Three guys showed up, and to my surprise they were right on time. The first thing I said to them was, "I have white carpet." To which they replied: "Don't worry, ma'am. We're very clean."
Wow, they sure had a ton of stuff. The windows themselves filled up my den. My garage was full of wood. My living room was full of tools.
They started by laying "runners" which are basically strips of canvas barely wide enough to walk across. And unfortunately, my bathroom is on the second floor, accessed via the white carpet in the living room. So most of the abuse would be taken here and up the stairs.
Here's what the windows used to look like. They were metal pans with metal frames. They were casements and picture windows. Notice the abundance of glass.
The metal frames were tough to remove. I heard the guys complain about how many Sawzall blades they broke trying to get them out. The guy who measured for the windows didn't leave much wiggle room either. They had to get the buck frames perfectly sized.
Here's what the new window looks like. I hate the reduced glass size and the wood trim is beyond ugly, but they're supposedly ultra efficient. According to the manufacturer (Gilkey), they are triple-paned (not just double) and they are filled with argon gas. They don't really feel that much warmer, but I'm told I'll notice it in my energy bills.
Here's the rigging on the exterior. Not sure yet what the final trim is going to look like on the outside. Man, I wish I had this when I clean my gutters.
This was my favorite window in the house. It looks out over my garden. Compare the before and after. Is it just me or does the ceiling feel lower?
Maybe it won't look so obvious after I paint the trim...?
