aluminum frame so I won’t have to try and patch the stucco around the new door.
Since all the other windows are aluminum framed, I figured an aluminum frame slider would fit in and should provide a frame that is the least intrusive of the view than the other styles of sliders or French doors that I have looked at.
Any thoughts on accomplishing this feat will be appreciated.
Thanks
Replies
Let's start here;
Is this even a load bearing wall?
Are you sure?
What kind of stucco is it?
Real three coat portland based masonry or a dryvit style elastomeric over foam?
How much rain do you want to allow in?
What size door will you be using?
How high is the window header?
Is there any wiring or plumbing in the wall under the window?
Does your local AHJ require a permit for this sort of job?
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This is an exterior wall that I assume is doing its part in holding up the roof.
This is real stucco - the genuine stuff circa 1957. In the exposed areas of the garage it is 2x4 construction covered by "tar paper" covered by "chicken wire" covered by stucco something like 1/2" plus of really hard stucco. In the garage, the wall is braced by 1x6s let into the 2x4s at the corners.
The roof overhang is over 2feet and is about 2' above the opening, but still want to guard against rain infiltration (The S.F. Bay Area is not a high rain area but there is the occasional storm.)
The slider will take up the entire area now taken by the window - 80" (plus or minus an 1/8") from header to subfloor, 95 1/2" width on the inside of the window, 96" on the outside of the window where the aluminum frame meets the stucco.
I am assuming that the top of window opening is the header, but it could be higher up, will need to remove some dry wall to know for sure.
There is some wiring under the window, 2 duplex outlets that were installed by some one who ran romex from one of the few original outlets and placed the romex in the space between the drywall and the floor. That wiring needs to be removed in any event.
I have been told by someone who says he has done others (no stucco involved however) that no permit is required. Being deaf, I can't just call up the County so will have to take someone's word for it.
Sorry, I can't help it ... you're saying that the county is deaf and impossible to talk to?
Seriously, go down and talk with them in person. Most times they welcome people asking for advice in advance,and will explain at length what they want done. I would think that if you sent an email first and asked for an appointment, they would have an interpreter avaiable.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Sheesh, did you used to be a fifth grade grammar teacher in a previous life? I have been over and talked to the AHJ before - back when I could actually still comprehend something when it was said only once. It would probably take a full day to go over there, wait my turn, and drive back. Would just as soon avoid it if possible. I am not sure that the old saying is always true about asking for forgiveness rather than permission. But in this case I think I am willing to take a chance.
The rason the tarpaper is behind the stucco is that the stucco is not water tight. Rain will blow through it in a high wind or from constant wetting with sprinklers. So At the header, you need to preserve that integrity for shedding water. riopping the AL window with a sawsall is going to leave a flange nailed up there to contend with. your new installation will need to have a flange or flawshing worked in under the tarpaper carefully. I am presuming that your thought is the way to remove the window, but that you would need to use the recip saw vertically to remove the AL flange by cutting behind it and killing the nails holding it there, while making a slot for th enew flange or flashing.Check your floor for level too. Upon installation, the first thing you will need to be doing to assure a nicely working door unit is to be sure the subfloor it sits on is absolutely level. If no, that means you will be shimming up one side or the other. That will decrease the height of your framed openning, possibly enough to cause headaches for you. I am confused still at some of the answers re: the dimensions. are you saying the header is 80" long or that it is 80" up from the subfloor?
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I had a senior moment when typing in the original dimension. The window opening is 80 inches from subfloor to top of window. The window opening is 95.5 inches wide on the living room side of the window. I am planning on putting in an 8 ft wide slider. I was at Home Depot and they said the standard 80" slider is actually 79.25". Then my hearing aid died so I didn't ask them as to what the actual width was. And yeah, I figured on just using the recip saw or my portable bandsaw to cut the aluminum holding the window glass flush with the inner opening and slide the new slider in there. I can't image that if I were to cut the nails of the nailing flange under the stucco, that I could just slide the flange out and leave the stucco intact. I am guessing, but don't know, that the stucco would probably stick pretty tight to the nailing flange. I wish I were set up down here to take a picture and post it. The outer edge of the aluminum window frame is slightly rounded and the stucco appears to be have been forced in behind it during installation. The outermost edge of the window frame is even with the exterior stucco. If I have to remove the nailing flange, about the only way to do it would be to cut stucco out a couple of inches from the frame all the way around the window, remove the stucco, and then remove the flange. This may leave me with an unsupported edge of the stucco, that would require removing the interior dry wall and creating a brace behind the drywall - not that big a deal but work that I would just as soon avoid if I can. One other problem is that the stucco has knock down texturing and I have never seen anyone patch this type of stucco so that it is not noticeable - it will probably be pretty evident where the stucco was cut out. I also decided to measure the roof overhang and it sticks out from the wall 40 inches and the bottom of the roof is 14 inches above the top of the window opening - the rain would have to be pretty near horizontal to get to the top of the window opening.
Why do you ask about load bearing? If he is replacing an existing window with a door, and not making the existing opening any larger, then it's a moot point.
The twobiggest concerns I would have are getting a door that fit the opening, and making it watertight.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Well, because I am unsure of the dimensions. Could be a terminology problem here.But a typical AL slider is about 6' wide and he reported a header that is 79.5 inches long in an 80" openning, where it should be 83" long so that leaves the problem of an unsupported header but a solution of an extra 4" approx. on either side of the door unit.But now there is something about 95-96" wide? openning????
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Well, you're right about being concerned with the header if the width is too small. I was assuming he was going to work within the existing width.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
How about an entry door with sidelights to take up the extra space.