Ok, chapter one was where we got the new furnace and nearly had to pawn the kids to do it.
The furnace is brand new and works like a charm. But the house still isn't that warm in the chilly season and the furnace sucks down the oil like Brendan and grape soda!
So I checked out the price of heating oil...and when I saw what it was going to cost to fill the tank every four weeks, I started checking out the price of replacement windows for the front room.
That is an entire wall of windows! I know the single panes that we have are basically just good enough to keep out the wind, period.
I talked to a couple of companies and learned something that I didn't know about windows.
They are just like cars. Except you don't drive them and they don't cost quite as much.
But they are sold just like cars. There are these slick guys with brief cases and demonstration kits and HUGE binders FULL of mind-numbing details about window companies and warranties and how deplorably BAD every other window company in the western world is. These guys give you the pitch, patronize you into submission and then the salesman and his sales manager try to double team you into feeling that you have just gotten the best deal possible on the best windows ever to grace the human domicile.
Except that I detest being patronized, I avoid car lots like the plague, and I have a computer with access to dozens of wonderful, objective websites run by very informative oversight organizations. So for the last few days I have been tirelessly researching U-values, The Better Business Bureau, the comparisons on window after window, and fielding calls from several tenacious salesguys and yes, the smooth-talking and ever-so-helpful sales managers.
Unfortunately you need several estimates, and that means exposure to many of the very best companies that are in business today, just ask them...no don't.
So the company that I talked to first has a great product, but they just can't seem to find some very important details and I have to make a decision right now or the manufacturer will just run out of the product or go out of business or be caught up in the rapture or well... there is just no end to the trouble caused by not reaching your quota. Why, they are just going to give these windows to me because it will help them achieve some kind of marketing Nirvana.
Ah, but then along came Clint. Clint the ClearView guy. Straight talking, straight shooting, Clint with the clipboard and no demo kit! He walked in, asked what Tim and I were looking for, took a few measurements, told me about the warranty, suggested a couple of alternatives, and then he left! He went back to the office, did some calculations, and his estimate came in ...ummm...significantly lower than the other company. Thousands. And as an added bonus, all their employees are legal US citizens and speak English. I asked.
So I am going to order the job tomorrow, and at the end of September, before the first frost, we will have some nice new efficient windows.
Tim can do a new storm door himself and the whole front of the house is going to be toasty!
We can do the rest of the windows in the house a few at a time.
So, I'm going to bed to get some much needed sleep! Tomorrow may bring a whole new set of surprises.
