Windows questions

[Cropping Up]

I've been reading through pages and pages of posts here and searching old threads (this place is amazing!) and have realized I know a lot less about windows and framing (among other things) than I had thought.  I've Amazoned a few books you guys recommend and in the meantime am toying with some rough building ideas for a small house/cabin.  I keep coming back to questions about windows and framing, if I can bother you with them.

1)  What is the maximum wall depth for a standard window without resorting to extensions or custom pieces?  I've read several posts about standard windows fitting a 2x6 wall but with limits on sheathing and sheetrock, etc.  Also, if a wall exceeds that depth, how hard is it to 'make it work' without custom-ordering anything?

2)  How much is too much window?  If a wall is say 16 feet long and I have two 36" windows, how far apart should they be?  Is it unsafe to go larger than that (like two 48")?  What about one 48"?

This is all new to me, unfortunately.  And if I should just keep quiet and wait for the books, tell me.   

[Redoverfarm]

I've been reading through pages and pages of posts here and searching old threads (this place is amazing!) and have realized I know a lot less about windows and framing (among other things) than I had thought.  I've Amazoned a few books you guys recommend and in the meantime am toying with some rough building ideas for a small house/cabin.  I keep coming back to questions about windows and framing, if I can bother you with them.

1)  What is the maximum wall depth for a standard window without resorting to extensions or custom pieces?  I've read several posts about standard windows fitting a 2x6 wall but with limits on sheathing and sheetrock, etc.  Also, if a wall exceeds that depth, how hard is it to 'make it work' without custom-ordering anything?

2)  How much is too much window?  If a wall is say 16 feet long and I have two 36" windows, how far apart should they be?  Is it unsafe to go larger than that (like two 48")?  What about one 48"?

This is all new to me, unfortunately.  And if I should just keep quiet and wait for the books, tell me.   

Every window manufacturer offers a variety of windows to cover varing wall depths.  But if you get stuck with a 2X4 wall window you just add extensions to the jamb's.  Some companies  offer 2X4 windows and sell the jams extensions and or 2X6 wall depth windows.  Best to check the window company that you are dealing with to see what they offer.

As far as the location of the windows I don't think there is any limit if they are properly supported by headers, jack studs and the like. It just re-distributes the load to the jack studs and headers for the space you cut out for the windows.   I have a bank of 3 windows (36") in a 12'wall. 

[walkabout]

Check with your building inspector as they might have restrictions on how close you can place windows to the corners of your outside walls.

My inspector wanted me to keep all windows at least 4' from the corners, unless I have continuous  structural sheathing from the floor trusses to the top plate of the wall.
With the continuous sheathing I could go no closer than 2' from the corners. To meet their requirement all I had to do was run some 4x10 sheathing vertically instead of horizontally.
Here is a diagram of what I am talking about:


Since the prevailing wind is out of the west directly at this wall I understand why they require this.

[MountainDon]

Not all windows are made for a particular wall thickness; many are just a window that needs the inside of the window framing trimmed out. Sometimes that is done with drywall wrapping around the corner from the wall, sometimes that is done with wood boards and trim.  Most, if not all, of the windows stocked in the local big box store with be like that.

On the other hand you can order custom made windows for any thickness of wall you care to build. And if you are looking at picking up some deals, say a nice Pella window made for a 2x4 wall and you have a 2x6 wall that can be remied as Redoverfarm indicated.


As for the question of how many windows, how large a window, that is an excellent question. As walkabout indicated there are things that should not be done with windows as well as doors. This is especially true if one is planning a building to be constructed in a location that uses a building code such as the IRC. The quick and dirty answer is that if you keep all windows and doors at least a full 4 feet distance from any corner you should be fine. The answer is more complex as these braced wall panels must usually occur every 25 feet, so in a 16 to 20 foot cabin end wall you may be able to have a window or door nearer to a corner.

A great place to start a self design process would be with the IRC itself.

We have a board dedicated to just the IRC. There is a topic there on where to find copies of the IRC online.

[Okie Bob]

I designed and built my house and so far it seems all is well. I have no codes required or inspected but, try my best to follow IRC.
Having said that, my house is on waterfront property and the lake is on the north side. I wanted all the water view I could get and decided on the following. My north end of the house is 24' wide. I placed an 8' sliding glass door in the center and a 6' stationary type all glass door/window on either side. That's a total of 20'. I used 2x12' headers in a 10' wall supported between each 'door' and the end walls with glues and screwed 2x4's between each door/window and corners. This not only seems extremely strong and there is no weight on the doors/windows. I also had custom made doors and windows, double pained, low e glass and gas filled.
I don't know if this is overkill or maybe even under designed but, it seems ok to me and accomplished what I had intended. This was done about 4 years ago and no problems so far...well, I did screw up one thing. I was using my pressure washer on my deck and managed to hit the window on one side and broke the seal!! Not a good thing to do and now I need to replace it as it is now smoking looking and probably defeated all the insulation value as well as looks bad. The company I bought them from is now out of business and another company want $1,000 to repair it!!!! So, I'm living with it and plan to replace both the outside windows with full sliding glass new doors.

[Cropping Up]

Thanks for the responses.  I have been scanning the IRC and, from what I've learned so far, don't have to meet any local building codes so I wanted to see what you guys thought.  You've given me some good food for thought.