Arrested Development - Ex-Pats Mexico

Has anyone had major work done replacing windows?

I am looking to replace existing window that are 1/2 way up the wall to the ceiling, with floor to ceiling windows/patio door.

This will be a big job, major structural since it means removing the existing windows, knocking down approx 4 ft of the wall that supports them ..... so I need to know what to look for, questions to ask etc.. ..

Should I be looking for a building contractor, or is this the type of job a window specialist firm can do??

That sounds nice... sumthin you couldn't consider in the frosty country...
Question: will you hafta bar the sh*t out of em?

Oh yea, hocks, forgot to mention ..... that part of the house will be surrounded by a crocodile infested moat!

that sounds nice too....

If your house was built using the traditional methods then it really isn't a complicated or difficult job. Windows typically have a reinforced concrete beam header (at 2.10 meters off the floor) so the wall below your present window isn't structurally important. Have a maestro albañil knock out the wall below the window and prepare the opening for the slider. Have your local aluminum and glass shop build and install the slider.

I just did the same thing at our beach home.

Pretty traditional I would think ... it's around 50 yrs old. I know the inside walls (knocked a couple down earlier) were two brick walls about 8 inches apart, with bricks perpendicular between that, filled with concrete (or cement or whatever!)

Thanks for the pic ... looks like what I want to do .. any pics of the finished project?

Not a good pic but you get the idea.