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May 22, 2008
Home ownership drives me to drink
I was planning to crow tonight about the great deal we got on our townhouse, $195,000. People keep buying identical townhouses on our block for $20,000, $30,000 more than we paid. Another sale posted today. But I'm not in a crowing mood any more.
The window man just left me here alone with a glass of wine and an estimate. I didn't have the wine when he left. I needed it when I saw what he wrote: $12,334 for seven windows and a sliding glass door. Really? And that's with a 15 percent discount?
When we had this place inspected just before closing on the house, we were warned that the windows were 30 years old and not holding up. I drove to Home Depot, saw windows selling for $150 each, and decided, "We can afford that."
I've since learned that you can't just pop out an old window and put a new one in its place. They're custom made. They're custom installed. And if they're installed badly, it can lead to all kinds of problems, so your installer had better be licensed and insured and had better offer some kind of warranty. Why didn't somebody warn me?
Typing this made me so agitated that I flailed and spilled my glass of wine all over the carpet. We're going to have to replace the carpet one of these days, too. And the in-wall heaters. And the electrical box. The dryer. Who knows what else. Have I told you about the places where the drywall has been ripped?
I think I'll go refill my glass.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at May 22, 2008 07:37 PM
Comments
If you're interested in possibly doing this yourself, I've been informed that there is a place called viking windows that will make custom windows and deliver them to you... Apparently window installation isn't that complicated..
Just so you know.
Posted by: Rian at May 25, 2008 02:26 AM
Hmmm. The current plan is to get some more estimates, and then wait a few years if everyone's quotes are super expensive. I may look in to Viking Windows, though.
Posted by: Courtney at May 25, 2008 12:21 PM