My apologies for the delay in this release, but it appears the rat race is getting the best of me these days, and has taken me off track from our journey. Non stop travel, long hours… haven’t even been able to find time to book a hair cut or dentist appointment! I have chipped a tooth and still yet to get in to see a dentist due to my schedule. Ummmm… I think I may have my priorities mixed up. Pretty typical of me, work first… me second. It has been a good reminder as to why we are on this journey in the first place! So with a shake of my head and a little nudge from my husband, we are now getting back on track.

As we are still dealing with some challenges around demolition and remediation (more on this still to come), we can’t lose sight of all the planning and design work that needs to be done at the same time. So today we are focusing on windows. As mentionned in my previous post Keys Please – and the Journey Begins, we need to replace several windows in the house. A couple due to rot, one because it is broken and three bedroom windows as they are single pane with open aired cracks, and most importantly are not code approved for bedroom use, as they would not allow anyone to escape in case of emergency. So important that we install appropriate egress windows. However the question is… are the existing bedroom window openings large enough to accommodate code approved egress windows. As you see the existing bedroom windows are not overly large and we do not want to have to start changing the structure of the house to accommodate new larger windows. The intent is to replace within the exiting openings. So we are about learn a lot about windows, window replacement and mostly that it is not as basic as we originally thought. So join me as we journey through the looking glass.

We start with the removal of all the trim around the windows to see what we are dealing with and expose the old window framing and the window openings. Well that was simple. We are well on our way here, all we need to do is measure the window opening, write down our measurements and get a quote. I do a little happy dance at this moment. Small victories! Well take note my friends as in some ways this was very true, however in many ways so wrong.

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So again we start the lengthy journey of finding someone who can or is willing to give us a quote…. and again a challenge. We show up at one store and no one is there. We send emails to request a meeting, no response. I have to say this is really starting to wear thin. But, finally we end up at one of the local hardware stores, and are greeted with great service. So with measurements in hand, I ask the lovely lady to provide me a quote for six windows.

She starts to pommel me with a series of questions. First question… double pane low-e? This one was easy. Yes! Next… window type: picture, slider, casement or egress? Easy again… 3 picture and 3 casement egress. Colour and material? Easy, white vinyl. Wow we are good…. feeling a brief moment of intelligence as this is when the bubble is burst! Here is where it gets tricky and I start to realize we know nothing and were obviously overly optimistic in our knowledge and talents! Next question she asks: 2×4 or 2×6. Hmmmm? That one I am not sure. I thought windows were one thickness, but learn that based on construction and particularly the year of construction the wall thickness could differ. So a little reminder of our quirky farmhouse…different parts of the house are from different construction years, and therefore could have different wall thicknesses across the house. Oh darn! Based on year she suggests probably 2X4. Sounds fair, but I am thinking it sounds more like we need to go back and remeasure. Not something I am willing to wing! The next question… do you want windows with a nailing fin or no nailing fin? What the heck is a nailing fin? So much for thinking a window is a window. So take note my friends, a nailing fin is used if you are installing from the outside and are redoing the siding. That is our plan. So sure, let’s go with that. Confidence dwindling. Now for the dimensions. Ok this I am prepared for. Or at least I thought I was. As I am rattling off numbers, I realize that I wrote the wrong measures down for one of the bedroom windows. How does that saying go, measure twice? Well apparently you should check what you wrote down twice as well! So lets just say a little lack in confidence in our measures at this point. Where has my brain gone in this process? The good news is that all the bedroom window openings are adequate to support an egress window. Or as much as I can tell based on the dimensions I have provided. Ha Ha Ha! Got to laugh at these moments as you may just start to cry. Based on the dimensions we have, every one of the windows is a custom size. But this turns out not to be an issue as they can be ordered and delivered in a few weeks, and has minimal impact on cost. Once done we get our quote, if you can really call it that at this point. But at least we have an approximate of what type of costs we are looking at and I must say we are surprised that the cost is as low as it is.

