Preparing for winter

Can you say time to cash in on energy credits! So we have had some single pane large windows in our house-  huge picture window in front and a broken sliding door in back (it not only wasn't hung straight it didn't lock - so you can probably guess why I never mentioned it before). So Our house was freezing in these two areas in the winter. As I work from home that gets kind of...difficult because I want to be comfortable, but don't want the heat constantly running and these are the two rooms that are the most family friendly for working in. So we always had large, thick curtains on the front window to prevent drafts as well as the plastic on the window (which I'm sure my neighbors were thrilled about). But no more! My hubby and I decided we would give each other the gift of a happy furnace and warm rooms.
So the old windows and doors- (seen over on the side here) had to go. That bar in the upper left side of the patio door was pretty close to all that was keeping the thing shut. That white spot on the right side was tape covering a finger sized hole in the screen. The door opened on the right side and when it was fully closed you could still see a sliver of light between the door and the frame. Major obstacle here was that the door is actually ONE INCH smaller than standard patio doors...so yes. That meant custom door. Then there was the picture window. Single pane, multi-frame aluminum windows with no ventilation in the summer (they had caulked the portions that were supposed to open) and there were no storm windows with these things so it was freezing in the winter. (We had removed the curtains here so when the window people came we would be ready). Because of the size (over 6 sq ft glass space these would have to be replaced with tempered glass) and we didn't just want to replace these with a boring picture window. I wanted to be able to open them and such...

 At about 10:00am this December morning, this is what my house looked like. The window was gone. That made the house pretty chilly- even though it was unseasonably warm today. It got even colder when the patio door left. (see below) and we got a really good breeze going inside! My daughter surprisingly napped through a good portion of the removal, which was good as they had to break quite a bit of the old window to get it out so there were little glass shards around to be vacuumed and swept and wet swiffered up, but it came out remarkably easier than I would have hoped.

After they got it out, there was a bit of waiting because they needed more man strength to get my new window in and it seemed crazy seeing more and more trucks with guys showing up. They also seemed to be consulting about a few issues with the brackets they had- and after they had placed the window in the hole another man showed up with new brackets. Then the original two went to work on securing it and placing the patio door. Then there was a furry of nailing, screwing, cutting, insulating and such going on at both spots resulting in a pretty impressive amount of noise. (The cat was still hiding, but my daughter gave up on the nap attempt and came to see what was going on).

 By noon, this is what my house looked like inside. The patio door now opens from the left (which works much better) and it locks (which is much better too) AND it also seals (much, much better) so the dining room is warm. It looks pretty nice from inside. And this is what the living room looked like! It is a gorgeous, custom bow window with two double hung and three center picture windows. It also has a gorgeous oak window seat and casement - with lovely trim! This thing looks wonderful inside and makes the room look huge. We still need to finish the window seat as it is raw wood, so we will be tackling that soon enough as I don't want to risk having something happen to the wood in the meantime.

 And here is the door from the outside (hey this has a screen that not only doesn't have a hole with tape on it, but the screen locks too so I can have a breeze without potential bugs (also the door has a venting feature like double hung windows do so it will be really nice). I like custom doors I think. And here is the bow window from outside. (see my little girl enjoying the picture). It's gorgeous and it's high enough over the garden where I don't think I need to worry about insects/animals building a home under it (yes these are things I worry about).

I think we are all pretty pleased with the new warmth and windows too. She's already got her pillow and book ready for the seat. Good job little one!

The company did a fantastic job making our custom window and door. They are exactly what I wanted!