Window Shopping. No, really!
Today's big project was shopping for replacement windows for the townhouse. It's totally ridiculous to have my computer room be ten degrees Fahrenheit off from the rest of the house. It's totally ridiculous to see snow in my breakfast nook coming under a "closed" window. I visited two places and have two appointments to get estimates. Both have full-time installers on staff, which was a major requirement.
The first place is a fairly large outfit dealing in several manufacturers. The showroom was huge, and it's not their only showroom in the area. The brand of windows I'd be getting, Gorell, is made using PPG technology. Having grown up in Pittsburgh with Philip Johnson's PPG Place in the skyline, that's appealing. They also offer six month, interest-free financing, which would ease the financial hit significantly.
The second place only deals in Kolbe. Kolbe is made in Manawa, Wisconsin. I've been to Madison in the winter, and Manawa is even farther North. If anybody South of the 49th is going to know about insulation, it's the men and women of Manawa. Their windows featured a lot more weatherstripping and some other tricks to keep the gap between the two sashes tight. I have little doubt that they're the superior product, but they might be too expensive, especially since they're unlikely to have financing. Hmm.
The first place is a fairly large outfit dealing in several manufacturers. The showroom was huge, and it's not their only showroom in the area. The brand of windows I'd be getting, Gorell, is made using PPG technology. Having grown up in Pittsburgh with Philip Johnson's PPG Place in the skyline, that's appealing. They also offer six month, interest-free financing, which would ease the financial hit significantly.
The second place only deals in Kolbe. Kolbe is made in Manawa, Wisconsin. I've been to Madison in the winter, and Manawa is even farther North. If anybody South of the 49th is going to know about insulation, it's the men and women of Manawa. Their windows featured a lot more weatherstripping and some other tricks to keep the gap between the two sashes tight. I have little doubt that they're the superior product, but they might be too expensive, especially since they're unlikely to have financing. Hmm.