So we return home thinking that we have learned a lot and obviously need to check a few things. However once home and we review the quote we realize our learning is no where near done, as I notice that the quote has priced and sized windows based on the window opening size, not window size. Meaning they quoted the window the same size as the opening. Well this won’t work as none of the windows would fit, as you need some play in width and height. So now stumped as to what the appropriate play should be, we decide to go to the top of the mountain for advice. So we google «How to measure for replacement windows». In hindsight I guess this would have been a helpful place to start with, because… oh look… there it is… how you determine 2×4 versus 2×6, and… oh yeah… do you need a nailing fin. I am laughing now at our egos in thinking this was going to be as simple of a process as just measuring the opening.

So take note as a significant learning is about to be revealed. When measuring your window, if you are able to, measuring the opening is the correct measurement to take. However, you need to measure width of the opening in three locations: top, middle and bottom of the opening, and, measure height of the opening in three locations: left, middle and right of the opening. You need to base your sizing on the smallest of width and height measurements. You then need to subtract 0.5 to 1 inch from the smallest width dimension and 0.25 to 0.5 inches from the smallest height dimension to give the true window size and to allow for proper fit in the opening. This is where there seems to be some differing opinions on the exact spacing. So I have provided a range for your information. The key is to have enough room and play to fit your window in, but not too much that you need to add additional framing. Next step is you need to know the window jamb size. Is it within a 2×4 or 2×6 framing? To get this measure, if you have the casing around the window removed, slide a tape measure between the window and the frame opening till it hits the exterior part of the window frame. Typical measurements will be 4-9/16 inches deep indicating a 2×4 frame, or 6-5/8 inches indicating a 2×6 frame. Fortunately Jeldwen has a great on-line video, instructions and measure sheet to use. The bad news is we need to go back and remeasure everything. Definitely not trusting what we currently have.

So with a better educated mind, we head back to the house and remeasure, and remeasure and remeasure… and write down our measures, and double check, triple check our measures. I don’t know can we recheck our measurements enough? Are they accurate? Fingers crossed.

But after all of this, this is not even the funniest part. The funniest part of this story is that we actually plan on installing the windows ourselves. Now that has me in hysterics as we can barely figure out our measurements and yet we are going to install these windows ourselves. Now that is funny! As I look through the looking glass to see what the future holds for us, I see a bright light. Hopefully it is the bright sun shining upon us through our beautiful new windows, and hopefully not a train.

Upon pondering this situation more, we decide maybe we are stretching ourselves beyond our limits and it is time to call in the big guns! Yes sadly we have decided to call in a contractor for a quote to see how much more it will cost to have the windows properly measured, ordered in the correct size, installed by a professional and with warranty. We are pleasantly surprised to learn that the cost is not unreasonable considering all the pros that come with a contractor. This way there is no additional cost to us if the incorrect window is ordered and ensures the windows are correctly installed. There are many cons if the window is installed incorrectly, particularly around leakage, but with a contractor we have full warranty on the install. Considering we are playing with the external envelope of our house, we decide it is worth a little extra money and book the contractor. We are not totally out of touch and do understand where our limitations are. At least I think we do. But we also know we can learn. So we will watch and learn through this process and maybe have the knowledge to do it ourselves next time. You never know, we may gain the expertise to become pro window installers after this! Ok I won’t take it take it that far, but it will be a fun ride!

After more thinking on this, we also decide to update all the windows on the main floor. We figure if we are doing six of the nine, why not update all the dated windows with new energy efficient windows, as we will probably need to do them soon anyways. So, we order 3 double pane, low-e, white vinyl, no grills picture windows for the living room and entry. We order one double pane, low-e sliding window for the kitchen. And we order three double pane, low-e, white vinyl, casement, egress windows for the bedroom, and two for the living room to provide more airflow. It is anticipated that we should have the windows within 3 to 4 weeks. This date is critical as we cannot do a lot of interior work until the windows are done. So now we patiently wait.

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Stay tuned for the installation instalment of this story. I am hoping that with the use of a contractor this part of the story should go fairly smoothly and no horror story awaits us. Hopefully this is the happy part of the journey. If nothing else we should see things a little clearer, walk away smarter and maybe a little enlightened.