Floor-to-ceiling windows in a private house: opening, glass, sun protection

Floor-to-ceiling windows in a private house: what to decide in advance

Floor-to-ceiling windows in a private house on the coast are fitted for the view of the sea or mountains: glass from floor to ceiling, a slim frame, a room that opens outwards. Such a window cannot be ordered after construction like an ordinary one. Its size drives the structure: above the opening there must be a lintel or beam that will not deflect onto the glass, at the floor a threshold level with the finished floor, and in the ceiling space for curtains or external ZIP screens. So we design panoramas together with the frame of the house.

The structure of the opening

Large glass is vulnerable to deflection. If the lintel over the opening drops a few millimetres, the frame twists, the sashes stop closing and the glass unit may crack. So the width of the opening and the section of the beam above it are calculated by the structural engineer, and an installation gap is left between the frame and the beam for possible deflection. Batumi lies in a seismic zone, and large glass walls are fixed so that the structure can shift slightly without loading the glass. More on this on the seismic design page.

Which glass to use in a panorama

• laminated inner pane if the glass starts at the floor;
• toughened outer pane that withstands wind and temperature changes;
• multifunctional or solar control glass on the south and west sides;
• a warm-edge spacer so the edge of the unit does not get wet in winter.

The glass unit of a panoramic window weighs hundreds of kilograms. It is lifted with a vacuum lifter and raised to upper floors by crane or hoist, so access to the house is planned in advance.

Heat in summer, condensation in winter

A glass wall facing south or west without protection turns a living room into a greenhouse, and the air conditioner cannot keep up. Solar control glass, deep floor-slab overhangs, external louvres and ZIP screens help by stopping the sun outside, before it gets into the room. How to size air conditioning for such a living room is described on the air conditioning page. In winter cold air flows down from large glass to the floor. Along the panorama we fit trench heaters or underfloor heating with closer pipe spacing: warm air cuts off the cold, and the glass does not mist up.

Fixed and opening sections

Fixed glass is cheaper with a slimmer frame, but it cannot be opened and is awkward to clean outside. So a panorama is usually divided: fixed sections where the view is, and sliding or opening sashes where the exit and ventilation are. For the way out to the terrace we fit a lift-and-slide door or a slim-frame system, as covered on the sliding glass systems page. On the upper floor we plan how the glass will be cleaned outside: from a balcony, from a terrace or through an opening sash.

How much panoramic glazing costs

A floor-to-ceiling window in thermally broken aluminium with a toughened and laminated glass unit, installed, costs from 1 110 ₾ per m². A lift-and-slide door from 1 500 ₾ per m², a slim-frame sliding system with a concealed sash from 2 340 ₾ per m², a bi-fold system from 1 320 ₾ per m². Structural glazing without external pressure caps from 1 500 ₾ per m². Motorised external ZIP screens from 750 ₾ per m², aluminium solar louvres from 570 ₾ per m², a roller shutter motor from 690 ₾. The final cost is set after the opening design and an agreed estimate.