Glass walls and bi-fold doors for Lake Minnetonka homes

We turn the lake side of a house into glass: Andersen MultiGlide and folding door systems, large picture windows and window walls, and the structural work it takes to open a solid wall. Beams, headers, permits and flashing are part of the job, so the opening is built to hold up as well as it looks.

Request a visit Call (763) 300-4692

Open the house to the lake

On a lake lot, the best room in the house is often the one with the worst wall: a run of small windows or a single patio door facing the water. Replacing that wall with a glass opening changes how the whole main floor lives. The view comes inside, and on a good day the living room, the deck and the dock start to feel like one space.

We do this work for homeowners in Orono, Wayzata, Excelsior, Mound, Minnetonka, Deephaven, Shorewood, Minnetrista and the other towns around Lake Minnetonka, and across our Twin Cities service area. Most projects are one of three things, often combined: a moving glass wall that slides or folds open, a fixed wall of large windows, or both set into an opening we've made wider.

Andersen moving glass wall systems we install

Andersen calls its oversized patio doors and glass wall systems Big Doors. These are the ones we focus on for lake homes. Sizes below are Andersen's published maximums; what fits your wall depends on the structure, the sill and the configuration.

Andersen MultiGlide™ Door

Large sliding glass panels that each run on their own track and stack to one side, or pocket into the wall for a clear opening. Andersen sizes it for openings up to 50 feet wide and 10 feet tall, with panels up to 60 inches wide, in contemporary or traditional designs. Contemporary panel profiles are 2.75 inches, and automated opening is an option.

Andersen Folding Outswing Door

Andersen's bi-fold door: top-hung panels that fold like an accordion along a single track and open from the left, right or center. It's built for openings up to 48 feet wide and 10 feet tall, in 2 to 16 panels, with an aluminum-clad exterior and wood interior. Because it doesn't need a wall pocket, it suits remodels well.

Andersen Beefy Bifold Door

A heavier-duty folding system for bigger panels. Andersen lists it up to 40 feet wide and 13 feet 6 inches tall, with panels up to 5 feet wide, in wood, aluminum or aluminum-clad wood, with a center-pivoting design and internal shoot-bolt locks.

Andersen also makes pass-through window versions of the MultiGlide and folding doors, a good fit between a kitchen counter and a deck or bar. Andersen's other Big Doors, including the Liftslide and Pivot doors, are worth asking about if the opening calls for them. If you have a different brand or system in mind, ask and we'll tell you whether we can install it.

Turning a solid wall into a glass opening

Most lake-facing walls weren't framed for 20 or 30 feet of glass. Often the wall is load-bearing, carrying the floor or roof above. Opening it means replacing that support with an engineered beam or header, and carrying the load down through posts to a footing or foundation that can take it.

Where the opening requires it, we bring in and coordinate a licensed structural engineer to size the beam, posts and connections, and we build to that design. While the old wall comes out, the structure above is temporarily supported. Then the beam goes in, the new rough opening is framed square and level, and the floor is prepared for the sill the door system calls for.

Large door systems are particular about the header as well as the opening. Andersen's sell sheet for its Folding Outswing Door, for example, says to verify that the header deflects no more than the lesser of L/750 of the span or 1/4 inch under live and dead loads. That's stiffer than a lot of ordinary headers, so it's checked before anything is ordered.

A structural change like this needs a building permit and inspections. We handle the permit, pulled under our Minnesota residential building contractor license (BC808378), and schedule the city inspections as part of the project scope.

Large windows and picture walls

Not every wall needs to open. Fixed picture windows and stacked or ganged window walls give the most glass and the least frame for a view you mostly look at, and they can sit beside or above a moving glass door to finish the elevation.

Large fixed units are heavy and need a sound header and a level, supported sill, the same as a door. We plan the framing, flashing and trim for the whole glass wall as one system. For the window brands we install, including Andersen, Kolbe, Marvin, Pella and Weather Shield, see our windows page.

Built for Minnesota weather

A big opening is only as good as its sill and flashing. We install a sill pan or equivalent so incidental water drains out, and flash the jambs and head into the house wrap or weather-resistive barrier, the same standard we use on window openings. Lake-facing walls see wind-driven rain and winter wind, so the threshold, the deck or patio height and the drainage path all have to line up.

Cold matters too. Ask about the glass and frame options for a large wall facing the lake; Andersen, for one, points to thermally controlled frames, triple-pane glass and the right Low-E coatings as its most energy-efficient choices for big doors. If siding or trim around the opening is being replaced, doing it with siding work keeps the wrap and flashing continuous.

How a glass wall project works

Every house is different, but most projects follow this sequence:

Look at the wall, the view and how you use the space. We check the framing, what the wall carries, the floor and deck heights, and where open panels would stack.
Choose the system and the glass. Sliding or folding, stacking or pocketing, fixed glass beside it or not. The goal is the right opening for the house, not just the widest one.
Structural design and permit. If the wall is load-bearing, we bring in a licensed structural engineer to design the beam and supports where required, and we pull the permit under our Minnesota license.
Written proposal. The door or windows, the structural and engineering work, permit, flashing and exterior trim. We don't publish prices; you get an itemized proposal for your house.
Order, build and install. Large systems often have the longest lead time, so we sequence the structural work around delivery. Then we set and flash the unit, adjust operation and weatherseals, and walk you through it.

Glass wall and bi-fold door questions

Can you replace a load-bearing wall with a wall of glass?

Often, yes. The load the wall carries is moved to an engineered beam or header and posts down to a footing. Where the opening requires it, we bring in and coordinate a licensed structural engineer to size those parts, and the work is permitted and inspected by the city. We'll tell you after looking at the wall whether it's practical.

What's the difference between a MultiGlide door and a bi-fold door?

Andersen's MultiGlide Door is a sliding system: panels run on their own tracks and stack to one side or pocket into the wall. A bi-fold door, like Andersen's Folding Outswing Door, folds its panels like an accordion along one track. Pocketing needs wall space for the panels; folding doesn't, which often makes it easier in a remodel.

How big can an Andersen glass wall be?

Andersen publishes maximums of about 50 feet wide and 10 feet tall for the MultiGlide Door, 48 feet by 10 feet for the Folding Outswing Door, and 40 feet by 13 feet 6 inches for the Beefy Bifold Door. Your actual size depends on the wall, the header and the configuration.

Do large glass doors work in a Minnesota winter?

Yes, when the system and glass are chosen for the climate and the sill, flashing and weatherseals are installed correctly. Most problems with big doors start at a poorly flashed threshold, which is why we treat the sill as part of the structure, not an afterthought.

Do you handle the permit?

Yes. Opening a load-bearing wall needs a building permit and inspections, and we handle the permit, pulled under our Minnesota residential building contractor license (BC808378), as part of the project.

Do you only install Andersen?

No. We install Andersen MultiGlide and folding door systems, along with other window and door brands, and we'll tell you whether we can install a system you already have in mind. Product warranties come from the manufacturer; we'll share the published terms for whatever you choose.

Thinking about opening up the lake side?

We'll look at the wall, the view and the structure, talk through the options, and put a clear scope in writing.

Request a visit