Saturday, December 8, 2012

Windows....

Well that didn't take long.  I don't know what it is, but when it's windy, these dual hung double paned windows whistle!  It's driving me nuts!  Last night, I rolled up a bunch of Robert's cloth diapers and put them over the seams of the windows.  This has solved the problem for now.  I'll have to contact Renewal by Anderson to see what's going on.  They're supposed to call me to replace the bedroom window, too. 

Also, the caulking around the new bathroom window has started to crack already.  I'm guessing they didn't use the right kind of caulk...  UGH. Why can't anything ever be simple...

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Windows!

We currently have 6 single paned dual hung windows in the front of the house along with one single paned picture window in the bedroom that we believe contribute greatly to heat loss. We can literally feel cold air streaming in through the windows at night.  Plus, when it's windy outside, so much air gets through the windows that we can visibly see the curtains moving... or our house is haunted and the ghosts get rowdy when it's windy outside. 

The window in the bathroom also no longer opens.  The hinge at the bottom has been rusted for some time, and it was only a matter of time before it got rusted shut.  That time has arrived.  The permanently shut window along with one of my bad decisions (not installing a ceiling fan when we were working on the bathroom.. and had the ceiling open), is resulting in a lot of moisture in the bathroom during showers and baths.  This needs to be replaced.  

It's a long time coming, but today, we got Renewal By Anderson windows.  From the date that I signed the papers to the date of installation was a little over 2 months.  We had a missed connection back on November 30, and we got rescheduled for this week due to possible rain that didn't happen.  The most pains taking part of this was that I had to remove all the furniture near the windows both times!  That included the bed, dressers, couches, and curtains.  It may not seem like a lot, but I'm the only one doing it all with a 1 year old!  A total of three guys showed up this morning to do the installation.  They mentioned more were coming to attempt to speed this up, but the rest of the crew never made it. 

Removing each window was a really quick process.  The one guy who arrived (around 9:50 AM) before the other two removed all six double hung windows by himself in under an hour.  They laid plastic along the carpeted stairs and paper along the hallway.  Tarps were placed under the openings where the windows were.  He removed thin pieces of wood trim around the windows, then cut the rope inside the rails.  From there, the windows (surprisingly) just came out.  The weight stayed inside the wall.  Seeing the holes in the wall now, I should've bought a few cans of spray foam and filled them with insulation.  Dang it. The new windows went in pretty easily, too.  One thing I noticed was that every window was slightly smaller than the opening (about an inch or two).  What they did from there was cut trim to size that snapped into the window and covered the gaps.  I was slightly disappointed by this since it gave me a smaller window for pretty much no reason.  The gaps between the window and the frame were spray foamed before the coverings were placed over them. 

The picture window in the bedroom was pretty nasty.  By nasty, I mean moldy.  It had a serious moisture leak, so I was glad this was getting replaced.  This new window, however, was not privacy glass as it should've been.  It was regular glass.  The installation crew said they'd mention it to the office and have someone later replace it.  This window was measured to the opening, and it was about 1/4 inch too tall.  The installation crew had to chisel out the frame on the exterior to get the window the properly fit.  This took forever.  Just when you think everything's going smoothly, something always has to cause a hiccup.  They got it done and put the window in, though. 

The casement window in the bathroom came out easily and went in easily.  The hardest part was having someone climb through it to caulk the outside. 

They took no breaks and no lunch, and they finished the job at 4:36 PM!  Just in time for me to vacuum, put everything back, then run to daycare to pick up Robert!  These guys are awesome!!!

Monday, June 18, 2012

General State of the Casa Update

The heater issues have finally ceased to exist, and by ceased, I mean the furnace finally quit a few weeks ago.  It just doesn't work anymore, so there's really no more issue (other than it needs to be replaced). 

We put a floating shelf up in Robert's room to place various decorations on.  The Ikea shelf was about $15.  We got the white shelf to contrast his green wall and also match the white trim.  Installation was really easy given that it just required three screws.  I used three hollow wall anchors rated up to 80 pounds each.  They required 5/16 pre-drilled holes, so we placed the shelf on the wall, leveled it, then marked the holes.  I drilled the middle hole first, then the right side, then the left.  I discovered something interesting, though, when drilling the hole on the left - drywall!  Yes, even though there are plaster and lathe walls all around the house somehow there's a slab of drywall in a few places in Robert's room.  It makes me wonder what work was done to this room!  Anywho, three holes drilled, I partially clamped the hollow wall anchors, then reversed the drill to remove the screws before they settled in to a spinning position.  We put the washers between the wall and the shelf, fed the screws through, then screwed everything in to place without any of the three holes finding a stud.  There are three framed pictures on it as well as Robert's signed SF Giants baseball (about 14 autographs on it including Carlos Beltran, Andres Torres, Sergio Romo, Dan Runzler, Brett Pill, Brandon Belt, etc.)

I also installed another sliding door latch on the door to Robert's room,  Can never be too safe.