New windows on the world
To me, part of what makes me happy to DIY is also knowing when it's time to LOPDI (let other people do it). One example of this: the replacement of all of the windows on the front of our new house, something that is clearly beyond my means. So once we closed on the house, we enlisted the help of a local DC window replacement company who set us up with an estimate, measured the seven frames, and ordered replacement Weather Shield wood windows.
The old windows on the front of the house were in pretty bad shape. They were all wood windows (in the Capitol Hill historic district, that's mandatory for homes like ours), but they had suffered the punishment of time -- they had about a thousand layers of paint on them, they were pretty warped in the frames, the decrepit hardware varied from window to window, and a lot of the sash cords and balances just plain didn't work. Add to that the fact that they were all single-pane (and only a few of the panes were the original leaded glass, the rest having been replaced with more modern pressed glass over time), and thoughts of our heating and cooling bills made it pretty easy to justify starting to price out replacement windows. I talked to a few different companies serving the DC metro area, and settled on the folks at American Windows and Siding.
It took about five weeks for the windows to be made and delivered, and the installers came this past Wednesday. They did a great job, working like machines to get the old windows out and put the new ones into the existing frames. The new windows are double-hung and tilt into the room for easier cleaning (and painting!), and they're double-paned, with argon between layers of low-E glass, so that we don't hemorrhage money for heating and cooling. They come primed on the outside, so we now just have to prime the insides and then paint 'em all (more taping off, yay!), and we're entirely done with the major items on our pre-move-in checklist.
One other thing I like about the new windows: the indentations in the wood of the bottom sashes, used to open and close the windows. There's probably an economic motive for Weather Shield to do this rather than provide hardware on the windows themselves, but I quite like the look of the smoothly-rounded indentations. I wonder if they'll get dirty as all sin as we stick our grubby fingers in them; only time will tell!
Comments
Those new windows look very nice and yet seem to maintain the look and feel of the originals. Around here (Texas), there aren't many houses with such nice windows. In my house, the windows all have metal frames and are not all that attractive.
But I think you totally made the right choice on having someone else perform the install. That would have taken you and the wife many weekends to accomplish.
Posted by: Scott Johnson![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.doingitourselves.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 11, 2006 7:51 PM
Yeah, Scott -- chalk that up to one of the good things that historic preservation laws bring to the Capitol Hill neighborhood. I can tell you that, if it had been permitted, we'd have been very tempted to put in vinyl or aluminum windows; they'd have cost less than half what these did, and during a home purchase, that kind of money is pretty attractive. But I'm incredibly glad the historic preservation rules mandated that we go with wood, because they're just so much nicer-looking, and it'll come back to us when we eventually go to sell the place down the line.
Posted by: Jason Levine![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.doingitourselves.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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June 11, 2006 8:10 PM
Hm,
I've never been tempted to replace instead of repair my old windows, but i have 2 over 2's as well, and those look really nice. Being able to tilt in - especially in the city (more road dirt kicked up by cars) - will make cleaning them so much easier!
I just wanted to offer one suggestion about painting: taping off the window panes for me has proven to be a waste of time, i just do the best i can with a steady hand and an angled trim brush, and then score along the mullion and scrape any blips with a razor blade (get one of those blade holders - it make life much easier). Similarly, for doing edges of trim, whether by talent, or laziness, i rarely mask off, instead loading paint on the edge of the brush that faces away from the surface i'm trying not to get paint on and dragging smoothly down. I.e., if i'm painting window trim against the wall, i wipe the brush 3 times, starting and ending on the side that will be against the wall, so the extra paint is loaded on the side of the brush that faces into the room. By slowly dragging it down the side, the angle brush will reload itself and give me a nice line for 1 - 2 feet without dripping. When i get greedy and try to leave more paint on the brush for a longer line, i get into trouble. Reload, repeat.
After more paint jobs than i care to admit, i'm down to probably 1 or two times i need to use a rag to wipe off the wall or ceiling in a typical room. Have fun. Oh, and a little P.S. You can add a few drops of essential oil to make your paint less stinky if you want, I've tried lavendar in the past, and it doesn't affect the performance of the paint at all, it just makes the off-gassing as you work and it dries more enjoyable.
Posted by: Annie | June 14, 2006 10:52 AM