It's all about the… WINDOWS! December 20, 2014

Our Christmas present this year was WINDOWS!  The windows arrived 9 weeks after we ordered them from Anderson (of course they took a bit longer than anticipated), but nevertheless, we were sooooo excited to have the windows arrive!

We had covered all the openings with plastic a couple of weeks before the windows arrived so that the duct work for the heating system could be installed.  This also kept the house much dryer, especially with all the rain we had been getting.

Putting up plastic during a rain storm.

Our lovely plastic windows.

We decided to order the windows from Home Depot.  After pricing out several places, their price quote blew away the competitors, so it was not a difficult decision, even though we would have rather supported a local lumber yard.  Ordering through Home Depot turned out to take multiple trips to the store, and many hours, so we were relieved once they were ordered.  We ordered the windows mid-October.

The windows arrived on December 18th and as soon as they were off-loaded, the installation began.  Nine windows, plus the bedroom slider and the patio door were installed on the first day of installation.  On the second day, we had a crew ready to go, which included family and friends, who were ready to help with the rest of the windows.  They started with the heaviest window in the house - the dining room window, which is 6 windows mulled together.  It was all hands on deck to carry and place the window, even with 5 out of 6 glass panels removed.    

The dining room window.

Re-installing the panes after the window was set.

All of our windows came factory mulled, which means that individual window units are affixed together at the factory, instead of in the field.  This makes installation easier, and yields a more precise result.  It also means that the windows are much heavier to install!  To make it easier, the glass was removed on the non-fixed windows before installation, and then replaced after the window was placed in the opening.

Window with two glass panels removed before installation.

Here are some photos of the second dining room window being installed.

The window was handed out through the opening to Steve and Kevin who were on the scaffold, ready to place and install the window.

Next, was the big wall of windows… eight windows total and mulled in pairs of two.  We installed the trapezoid windows on the top first.  It was a big sigh of relief after we were sure they were going to fit! (The trapezoid windows were custom windows with multiple revisions with Anderson on the dimensions).

First trapezoid window going in!

Thanks to our friend Mike, we were able to use his scaffold pump jack system and planks to install the windows; without this, it wouldn't really be possible or safe to install.  This type of scaffold moves up and down with a foot pump, so we were able to raise the windows up to the opening, and then install them.  Thank you Mike!

Kevin and Steve on the scaffolding installing the trapezoid windows.

View of the Pump Jack scaffold set-up during the window installation.

After the dining room and living room windows, the rest of the installation moved along quickly.  In fact, they were done by 2:00 in the afternoon!  Wow!!  The windows were installed in two days!  The goal was three days (or less), so we accomplished that with flying colors, thanks to help from friends and family!  

Installation of slider in lower level.

We choose Anderson A-Series Windows with an oak interior, dark bronze exterior and black traditional folding hardware.  We researched a few types and brands, and we decided on these because of the quality of build, style, options available, and the Anderson warranty.  We also choose a high performance, Low-E4 SmartSun glass, which provides their best overall thermal performance.  It has an exceptional U-Value, which means that the window does a good job at keeping the warm air inside and cold air outside, or vice versa.  The U-Value is .27 and energy star requires .30 or less, so our windows exceed energy star guidelines.  Windows were a really important feature for us, so we decided that a higher quality window was worth the the higher cost.  In the long run, it will help save money with heating and cooling, and we are extremely happy with the quality thus far.

All the windows installed!

View from the back - master bedroom/bath windows, patio and dining room.

View of the dining room.

View from the main entrance.

 Thank you to our window installation crew!

L to R- Alain, Kevin, Phil, Steve, Mike.

And to top it off, the day after we finished the window installation, on December 20th, some special visitors brought a gift… our first Christmas Tree, fully decorated!  Thank you to Steve's Tante Denise and Mom for spreading some Christmas cheer to us and our home to be!  We thought we weren't going to have a Christmas Tree this year, but the Joly's wouldn't let that happen!  What a wonderful surprise!

Enjoying the Christmas Tree with Mike, Marie, Denise & David.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!