Fabulous New Windows

Last Monday, with an arctic cold front encroaching on the Midwest, my new windows were finally installed. They're fabulous. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Monday was a seasonable day in the upper 20s, and the installers worked carefully so there was never more than one hole in the side of the house at any given time. By the time they left, we had five new windows - three in the living room, and two in the office.

The next day, the bottom dropped out and we had a series of days where we never broke 0 degrees, with overnight windchills hovering around -40 degrees. And the windows met their first test with fortitude and grace. No drafts. I noticed the biggest difference touching the glass itself. The new windows felt cooler than the room temperature, of course, but not bad at all. The old windows still elsewhere in the house were caked in sheets of ice and were barely touchable.

Definitely worth it. I just hope the heat bills reflect it.

Starting the Year Right

New Year's Day, Don came home from running errands, bearing a beautiful bouquet of roses. "I just wanted to start the year off right," he said. Then he dropped to one knee and proposed. I did the excited-girl-flapping-hands thing and accepted, of course.

It really is the very best way to start the new year.

We haven't set a date yet but are figuring it out. Regardless, it's an exciting time in the old house.

Breaking My Broken Windows

I've had two cracked window panes on my front porch since I moved in. They've both grown a bit, likely due to freeze/thaw cycles. I always thought replacing a pane of glass would be expensive, so I put off repairs. Plus, since both affected windows are on the porch, there was no direct effect on the interior of the house itself, though certainly a colder porch does lead to a colder house.

But they've always bugged me. So when I was in Lowe's in early October and saw that you could buy sheets of glass cut to size, I jumped on it. Sure, it was only single pane glass, but for the porch, that suffices. Lowe's didn't cary glazing putty, but Ace did.

I brought my measurements into Lowe's and after a search for an employee who actually knew how to use the glass-cutting machine, I had my sheet of glass. Well, actually, the first one he cut broke while he was wrapping it up, but the second one made it home unscathed. I spent an hour carefully prying the window frame apart - several coats of paint served as glue. Finally, I release the lower pane and laid it out on the floor.

That's when I realized I had mis-measured the glass. So I re-measured - thrice, this time - and trotted back to Lowe's.

This time, we went through two broken sheets before coming up with a third one cut to my new and improved measurements. We wrapped it carefully and I brought it home.

This time, I carefully taped an X across the old glass and gingerly tapped with a mallet until it broke. I scraped out the decades-old, dried-out putty and started putting new glazing compound into the groove. When it came to lay the new glass in place, it didn't fit. I flipped it around, and it still didn't fit. Annoyed, I couldn't understand how my new measurements - taken three times - could be wrong again! So I measured the glass and compared it to the scrap of paper still in my pocket. The measurements in my pocket didn't match the glass. I had been very careful to throw away the old, incorrect measurements to make sure I gave the right ones to Lowe's. But the guy had cut it wrong.

By this point, it was about 6:30 on a Sunday night. I called Lowe's and learned that they closed at 7:00, so I hopped in the car and ran back to the store. At first, the bored high school student working at Customer Service didn't want to allow an exchange, saying that custom-cut pieces can't be returned. I was welcome to buy another sheet, though. Luckily, the employee who had cut the piece wrong happened to walk by, saw me with the glass, and intervened, shrugging when he realized his mistake. After two failed attempts (there's got to be a better method that doesn't cause breakage 2/3 of the time!), I got my piece cut - and verified its dimensions myself - and left the store.

By the time I got home, it was good and dark. I massaged the glazing compound a bit to soften it up and lined the window up - it was ready to go. I started to slide it into place and then asked for Don's help. It fit perfectly. But then, in the process of filling the groove with more glazing putty, it cracked. We laughed. It was 8:30 on a Sunday night. All the hardware stores were closed. I was booked on a flight to DC at 6 AM the next morning and hadn't started packing. So we used packing tape to seal it up.

So, eight panes of glass later, my window still has a packing tape bandaid. I'm very hesitant to try again. At this point, I could have just paid someone to do it for the amount of time I've spent.

And that's the thing about home ownership. You have to figure out the value of your time. Sure, on paper, replacing a broken window pane would take $20 and an hour. But inexperience and working with fragile materials may mean that it's worth hiring a professional.

Next step: I'll investigate the cost of bringing the whole sash into a glass place and leaving it to the pros. And hopefully I can get rid of the packing tape once and for all. Heck, I might even fix the second window, too.

2008 Plans Recap

A little over a year ago, I started this blog and listed my home improvement/repair plans for 2008. Let's check in and see how those turned out, shall we?

Replace the back door. - Complete! Well, kind of. I did indeed replace the door in July with the help of my parents and boyfriend. However, we're not yet quite done... I have the trim stained but it needs to be cut to the right size and installed, and, lacking the right saw to do so, it hasn't happened yet. And I really should put a fresh coat of paint on the door itself - I bought the paint in August but now it's too cold. I can't wait until I finish and can actually enjoy the completed result - though I've already noticed the far superior insulation compared to previous winters!

Install a utility sink in the basement. Not yet, but now that it's winter, the need is even more pressing.

Fix the two broken panes of glass on the porch. I kind of replaced one but have to redo it. The story merits its own post.

Remove the wall AC unit in the living room - a remnant of the days before central air - and replace it with a window. COMPLETE as of Monday! And it looks so much better and brighter!

Replace some windows. COMPLETE as far as my budget currently allows. Monday, I replaced three windows in the living room and both in the office, just in time for the cold snap. And yegads, what a difference.

Now to prioritize for 2009... and complete the delinquencies for 2008.

The River Steams

We've been in the midst of the coldest weather in 15 years this week. This morning, I woke up to a temperature of -23F, with a windchill in the -40s.

It rarely gets this cold, so when it does, you get to see strange things. Like the Fox River, frozen solid, with what appears to be steam rising in big sheets at sunrise.

I wanted to take a picture as I walked to the train this morning but I was running late and also a bit terrified of removing my glove to dig my phone out of my pocket. Luckily, someone downstream apparently had the same thought and sent it in to Tom Skilling's blog.

Bottles reborn!

Last winter, some of our less savory neighbors kept tossing empty beer bottles over the fence and into our back yard. Eventually, the troublesome tenants moved out, and now the building is actually vacant, condemned and awaiting a sheriff's sale next month. (Let me know if you're interested in buying an 1860s 4-unit oversized single family house!)

A couple weeks ago, during a thaw, though, I noticed something in our front yard, among the melting snow.

I see the neighborhood is getting classier by the day!