Today, we're having windows installed throughout the house. Of course, Mother Nature is going to add her two-cents and rain the whole day. So far it hasn't been torrential, but just a wee bit heavier than what the Irish call " a soft day."
Poor Seán hasn't a clue what is happening since we've been moving everything out of the way so the workers can get to the windows. He's been running back and forth and being very, very attentive. ;-)
Taking down all the drapes and blinds in every room has been interesting. I'm embarrassed to say we have never taken them down ( that I can remember ) since we've lived here. It may be time to rethink what we want to do for the future regarding privacy. I also didn't realize how huge the picture window was in the living room since we keep the drapes pulled slightly and that the drapes over shoot the window on both sides creating the illusion of the window being larger than it really is.
I also had to move my two harps out of the way taking one of them completely out of the room. The other one, in the living room "gave up the ghost" a few years back and now can not withstand the pressure of the strings tuned up to the correct pitch so it became something beautiful to look at and nothing more. I tuned the strings way down so there would be no pressure on the wood. The arm snapped from the harp slowly imploding from the pressure of the strings pulling on it. I had it repaired and decided it had seen better days so its new role is beautiful furniture. ha! I'll post some pictures of them soon. The newer and larger one doesn't like abrupt temperature changes and having a window out of the room would not do well for the harp which is why it was moved. Likewise, all crystal has been moved to safe places save, the dining room chandelier which we'll just have to watch them as they bring in the windows for that room.
This is a picture of the old windows in the office. These were the old aluminum type with single pane glass. ( These were not very effective at holding heat. If a thermogram were done of the house, it would look like the house was on fire because of all the heat escaping through the windows. )
Here is a picture of the two gentleman installing the windows. I asked if I may take a picture of them working and the fellow on the inside immediately pushed out his stomach to make him appear much larger. ;-) Nice guys and obviously knew what they were doing.
So the fellow on the inside didn't look like a "supervisor", I took another picture of them both working on the installation of the new window.
Here is the finished installation of the kitchen window from the outside looking into the kitchen.
This view is from the inside looking out. ( of course ) Delivery of the windows was at 8:00a this morning and they started working at 9:00a and finished about 11:30a. Very fast, but thorough and I'm very pleased with them. Hopefully, we should start noticing the difference in how the house holds the heat or the cold, depending on the season. We also heard that the house will be much quieter from blocking the outside noise. ( The neighborhood is never that noisy anyway.)
12 comments:
I like the sink and window
Wonder man: Thanks. The faucet is made by Grohe and the stainless-steel sink is really easy to clean. We're on our second faucet replacement since we bought this house about 18 years ago. We must be hard on faucets. We replaced the first one with another product which lasted about fourteen years. When we lived in Chicago, we replaced all our faucets in our "old Victorian" with Grohe ( as we've been doing here ) and I highly recommend them.
I was here earlier, but was distracted before I could comment--like Vic, I love that view out your sink window! Always nice if you have something to entice you to stand there and do the dishes!
I bet you'll be pleased as heck with the new windows. May the keep you cool in summer and warm in winter, and always allow you an easy eye on the wonderful world outside!
Greg: We're enjoying them very much. We've noticed how quite it is with the new windows and Steve says it the heat pump doesn't seem to go on and off so much. ( we've had some cooler and rainy weather for the past few days and it looks like more of the same for the next few )
Thanks. We enjoy the view into the back yard as well. It's hard to tell by pictures but the yard is flat up by the house and patio and then goes down a hill to the rest of the yard. It makes it interesting to mow. ;-)
Let there be light!
Joe: ...and there was. ;-) Nice to have clean windows again and the silence is quite noticeable. The new windows has made it considerably quieter from outside sounds.
The new windows look amazing! I like the view out of the kitchen as well. I had to replace all my widows two year ago, and got the super energy saving ones, as well as blowing insulation in the attic, and my energy bill was virtually cut in half! This was especially welcome given the rate hikes for both electricity and natural gas. I am saving around $700 a year on my bills and will have them paid off in savings in six years. Not bad. As for the harp, I can commiserate, as I had the same problem with a cracked bridge on my guitar. It was like losing a friend...
As always, love the pictures. It's always interesting to steal a glimpse into someone else's world.
Tater: Thanks. We're looking forward to the lower electric and gas bills as well. We've been talking about having more insulation blown in and our guess is this house was built most likely in the 60s-70s and being in this climate a lot of insulation wasn't needed. The windows were single pane without any storm windows so we had been wasting heat.
You may look for a good luthier in your area to fix your guitar. My classical guitar built in the early 60s developed a warping between the sound hole and the bridge. ( this was before the stabilizing bar in newer guitars was placed in the neck.) This created a "buzzing" sound from the 5th fret down. I did a quick fix by raising the bridge slightly. In your case, there may be a way of completely replacing the bridge. I presently, need some frets replaced on my Taylor 410 and have been putting it off until we we finished recording our CD. ( a Celtic group I'm in ) That part being finished, there is the jacket with notes, artwork in the process and having a company mass produce it. I'm actually enjoying the process of it being made from the beginning until the finished product.
I guess having that harp in working order for more than 30 years was worth buying it. One of these entries I'll take some pictures of them all.
Lacey: It's an interesting way to get to know people by installments. I know I have met some very good people since I've been blogging and it has become an extension to the friends I already know. I love this medium.
Lovely windows! We need to replace our windows, too. I especially like how large the kitchen window is.
Java: Thanks. We are noticing the difference already. Tonight's weather will be cooler with rain and up in the mountains the snow level will be down to around 2,500 feet in both the Cascades and the Olympic mountains. I can not believe we are still getting snow in June!! ;-) Meanwhile, the East coast is in the triple digits regarding temperature...
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