A great thread to read, I only got 1/2-way thru today, but will catch-up to the end shortly. Your site looks like a place that you can work and retire-to without any issues. The site plan is impressive, and your family is lucky to be able to make it work for you, congratulations.
I like the Houston area, and though I live in south FL, I visited the Houston area repeatedly with my GF, that was quite awhile-ago, and now I'm securely anchored in FL. My wife and I will be retiring during the next year, I'm already collecting my full SS, and previously retired years-ago from a first-responder job. I'm on my second pension eligibility now.
I'm sure that when I read the rest of the thread, I'll see what your choices were for the opening walls. We did a ranch re-model to a mid 1950's home in an area of metro Miami where Jeb Bush lives, and anyone who follows politics will know of the Bush family connections to TX, Houston, and metro Miami FL.
We looked at replacing an 18' 3-panel sliding glass door system, not tempered, original to the home, looking-out to the pool deck. We considered La Cantina, but chose the nanawall system. The nanawall is HVHZ-rated (high-velocity hurricane zone) for 175 mph gusts. That's what you need under the coastal requirements in Florida now.
The nanawall looked to have better thermal breaks than the La Cantina, and to me the extrusions also appeared to be more-robust. Everyone who sees our nanawall is very-impressed as you can open it to its 18 ft wide expanse in probably 40 seconds. It definitely makes the home bring the outside 'inside,' though we usually don't keep it open much. One door in the center is like an exterior door, and they pin closed at the top and bottom, with a very reassuring mechanical action. Outside noise is very attenuated, it's 'high-E' glass, and yes, it was expensive.
About the burglary, I'm glad it was a burglary and not a robbery. As in Florida, a lot of people in the state carry CCW permits. Now in FL, it's 1 out of 20 who legally-carries, among residents, so chances are that if you choose to flaunt your firearm in the commission of a felony, there are multiple people in an urban area who are also armed. People are shot here all the time, unfortunately, on both sides of the law. One of the LEO's who worked in the same municipality as me was murdered when he went outside his apt. to see what was going-on one night, decades-ago, and unfortunately, the murder is still unsolved. I hope your cameras record some useful footage if they decide to return.
I'll finish the remaining half tonight, and I hope it's all good news as I return to the narrative.
Update: OK, I went back to where I left-off, and went forward to the end. I saw where you decided on the La Cantina folding glass wall, where we chose the nanawall. Yours came-out very well-done, and as you said, 'mama's happy.' That's how it is in our house with the nanawall, 'mama's happy.' Yes they are expensive, but everyone who sees it has very favorable comments. Our pool patio nanawall has a couple more panels than yours and about a seven foot overhang roof, providing plenty of shade, important because the exposure is a southern one, and without the shade, the patio would be of not much use in the summer because of the direct sun. We've tentatively-agreed to do a phase II on the re-model of the house, to add a summer kitchen at the west end of the pool patio, and already stubbed-in a natural gas line to the edge of the wall on that side of the house/deck. When we were buying the kitchen appliances for the re-model (Wolf 6-burner, Sub-Zero side-by-side w/a bottom freezer, a separate Sub-Zero beverage center, and Meile steam convection oven) we had to add a natural gas line from down the street, as no one to us on the block had natural gas from where the gas line was at the end of the block. Luckily our immediate neighbor also wanted NG in her re-model, so we split the cost of the supply run. I assume out there you run LP gas, just-like Hank Hill recommends on "King of the Hill." The appliance distributor who sold us our appliances is also a dealer for Kalamazoo grills, and if you are a fan of crime fiction on cable, and watch 'Ray Donovan," you know Jon Voight as Ray's father also has a high appreciation for the Kalamazoo. Like the La Cantina or the nanawall, the Kalamazoo is a step-up. Will one end-up in the summer kitchen? It
would make a good retirement present. We'll see.
Nice project!
On the folding doors, consider Nanawall. I managed a project where the architect specified it. Once properly leveled and secured, it was a very nice system. Expensive system as I recall.
https://www.nanawall.com/
Here is a link to the project. The doors open from the glass pavilion so that there is full exposure on 3 of 4 sides.
http://www.houzz.com/projects/104346/oyster-house-at-honest-point
. I would have loved to have one of those pumps but they would have probably not been happy if I chucked one in the back of my truck as that pic was from the auction yard where I got the cabinet. 