Advice needed on enlarging pre-existing windows in a room that makes me claustrophobic?

Question

I want to enlarge a couple of my bedroom windows, and wondered if anyone has ever done this or has any expertise advice on whether it would even be possible or wise to do in this situation. Brick house. Corner bedroom with the only windows being 2 that are only 23" wide each, separated by 88 1/2 " on a wall that is a total of 198" (5 1/2 yds.) They face the direct western sun, so the house was probably built this way to block out that sun. But I would like to extend the roof to shade the area (maybe a patio under it) and widen those windows. I like to see OUT and these are too narrow for much window gazing. They are so widely spaced that it looks like they are not in sync together....the room gets on my nerves because of it. And yet....it is my master bedroom. Is this a do-able project, and if so, what kind of price range could I be looking at to get this fixed???

Answer 1

It is going to cost you mega money and more if you hire a professional (which you should do for this kind of work). If the bricks are old chances are that most of them will crumble and you will have to replace them, which will show up on the outside.
Then, becasue of it being brick, instead of putting wood across the top for framing you will need a steel gurder so the rest of the bricks won't fall down.
A few years ago I had a guy come to look at a window becasue I wanted to put a patio door in. Luckily, he was an honest guy. He told me to save my money, put some mirrors in on the opposite wall for reflection and go out for supper and stop thinking. A bedroom is made for sleeping, not for gazing out the windows.
Well, he was right!! After I thought about it, I put up three long mirrors on the opposite wall, extended my curtain rod so that my curtains came to the sides of the windows (to let more light in) and added light colored curtains and bedspread and bedskirt. You wouldn't believe the difference in that room!!
And you know what? I still only sleep in there.

Answer 2

if you make the windows taller this is relatively easy.
if you want to go wider, i hope you have a platinum plated checkbook, cuz you'll need it.
taller windows are easy because the support has been engineered for you.
to make the windows wider, major reengineering of the headers WILL be required. this will require architectural or engineered drawings by the permit people.
then the old bricks must be cut out. a sloppy cut job is an eyesore. hire a contractor who has pictures or a job address you can go look at to see the quality of his work. talk to the people there and ask if they would hire the contractor again.
re pitching your roof to accomodate a patio could be even more expensive.
coming off mid span at a different pitch looks unprofessional to me, but is much cheaper, and is done commonly, particularly on the back of a structure.
costs. differing areas of the country have much different labor rates, won't go there.

Answer 3

Most of these answers are sound. They seem to lack the most important aspect: you need a structural engineer to evaluate before you do anything. You cannot afford to take a contractor's word that there will be no issues by doing this. An engineer is at least legally responsible for his recommendation. The contractor's responsibility will apply more so to the quality of the finished product. Be careful and get references and pictures or tours of past projects. If you're going to do it right (spend big bucks), then perhaps looking into french doors would be an option.

Either way, have it evaluated first.

Answer 4

Unless you're an experienced DYIer, this should be done by professionals.

Call some contractors to get some bids.

Answer 5

add some mirrors instead