Replaced Old Windows

Alright, now that we have a big update to post...

We'd been planning on replacing the two front-facing windows. The house was built with floor-to-almost-ceiling windows on the front of the house, which were a little weird as the windows they were essential just two panes (one glass, one plastic) with a small wood wedge inbetween. Not really windows, not really attractive, not really sealed well, and not really nice to look through.

So, we called in our handyman Mike Ratto to help us put in our new Jeld-Wen vinyl prairie, energy efficient, windows. We were able to purchase higher rated windows since they were eligible for the EnergyStar Federal Tax Credit of 30% of their cost. Awesome.

Yesterday, one of our neighbors recalled why the outside pane was made of plastic. Apparently, a previous owner (not the last, but the one before them) was sitting in the dining room when someone threw a brick through the glass window, nearly hit him in the head, and broke his table. It was then that he replaced the panes in the windows with glass on the inside and plastic on the outside. Totally crazy.

Living Room


Dining Room



Original Floor-to-Almost-Ceiling Window Style (Living Room)
Mmm, foggy.


Old Window Removed (Inside Dining Room)


Old Window Gone (Outside Dining Room)


New Window Box Support Frame (Dining Room)


New Window IN! (DRoom)


New Window




Boarded up and waiting to get scraped and painted (and finish the trim on the dining room).
Not able to put in new redwood boards, so the areas under the two new windows are the only non-redwood siding boards on the house.



Textured Wall


Painted wall... and dirty floor.

And now the house is waiting for us to scrape and paint the rest of it. We had a scraping and painting party last summer for the back of the house.

Post-It from the POs

The Previous Owners of our home had a particular habit of leaving Post-It Notes on and inside everything possible. We kept the Post-It Note on the switch to the motion-sensor lights outside (which says something to the effect of: "Always Keep On!") but that's the only one that's stuck and stayed. It's been a few years since we've come across a new one, but this one popped up in November when a smoke and carbon monoxide detector's battery ran out. We bought the house at the end of 2004 so it lasted a couple of years:



Now, it's definitely a good idea to mark down the date and all, but the fact that everything was labeled in this house is a little weird, but funny. A weird, but not funny, thing that they did, though, was paving over the curb/sidewalk grass area. We're the only house on the block with it paved over. Not only were they obsessive about safety Post-It's on everything, they didn't want grass or flowers?

I'll update on cleaning, and me and the boy moving into and fixing up the studio at the back of the property and a photo update on the patio.