The windows in our house are original to the house (approx 17 yrs old) and most of them are perfectly fine. But due to settling or whatever, the windows in our living room are drafty. We have a loveseat that sits in front of the windows in our livingroom. It was drafty enough that we eventually rolled a blanket up and shoved it under the loveseat to keep the draft from freezing our feet during the winter!
We got our new windows from American Exteriors. They happened to have a guy in the neighborhood when we were reaching a point of being fed up with our current window. I did a little looking online and most of the reviews were positive so we decided to give them a chance. Their sales process is to send a guy (or gal, or two) out to your house with a sample window for a sales pitch. They do offer "that night only" discounts based on your location and your willingness to promote their business*. We debated a while if we were going to go with them because the windows are not cheap (although from what I've heard from friends, they are comparable to other professional installed windows). Obviously, if you're trying to go cheap be like my brother and just buy the window at Home Depot and install it yourself. I'm not that skilled, so we went with a professional installer.
We did have a few small snafus in the process of getting our windows. Our sales guy forgot to ask us what color of aluminum wrap we wanted for our window. Which meant two additional trips out to sign paperwork approving the change since having a colored trim increased the cost slightly. Luckily the sales guy made the trip out to our house, at our convenience so it wasn't too bad. Our installer was also worried about wood rot when he came out to do the measurements for the order. We did not end up with any wood rot, but American Exteriors did offer to cover it for us if there was any since the sales guy didn't say anything about it the night that he was out.
Our installation date was also pushed back a couple of times. Originally we were supposed to get our windows in late November, but since we had a specialty window (half-circle) they windows didn't get in until the first week of December. We got a call from the scheduler saying that would could have them installed during the following week and said to call them back to set up a specific date/time. We got a message from our scheduler setting up the appointment for Wednesday, December 11 at 8:30am. The following day, we got another call because December 11 was actually a Tuesday, she had mis-read the note from the installer. We didn't particularly want to have them installed on a Tuesday due to our child-care situation, but that was the only availability they had so we took it anyways. Then the morning of our installation but we got a call about 20 minutes before the installer was supposed to be at our house, he called to postpone the installation because they hadn't received our colored aluminum trim. Instead of installing on Tuesday, it was pushed to Saturday. None of this is particularly American Exteriors fault.
However, in the little less than a month since the windows were installed we have had NO problems. The windows are doing their job much better than our previous windows. If we notice any other windows in our house getting drafty, we will definitely be using American Exteriors again. And they are so much prettier than our old windows! We also have a train that is about mile west of our home and the difference in the sound from our livingroom with the new window vs another west facing window with the old windows is amazing! So much quieter!
* I did receive a slight discount on my windows on the promise of writing this blog post, however, the experience and opinions are all mine.
Although there are quick fixes for drafty windows, such as window insulation films or cellular shades, replacing your windows is the best permanent solution. Besides, greater heat/cold transfer from the outdoor temperature means greater heating/cooling bills, right? :\
ReplyDeleteMary Martin