Please give me some advice

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northender
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 9:40 am

Please give me some advice

#1 Post by northender »

Hi, I just purchased a small early 50's home with huge windows in the lving room and kitchen, and rather small ones in the bedrooms. My first question is, how do I find a window company that is both reasonable and high-quality? In my area there are some places that can order any type of window. Can you recommend a good one that is not too expensive? There is one place that uses Amerimax, but from the little I've read on this board, that brand is expensive.

Also, my house is off a major road so I'd like to reduce the noise. Is this difficult to achieve with an older home? And finally, I'd like to make the bedroom windows bigger. Can window installers cut a bigger space and put a bigger window in, or do I need a contractor for this kind of job? And is that expensive? And one more question! The window in my living room is a faded, single-pane aluminum monstrosity. It is probably 100" long. Becuase of it's size in relation to my small house, I wanted something aesthetically pleasing, like grids on the end sections. Would a grid window match up with a 1950 home? It's a bit of a ranch-style looking home but has a two-foot concrete foundation around the house so that breaks up the monotony of the wood siding and gives it a different look. I'm all for preserving homes, but the window it has now is so plain and boring.

Thanks for any advice!!

Guy
Posts: 250
Joined: Fri Mar 11, 2005 3:10 pm
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota
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#2 Post by Guy »

Hey Northender, you can pretty much do whatever you want. I happen to live in a 1956 California rambler myself. I've put an addition on and built a bigger garage. I have 3000sqft on one level with no basement or upper level. No steps so I can live the rest of my life here. Told my son to burry me out back in a pop can!! I've done all the things you want other than grids in my glass. My take on a 50's ranch house is wide open and a lot of visibility out the windows. I have seen many of them that look great with grids installed. It's really very easy to alter the openings. Just remember that if you alter openings in any sleeping area you have to comply with egress codes for Fire Rescue. So the unit will have to have at least 5.7 square feet of exposed glass surface. Now finding the right installer to do all this is the big issue. <ost of the bigger qualified installers are out there and carry a contractors license. you'll just have to track one down.

northender
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 9:40 am

#3 Post by northender »

Thanks for the reply! I think I will skip the grids and maybe go with double hung on each side with nothing in the middle, large section. Grids look better on the more Victorian style homes and modern homes. Fire codes should not be a problem since I want to make the window bigger and will definitely have opening windows. I just hhave no clue which window brand is the best value. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Teresa
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 7:06 pm

#4 Post by Teresa »

I have the same sort of house and live in indiana - any further along on your research of windows?

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