What to do about the windows

For a long time Nick was planning on trying to refurbish the windows on the first floor which are original to the house and we would replace the aluminum-clad windows that are on the second floor that were installed in the 60’s. But now that we are on year three of the first floor renovation, we’ve decided that it might be best to put new windows in. I have discovered that shopping for windows is nearly as bad as shopping for furniture! We had someone come out last weekend and give us a bid. We want wood trim on the inside and are going to put in double hung cottage styles windows throughout. We got the bid back yesterday and we laughed. The company that gave us the bid does not sell just the windows, but requires that they install them so they can guarantee that the installation is done correctly.

So now we need to find some more options and figure out the pricing.

I absolutely love our old windows and the old glass, but the glass isn’t safe, the windows don’t open and none of the old hardware works. We are keeping the original trim work and will refinish that and reinstall it once we have the windows in. This process is giving me a hint as to how difficult it would be to renovate a home if you were paying someone else to do all the work.

And that’s how Nick has built up his shop. When we find out how ridiculously expensive it is to hire someone to do what we want, the price tag on the tools seems like nothing.

So enough rambling. Now I know that I’ll spend Friday doing more research and trying to find good, quality windows in Seattle. I’ve got a couple of leads- I’ll let you know what happens.