Art studio/ music room/library....anything creative...sewing, reading...writing...It is a beautiful serene space where one could spend many a quiet and memorable time. I can just see my cat making a beeline for what he would perceive is open space only to find himself concertinered up against the glass! If I owned this room I would have to have a frosted border about 30cm high all along the bottom of the glass, Whover owns this place is pretty fortunate and I hope they count their blessings.

Dear All, I must apologise to all. I think I may have spoiled the point of the discussion. I was supposed to have mentioned country only.

Re karen3812's comment about the direction of the flooring, it would be good to know what was behind the decision to do it as they did

There are so many variables and ways to build things. Building succesfully is very much working well in three dimensions and understanding the structure, and the waterproofing required in three dimensions. Your question suggest that you are only thinking in terms of heights and brick courses, but there are lots of other things happening that would suggest that you get a section of the house and post it with dimensions. Most building professionals work in millimetrres rather than brick coursing. So converting your dimensions to millimetres - 28 courses is 2400mm, which is the minimum height for a habitable room ceiling. Six courses of brickwork is 514mm for the window opening, however your glazed area will be less than this due to the width of the window frame. Your 3 courses of brickwork which is 257mm should be enough for most steel lintels, unless you have a really wide opening for a window? You also need to allow for flashing if the clerestorey is above another roof running into the same wall - if this is the case you may need the full 47 courses. I would be asking your designers why they need 47 courses, as it is a lot higher, and there may be problems with setback issues? Is it a flashing issue? Is it a window opening width and lintel issue. I am afraid you haven't really supplied enough information or images to explain about the clerestorey window so it is impossible to answer precisely. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls and Dr Retro Virtual Visist