i had a local window replacement company come over this morning to give an estimate on what it would cost to replace all the windows in this house.
you may recall that i had a ridiculously high estimate from the home depot during the summer... i've been thinking about doing this for a while. the cold weather has finally fully convinced me, though. i HAVE to do something about this. even with the storm windows up, i can still feel cold air coming into the house. these single-paned crank-windows may be cool-looking, but they just don't serve their function properly anymore.
one of the demonstrations the salesman did was impressive. he set a BTU meter across from a heat lamp. we put a single-pane window between the lamp and the meter and watched how much heat was blocked. it wasn't a lot. (i think the meter went down to maybe 310 or something.) we progressed through several other window configurations and watched the BTU drop each time. to 274, to 237. i could feel a slight difference with my hand, too. but when he put the next-to-last window up the BTU dropped to 47. i could feel no heat on the other side of the glass. it was astounding. (he had one other window to demonstrate beyond that one, but i didn't care about it.)
we walked through the house and took measurements, then he sat down and did some number-crunching. this estimate was MUCH more agreeable: just a little over $5000 for the entire house. though i have a really good feeling about these guys i'm still going to solicit a few more bids. it's good to have lots of information.
after this morning's meeting, though, i find my head is reeling over the design possibilities. there are a couple of windows in this house that will be best served by big "sliders". these sound fine to me -- it seems like they'll let in lots of light and won't block the view horizontally, the way regular double-hung windows do.
but as i drove through the neighborhood after this meeting was over, i looked at everyone else's windows. and everyone else seems to have windows with the "grids" (which make one big window look like many smaller panes). and i wonder if i should get these, too? i can add them to the sliders (and all of the other double-hung windows i'll also get), but i don't know if i want to.
i guess there's a charm about the grids that the plain pane doesn't have. but it also blocks a lot of the view. (granted, i'm not living in a scenic vista or anything, but still... i like to look outside.)
garh.
here's a photo of the front of the house if you want to help me envision it. to be honest, what i have right now is almost gridular, though in the ugliest manner possible. grids on the new windows would be white, and much cuter.
but i don't know if i want them.
Posted by xta at January 13, 2006 03:05 PM | TrackBackI think your house a groovy horizontal thing going on right now with your horizontal windows and your shallow roof pitch and overhanging eaves, I don't think I'd go with the grids. That's my two cents. Your house is very cute! And I'm sure your window replacement will pay for itself in just a few years in energy savings. Good luck.
Posted by: lainey at January 13, 2006 03:43 PMI'm with Lainey. And I have a personal issue with ornamental grids. They kind of fall into the same category as fake wood to me. Big glass all the way!
Posted by: Lulu at January 13, 2006 04:03 PMOh! I like the horizontal idea. Something my mom said to me when I mentioned new windows (and I trust her since the over-60 set really seems to have a passion about good window). Make sure they're replacing the whole window/casement thing because as much as double pane glass and all that fanciness can improve things, a lot of air sneaks in around (italics) the windows. I never knew. I don't know these things. But, she was vehement.
Now, I'm scared of replacing windows. I wish you the best of luck. Your house is very pretty and I think the new windows will look lovely. I love, love, love the orange.
Posted by: Becky at January 14, 2006 12:16 AMfor what it's worth, I don't think you should go with the grids, which have a fancy ass name like mullions or something...
grids plus brick, plus long horizontal lines = visual confusion...
are we saving you money?
Posted by: blackbird at January 14, 2006 08:44 AMYou can also caulk around your existing window casements, to make them more energy efficient without replacing them. Also, we've added some clay putty (really!) in these strips along the cracks to block out air.
I vote no to the fake grids.
Have you done some of the other simple energy fixes such as insulated foam inserts to your electrical boxes? They are really cheap and go behind the electical plate and block out air there. They are a really easy short term fix.
How many sq. ft. is your house?
i vote no for the fake grids, as well, even though i have them. go for the unobstructed views!
Posted by: jill at January 16, 2006 10:32 AMelizabeth-
we've caulked around the windows (and actually shot foam in the cracks as well), but in the cold weather the gap widens (i guess those metal windows shrink a lot) and it's a never-ending battle. we've put up some plastic around the windows, which seems to help a little. it's still drafty, though.
it's a 1900 square-foot house.
i have another company coming tonight to give an estimate. i feel good about moving forward on the replacement windows, and will hopefully sign a contract by the end of the week.
Posted by: christa at January 16, 2006 10:43 AMFake mullions are dumb IMO. Older windows had mullions because good, large glass was expensive, and individual panes could be replaced more easily. I imagine nowadays it's cheaper to make a window with a full sheet of glass. So, to make houses look older than they are, people install fake mullions. But they make the window harder to clean, and don't give one the advantage of being able to replace individual panes.
Can you photoshop a little on a picture of your house so you could see what different kinds of sashes would look like? I'd be in favor of big glass, but maybe there are different kinds of sashes (or no sashing) that would appeal to you. I have an interesting architectural book you might like looking at.
Posted by: Joseph H. Vilas at January 16, 2006 11:47 AMAnother vote for the big sliders and aginst the fake grids!
Posted by: Lisa B at January 17, 2006 11:26 AMWe just got a quote for windows in the neighborhood of $18,000. I about shit my pants.
The second quote was much more reasonable for us too.
Home depot windows are a total rip off.
Posted by: Sarah at January 17, 2006 02:31 PMNo Grids!
I think the sliders will go great with the style of your house.
Love the orange door btw.
Posted by: Matt at January 20, 2006 06:13 PM