Replace load-bearing window section

[Mats_Svensson]

I am going to replace the windows in my 40-year-old single-story house with a structure of standing wall elements made of Siporex and plastered exterior walls. A three-meter-wide window section that is load-bearing will be replaced with tall windows that are non-load-bearing. Three trusses rest on the current window section. The simplest solution from a construction perspective would naturally be to make recesses in the wall elements on either side of the wall opening and insert a load-bearing beam. For aesthetic reasons and practicality - to avoid replastering and re-wallpapering - I am considering if there is another solution. What I am considering is whether the load-bearing beam, which should have a maximum thickness of 150 mm, can somehow be placed on top of the wall elements; in such a way that the support surfaces align with the top edge of the beam. This way, visible interventions in the exterior walls could be avoided. Additionally, how would such a beam be constructed to have the lowest possible u-value?

 

[MrElliott]

If you are not going to have a full window, you could have solid vertical studs that match the placement of the trusses laterally. So, it becomes a division of the window opening into 3? parts.

 

[Mats_Svensson]

Your suggestion is a simple and good construction, but unfortunately not an answer to my question.

 

[styrman1]

Are you planning to install a sliding door system? It almost sounds like you have one in progress, and if so, the beam must also take deflection into account.
Additionally, if you need a solution where the beam is a maximum of 150mm, we might forget about glulam and perhaps choose a steel beam instead.
Spontaneously, it sounds like you should invite a structural engineer to take a look at it. Where in Sweden do you live?

 

[Mats_Svensson]

No, there will be no sliding door in this wall opening, but rather 2 windows 10 x 21 and a fully-glazed door 10 X 21. The beam can be 300 mm high and 150 mm thick/deep.

 

[styrman1]

How wide is the house?
Assuming the opening will be on the long side of the house, I need to know how wide the house is on the short side. If we assume 7.2m, you can use glulam as follows:
90x270
66x315
90x315 etc.
or kerto 63x300