yeah, the windows are going in!

[mopinko]

the last of the old windows in my house are being replaced as we speak. they wanted to start 2 days ago, and put it off because it was supposed to rain, but never really did. so they are here today despite some sprinkles.
they are doing a dozen windows, and we did 6 earlier this year. the rest have been done as part of room renovations here and there.
we also did a gorgeous new front door. nothing does more for your house than a beautiful door.
so, we have high hopes for low gas bills this year.
damn, it is good to get this stuff done and have some pride in your house. it has been a pit for many years, and although there are still some things to do, it is mostly done, and cool. so happy.

[unhappycamper]

1. Good for you.

I replaced half the windows in my condo a week or so ago. I'll do the other half next spring after it warms up.

[NNN0LHI]

2. I am happy for you

When I had mine done the one thing I didn't leave up to the contractor to do was going around and putting in the insulation between the new windows and the wall with a putty knife. I did that myself. If there were any drafts after the job was done I would know who's fault it was. There weren't any.

Don

[mopinko]

3. i ended up taking the trim off some windows to do just that.

first ones we did were in the basement. we had the family mobbed up contractors. they were awful. i ended up later on pulling all the trim off and stuffing them myself. they had put a little strip of it right in the front of the opening, and that's all. assholes.
that's the kind of thing that makes me want to do everything myself. even tho i am getting old and falling apart and can't really do that kind of stuff anymore. grrrr.

[NNN0LHI]

4. I followed the installer around as he installed the windows

Soon as he would get one window set I got started on the insulation.

The environment of this entire house completely changed after getting new windows, doors and a lot of insulation done almost 6 years ago.

It went from terrible to great. I am still paying for it though. Got about another 4 years to go and this place is mine again.

It was normal to get $400.00+ gas bills in the winter and the same sized electric bills in the summer before the big remodeling job here. I haven't had a bill for either one for over $200.00 since then. So the stuff pays for itself in the long run.

I am glad I did it when I did. Even though I had to go into heavy debt to do it.

Don

[mopinko]

5. yeah, we are borrowing to do it, but

DH gets bonuses as part of his comp package and after many years of using them to pay off credit cards or go on vacations we finally found the discipline to put them on the mortgage. so the house itself is paid off. we have done a LOT of work on the house this year, some with payback and some just adding to the value. we have money in other investments, but it is always good to have some money in bricks and boards. especially when you get to enjoy it every day!

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

6. It's nice you found a way to save money.

When our house was built they did a great job at sealing it. Only thing I would change is I would have wrapped it before the wood siding was put on... About half is wood and half is brick. I'm think maby this summer I'll pull the wood off and do it myself.

But they still get your money. I changed 95% of the light bulbs and even got a gas stove, even the electric usage is less but the electric bill keeps going up.