The New Windows

This house was built in 2003 and we didn't think the windows were bad but the sun had caused the vinyl to get brittle and when Vince would open the windows, he used all his might and the piece you pushed up cracked so we were going to replace the ones that were cracked, which were two in the downstairs family room and two in the upstairs family room. I really wanted to replace the three in the dining room because they're on the west side and so much afternoon sun comes in there and the new windows are more energy efficient but Vince said no . . not doing it.

Then there was the hail storm and all the windows on the west side of the house were damaged, including those three dining room windows. The one in the front bedroom (Vince's "office") has two windows together with the half round window on top. Not even sure what you call it but I've heard it called a fanlight. I've always said "I hope we never have to replace that whole window set". The hail got it too so insurance ended up paying part of the costs of replacing the three dining room windows and the bedroom window with the fanlight.

Then, Vince opened a window in the sewing room . . another one cracked! So he decided to replace all the sewing room windows except I have metal shelving units in front of two smaller windows and I did not want to deal with taking everything off those shelves (there's LOTS of stuff on those) and moving those so we'll save those for two windows for later.

This morning, a little after 7:00 a.m. the window guys showed up and they got the two bigger (about 3 x 6) windows in the sewing room changed, the two windows that were the same size that were in the basement family room changed and the two windows in the main family room. They're about 3.5' wide and I think they're 7' tall. That was a job since they were doing the outside part using a ladder. I kept saying I couldn't believe how different the windows looked and he said "You should see how much more the new ones weigh!" The weather had gotten a little threatening and at one point, they almost decided to stop not start the third window in the basement. I pulled up radar and it looked like it was going to go around use so they kept on. We had just some drizzle and I think they were happy they got the big windows on the main level done.

The three windows in the dining room are three windows together. I think each one is a about 34" wide. I had measured the whole "window" and it was 106" wide. They said that was a big hole to have deal with if it really started storming and they said the round window takes a bit more time to install so they didn't get to any of the windows on the front of the house. They will be back, bright and early in the morning, to get the job finished.

The installers told me that one thing people really notice is how much quieter it is with no road noise or hearing neighbors' dogs bark. I think I've gotten used to those things and I don't notice them but when we first moved here, after having lived in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors in Texas, I really noticed the noise here. I'm anxious to see if Vince notices it.

One thing I did notice - when we added the porch a couple of years ago, I wanted a metal roof and Vince wanted a shingle roof so they put the shingles on it that matched the house. After the hail storm, all the roofs had to be replaced. Vince knew how much I really wanted a metal roof so he had them put a metal roof it the porch and I've been able to hear the rain falling on that roof but . . no more. It's raining now and I can't hear it. I can barely hear the rain hitting the vent on the chimney and it's only about 3' from where I'm sitting. Oh well . . can't have selective noise blocking I guess. 

I'm really happy with the new windows and will be even happier when the front windows are done. That's the last of the hail damage to the house. The contractor and Vince had a different of opinion or some kind of difference . . I stayed out to fit. Vince ended up re-staining the deck and he will re-stain the wood fence but that will probably have to wait til spring. Except for the fence, once the front windows are done, all of our hail damage has been repaired/replaced.