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We ordered them in July.
Installation started in October.
And a mere 4 months later they’re finished.
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Installed and trimmed.
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And the trim was a royal pain in the *ss because all the sills are joined.
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But they’re done!
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At least from the inside. There’s still a ladder outside because all the siding has to be reworked due to the different size rough openings.
But it’s progress… and that’s been a long time coming.
🥴
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The ice was here to stay… so work on the bedroom windows was fraught with slippery hazards.
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After the two small windows were installed our contractor needed another set of hands to help him with the big picture window…. so out went my husband.
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The jerry rigged planking platform was less than ideal.
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And the supports were definitely not OSHA approved.
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Mind you, that’s all ice covered snow.
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*Gulp*
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They did it, so naturally I had to document the event.
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That thing was heavy, and awkward to maneuver.
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I was cringing the whole time… expecting a slip and a crash.
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But it exited without mishap.
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And a giant air conditioned hole was left.
The crazy part of the removal? When they took it out we found this on the sill.
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A handful of screws.
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The old window was sitting right on them. How crazy is that!
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Winter a/c.
You gotta love it.
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Work moved on to the three remaining windows that needed replacing in our bedroom and as with every single other project we attempt in this house, it was a monumental f*ck up.
These are the old windows, stripped of trim and ready to be removed.
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Yes, that’s snow you see outside.
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Ideal conditions for exterior work.
Not.
The trouble began when the first small window was removed and its replacement was fitted.
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The problem? It didn’t fit.
Because it was too big.
Incorrect measurements by our contractor? He says no and has the paperwork to prove it.
Incorrect measurements by the retailer? They say no and have the paperwork to prove it.
Incorrect measurements by the manufacturer? They say they built what they were told and refuse to refund and replace.
Solution… (other than pulling my hair out, stripping naked, dousing myself in tequila and running down the road cursing the home renovation Gods?) … cut bigger holes in the wall.
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It wasn’t that much bigger. Maybe and inch and a quarter on each side but it meant (what has now become my mantra) more time, more work, more money. Not to mention a tighter fit when it comes to trim.
And after that first window rough opening was enlarged and the slightly larger window fitted and secured?
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An ice storm.
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Which coated everything that stood still.
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Good times.
😩
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I drove home under some ominous skies the other afternoon.
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And woke up to our first dusting of snow.
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It was gone by mid day just in time for our contractor to drop by between jobs and seal up the new windows with some not so attractive foam.
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He’s finishing off a barn next door that’s taking longer than planned but as soon as he’s done he’ll be back over here to finish our nightmare project.
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As usual, Lord Dudley Mountcatten couldn’t care less.
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💕
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The Marvin window specialist didn’t show up the day they were scheduled, which for once was a good thing. Our contractor is back in town now and thankfully will be meeting the rep at our house later this afternoon.
That’s the good news.
The bad news looks like this :
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Not exactly optimal window repair and/or extraction weather.
And while I feel sorry for our contractor… it seems like the expert is getting what he deserves for making us wait an entire month.
😈
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When last I posted, we had two faulty new windows installed and were waiting on a store rep inspector.
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Call me picky, but I prefer to look through the glass of our new expensive windows, not out the side.
I feared we would have to wait a week for anyone to show up, but was pleasantly surprised when the rep arrived the day after the request.
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Our contractor took him through all the installation steps he’d performed and the rep was convinced the trouble was with the windows themselves. Apparently this is the first step in resolving the issue.
As I said, we chose good, highly rated expensive windows. And since the rep told us his company was the largest supplier of Marvin windows in the state… he guaranteed satisfaction.
He said there’s a chance the factory installed the wrong track for this particular model. It’s an unusual occurrence, but shit happens. And if shit is going to happen? You know damn well it’s going to happen to the windows that we ordered because our house is nothing if not cursed when it comes to renovation projects.
So… the rep put in a request for the next level of service and now we wait for a special installer to come out and assess the problem. If it’s just the tracks? He can switch them out and we continue on our merry way. If it’s a more serious flaw, new windows will have to be made, which means another long wait and us dealing with drafty windows with winter approaching.
My fingers are crossed for option number one. But the way this cursed house fights back? I’m not holding out much hope.
🥴
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Two brand new custom built windows…
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Installed and leaking air like a sieve through gaps on the sides.
So yesterday our contractor spent 8 full hours tinkering and tweaking, measuring and leveling, reading pamphlets and instructions, searching the internet for alternative installation instructions trying to figure out what was wrong. He’s a precise and careful worker and wanted to solve the problem.
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He took them out, he put them back in. He shimmed, he measured, he leveled 100 times. He completely exhausted his bag of tricks and still came up empty handed.
A testament to his honesty and character? He didn’t charge us for a single minute. He has a new wife and baby at home and lost an entire day’s pay trying to make it right.
When he hit a brick wall, he harangued the company where the windows were purchased and insisted their representative come inspect the problem.
So now we wait.
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While the other three uninstalled windows take up residence in front of my car.
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And btw…
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If anyone is in need of roughly 120 Life magazines from the 1940’s?
I can hook you up.
Just don’t tell my husband.
🤣
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When I left you yesterday, one window had been installed, and clearly it had issues.
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Many calls were made by our contractor to the store, the supplier and the company rep, but while he waited for answers he decided to replace the other window of the exact same size to see if the same issue cropped up.
This being our house, of course it did.
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The framing was measured six ways to Sunday before installation and all was well. Plum, level and perfect.
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Yet when the new window was plopped in, there was a similar gap on the side. Our contractor is flummoxed. So much so, he called other carpenter friends for advice, but everything they told him to do… he’d already done.
Did I mention the husband is not pleased and kept going in to help (read… talk the ears off) the contractor?
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It was beyond aggravating… and at the end of the day we had two new expensive windows in the bedroom, neither of which were airtight.
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But hey…there was an extra long shim in place that did double duty as a clock shelf , so it wasn’t a total loss.
😩
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It started with our contractor being 3 hours late. Not a big deal in the scheme of things, but he was pissed because the windows we ordered were supposed to be delivered for free the day before and weren’t. This meant he had to empty his trailer and go get them himself which cost him… thankfully not us … 3 hours of work time.
By early afternoon, we had a hole in the bedroom where the old window was removed.
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The hole of which I had to make sure Lord Dudley Mountcatten was unaware, lest he take a flying leap to freedom.
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According to our contractor the old windows were installed incorrectly without the proper tape, sealants and secure flanges which would explain the leakage and rotted wood.
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Properly taped, the new window was installed.
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Mind you, we didn’t cheap out here and ordered some pretty expensive Marvin replacements. I expected them to be awesome.
The first one wasn’t.
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Though everything was level, flush and plumb with the frame, the bottom part of the window not only had a scratch in the glass but showed gaps to the outside on either side.
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And while I enjoy looking out the window? I don’t want to be able to stick things out the window.
Clearly something was wrong.
Of course it was… because no project ever goes smoothly at Casa River.
The poor contractor spent all afternoon taking it in and out thinking it was his fault, but it doesn’t seem to be. A manufacturing error… on our custom made expensive as shit window?
Grr…
And because we needed more bad news? Even if the contractor manages to solve the gap problem, our existing sill and trim don’t line up now and will all have to be replaced. Which will be true for the other four as well.
More work. More expense.
Why is nothing ever easy?
😩
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River's world..... 