What is the current approximate cost of an exterior wall in $/foot?
There is a beautiful remodel underway in my neighborhood, and the front facade of the house uses nanaWall, to wonderful effect.
I have mountain property and have been thinking through the possibilities for a new house there. View is incredible, as well as incoming solar radiation. So this application would be great, if i can afford it.
I have the cost of nanaWall from their website as $600-1950 per linear foot (the high estimate is for Dade County, FL hurricane codes. I will not need that for the mountains of Virginia), but i would like to know how to compare.
Assume 30-50 foot long, one storey wall with 3 windows and one door, for me to compare to the nanaWall, please.
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
Cherly: Compare the WHAT, exactly? There are 100 ways to build walls, and each has an associated cost. If you are comparing nanawall to a "standard" 2x6 wall, I think you'll have to check local prices item by item (1/2 cdx plywood, 2x6's, good windows, etc) or ask a local contractor for a rough idea. I would be concerned about over-heating in a glass house. How has your neighbor addressed that? It will be interesting to see what the pros here say. Good luck.
[Editor's note: See links below.]
RELATED ARTICLES
Choosing a High-Performance Wall Assembly
Is Double-Stud Wall Construction the Path to Efficiency on a Budget?
High R-Value Walls: Building Plans for Double-Stud Wall Construction
Choosing a Cost-Effective Wall System
All About Larsen Trusses
Five Different High-R Walls
Six Proven Ways to Build Energy-Smart Walls
Calculating the Minimum Thickness of Rigid Foam Sheathing
Double-Stud Walls
Out-sulation vs Double Stud Walls
Options for high R-value above-grade walls (R-80)?
i am looking for comparisons to the minimum stick built (2x4 stud wall) that you would find in a spec house, and really just a ballpark. i am going to ask my neighbors and friends who are contractors for their input, they will know more about local prices, but the location i am talking about is hundreds of miles away from where i live. thanks for your response. anything within +/- 15% or so would be an acceptable approximation for me. i have lived in and renovated several houses while i lived in them at this point, but never run total numbers before...
It depends on the climate and how the "glass wall" is oriented and shaded or not shaded.
You could be paying a HUGE energy penalty for a fashionable Wall-O-Glass
From the way your question is phrased Cheryl it seems you think that installing the nanawall will save the cost of building a regular wall. The reverse is probably true - huge headers do not come cheap. For a more realistic assessment just compare the nanawall cost directly to the cost of the alternative 3 windows plus door. The differential cost of more or less solid wall in which they are installed will be marginal.
But as John J and John K point out, construction cost is only part of the picture. There are very significant energy issues involved which could include excessive solar gain, excessive heat loss, and poor air-sealing characteristics. Also of course in the Virginia mountains you will probably need insect screening and I don't know how you'd achieve that on such a large opening. There are climates where such technology can work wonderfully. It's easy to be seduced by those images of Mexican resort palapas with infinity pools and ocean views. In your situation though you'd almost certainly be better off with other options.
no, i am sure that the nanawall will be more expensive, the question is how much? and yes screens, nanawall does make them. and i plan to consider the climate, vs. the size of the glass wall. and yes what i am trying to compare is the cost of that compared to the 3 windows and a door. there are other options as well, wood cased french doors etc. those are expensive too. i did not know of nanawal until the remodel got under way in raleigh nc,, the virginia mountains are colder its true, but there are plenty of pictures in the online brochure for nanawall that are in new england etc. trying to consider lots of design options: tromb wall or other passive heat sink, curtains to pull at night, . i have a perfect due south facing location with no trees at all on that side. and i figure that there are at leeat a couple of months a year when i could have the wall wide open and the fire going, and the moon shining in.........and no bugs. closed the rest of the time bu what a view.
The simple answer is it will cost more. If you want it, then get it. It would save money by just not building at all. Hey, vacations are not money making, but I really enjoy spending money on them!
planning to retire there, sooner rather than later, start a cut flower and plant propagation business, spend my time outdoors in the fresh air, the way it was meant to be.. so i want a nice house, not a vacation place.
There are alternatives to nanawall (e.g. la cantina, duratherm) that are not quite as expensive. However all these systems are more expensive than even a high performance wall assembly by significant order of magnitude.
OK, so here's a seat-of-the-pants, order of magnitude, very rough estimate:
Let's take a 20' section of nanawall at $1,000/linear foot (ignoring the $600 lowball number as almost certainly unrealistic, especially if you're including screens). That comes to a nice round $20K. Now consider the same 20' of wall with a french door of equivalent quality (around $2,500) and three windows at about $600 each, so between $4-5K total. As I mentioned before you can ignore the cost of the solid part of the wall in these numbers, what you save on siding and insulation you'll spend on headers, jacks and trim so it's going to cost about the same as if there were no opening in it. Bottom line, going the nanawall route is going to be about 15K more.
The heart wants what the heart wants, but there may be more rewarding ways to achieve your vision. What about a covered patio with an exterior fireplace?
thanks that is exactly what i needed.
This isn't an answer just a comment. More than a year later and I had the exact same question. I wanted to compare the costs of a wall with windows to the glass folding door system. We are building a home in South Central TX and I wanted the glass folding door system (that didn't obstruct) or some way to enjoy the Hill Country view. I think the porch with a fireplace is a great idea. Thanks