Background: We are doing a mostly DIY project of renovating a "rompus room" off of our garage. We want to turn it into a multi-use space for entertaining, with good communication to the patio, and where we can also have a Murphy bed or futon for guests to stay. We plan to put in a sink and possibly a dishwasher. We will renovate an existing 1/2 bath. We may put a floor down on the existing concrete floor. We may remove the ceiling for an open industrial look. We will insulate and put in AC and some form of heat. We would like a seamless indoor/outdoor feel across the threshold of the door and the patio. We will likely add decking to the patio.

Specific dilemma/question: We want to replace the iron windows and wood door on the wall pictured, with some kind of door or doors in a cost efficient way. There is a 10 foot beam in place above the existing iron window that we hope to take advantage of because we understand purchasing and installing the beam is very expensive. We are considering these options:

1. Place two French doors side by side in the space where the current window is; fill in hole where current door is. [DISADVANTAGE: less seamless feeling between indoor and outdoor; French doors would not be centered on the wall, will that look weird? without the door there? We would still have to move the beam up 3-6 inches]

2. Put some kind of folding door where the current window is, taking advantage of the beam, but moving it to the center of the wall. The beam would also have to be moved up approximately 3-6 inches for this to work especially if we put a floor on top of the existing cement floor. [DISADVANTAGE--possibly very expensive? We have seen a few folding doors for about $2700, but we worry about the mechanism not being good quality and it being a headache later if the door parts break. Most of the 10 ft folding doors we have seen are more like $10K. Also, is moving the beam up and over super costly?]

3. Create a 10 foot doorway in existing window hole, or possibly moving the beam to the center of the wall, depending on the cost (see drawing attached), and hang a barn door on the exterior wall, with a floor track; close the hole where the existing door is located [QUESTIONS: can a hanging exterior barn door be sealed enough to close a finished room? If this is a viable option, are barn doors like this viable for everyday use or would we need/want a side door? There is an existing door into the room on another wall that went to a water heater which has now been moved elsewhere, but the beam for that door would need to be raised to make it useable. If the door on the wall pictured were functional for every day use, we would fill in that door on the side in order to make more use of that wall of the room].

I have never posted here and have no idea it this is too much info. Any responses or reactions would be most appreciated!

Existing exterior

view of window/door

Existing interior view with window beam exposed.

Close up of beam.

Drawing of possible barn door configuration