Square One

Well, I told the window company to beat it. After getting over my anger and thinking rationally, I understand what was happening. They didn't have the money to buy materials which is why that asked for a 50% deposit. I believe they low balled the quote to hook me and then tried a bait and switch type game to try and make a little more. Or maybe they just figured I was a pain and just wanted to see if I would bite but didn't care if I didn't because I was such a pain. By a pain I mean telling them I would not be paying a 50% deposit, repeatedly asking for a written quote and questioning why it has taken so long to get to this point.

They don't know that my mom managed to hire quite a few shysters when doing home repair and that I learned a heck of a lot by watching her experiences. To my knowledge, a customer is only required a 10% deposit once the final contract is signed and that you can also withhold 10% deposit up to 30 days affter the job is completed so that you can make sure there are no problems. The idea being that the company won't disapperar if you stilll owe them money and will return to your home to fix anything that needs to be fixed if they want it at the end of the 30 days. I can almost hear the cash register sound when some of these jokers come to my house to do an estimate for windows, doors, roof etc. and see a young(ish) woman open the door. They assume I don't know what I want or what I am talking about and figure they are going to double the regular price and make some easy money. Not so, and I have asked a couple to get out of house after gettting an outrageous quote. So I am back to square one, and for inconveniencing me and wasting my time aI am seriously considering filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Wish me luck.

But right now I am going to jump in the shower. My mom and I are going to a concert tonight and are heading out for dinner before hand so I have to run.

The Window Saga Continues

So I thought everything was cool with the windows and I was expecting the final contract in the mail. And then yesterday they called. I wasn't awake when they called and called back about an hour later and no answer. I thought that was weird but so far eveything with them has been weird so . . . I know they have call display since the woman answers with my name when I call so I knew she would know I called and expected her to call me back. No call yesterday. Hmmm. So I called when I woke up this morning and this is the jist of what she told me. They have two suppliers. One American and one Canadian. The Canadian company makes better quality windows more suited to Canadian winters and the American company makes lesser quality windows. Now since I obviously live in Canada and must experience Canadian winters, it would make sense to me that this would be the supplier she would choose when we initially talked about windows. But it wasn't. I did say price was a factor but I also made it clear that first and foremost, I wanted a good quality window. So of course now she is saying that the American company is way behind in production and if I wanted a better quality window the $1800 estimate would now be roughly $200 to $500 more.

So this is of course why she would not give me a written estimate. I have a number for a guy that works at a window manufacturing company. The problems with that are (1) I would have to pay cash (which I won't have for a couple of months), (2) since it would be under the table, I can't claim the tax credit and (3) I am a little sick of all things windows right now. So now what, keep letting this company jerk me around because I don't have the cash right now or wait and pay less but up front? Sigh . . .

One Step Closer

When I bought this house, I knew there were insulation issues. It was built in 1913 after all and it was obvious that previous owners had not been taking regular care. So I have insulated the completely uninsulated addition (8 " x 8") and mud room. I replaced the window in the mudroom. I still need to replace the window in the addition but I want to replace it with patio doors so I'm not going to bother. I will just keep covering it in plastic in the winter.

I have also added insulation to the attic and have filled every gap with dozens of cans of monofoam. The basement is still not finished but this fall I am going to cap all of the joist ends to try and cut down on basement drafts.

So I wanted to get 3 upstairs windows replaced when I had two weeks off at the end of July. Obviously I haven't got it done yet. I have had about 4 estimates done in the last four years. One was way too cheap, one was way too expensive and the other two were alright but I didn't have the cash at the time. Fortunately for me now, the hydro company is giving out loans to so "green" home improvements so I applied to do it that way. The company I am going with may be a mistake. It has taken about 2 1/2 months to get to the final estimate point. But they have given me a good price and after researching and installing a window myself, I know what to look for. I can't wait. I believe the windows are the last part of the main insulation problem. During the winter, I wear layers and toques and still end up paying about $500 a month (electricity and gas) during the 3 or 4 cold winter months. That is way too much. And that is with windows covered in plastic. I can't wait to get through a winter without plastic taped to my walls.

So the measurer guy tells me I will get the estimate in the mail, I guess that will be the contract and we will go from there. I almost can't wait until winter. I plan to insulate under the addition since there is no other way to stop the upward migration of cold air. That is to be done this fall as well. Bring it winter, I AM READY!