Walls of Glass

Our 800 lb. window returned yesterday, and this time it survived long enough to be put in place. It's about 50 square feet of 3/4" thick tempered glass, and the installers usually insist on using a crane for this kind of job. But it's not easy to get a crane to the site, with the lack of open level ground near the backyard, so manual labor carried the day.

It was a heroic effort. Several guys hoisted the pane, in a coordinated fashion, through the narrow gap between the house and the scaffolding that had been set up to support them as they put it into place. By comparison, the 500 lb. doors were "easy" because they could just be lifted through the large opening.

Happily, both installations were a success and the house is now considerably less drafty as a result.

The door is a Fleetwood Norwood 3070-EX, a system of two 6' wide floor-to-ceiling (9' high) sliding pocket doors. This was one of our splurges. We want to showcase the view and light in the back of the house as much as possible, and the best way to do that is with doors that are almost all glass and that can get completely out of the way. The result will be a seamless blend between indoor and outdoor living, all the better to enjoy the many sunny Potrero Hill days ahead.