My father uses my blog to stay connected to the project.  He calls me everyday asking to see pictures of what I’ve accomplished that day.  He’s asked several times to see the windows and I had avoided this post because I don’t like them.  My budget dominated my decision to go with vinyl windows and the lowest price to install.  My two floors have two different window manufactures although both Earthwise Windows.  To the novice eye from outside you’d never know; thankfully they look the same.  I covered the downstairs windows in my She’s Got 1st Floor Windows blog.

The 2nd floor windows came from Tri-State Building Supply.  Tri-State’s larger windows have only one lock, the 1st floor windows have two.  I prefer the single lock.  It’s made of metal vs. plastic, so in my opinion sturdier.  The 1st floor windows have security levers that limits how far the windows can be opened when employed.  I like it as I can crack windows and leave the room without worrying about someone pushing them open further and climbing in.    Hopefully no one will scale the roof when I have the second floor windows open as the cross breeze is awesome.  With the ceiling fan on I am hoping for much lower utility bills as I minimize the use of the AC.

Hopefully this is an anomaly, but the seal in one of the windows has already failed.  Fortunately it’s covered under warranty, but that window hasn’t been in a full two months.  Several years ago I replaced the rear windows on my current house with Renewal by Anderson.  About six years later the seal failed and all I had to do was call them, give them the number of the sticker on the window and they sent me a whole new window sash.  With Tri-State I have to remove the damaged sash, take it to them and they will replace the glass.

The second floor only has 10 windows, 1st 14, but Mr. Jackson, my installer, definitely had the harder install due to the 4 dormer windows.  It’s speculated that a fire at some point in the house impacted the inside walls and led someone to frame new walls inside the original outer walls.  When I bought the house all the original, weighted windows, had been replaced with aluminum windows and the four curved windows in the dormers had been frame from the inside for rectangle windows.  A piece of metal was screwed to the curve to create the look you see below. 

Unfortunately it also blocked 1/3 of the light, so I removed it.  What I didn’t realize is that the piece of metal also hid gaps created when you place a square shape in a curved space.  The frames of the vinyl windows is thicker than the aluminum, so without that piece of metal the sides and tops of the windows are very obvious.  I hate it.

I really wish I had bit the bullet and ordered curved windows, but it would have meant ripping out the drywall to frame inside for the curve and then find curved molding.  The inside view from these windows isn’t any better.  I will definitely need to come up with some type of blind or valance to hide the framing that I can see.  I cringe every time I see it.

Fortunately it only impacts the two windows in the master bedroom area.  I put obscure panes in the lower part of all the functioning windows in the master bath.  While painting I realized that at my height my chest area on up is exposed in the upper part of the dormer windows which is at the same level of the second story of my neighbor’s windows.  I can’t see myself remembering to close curtains or blinds every time I go in the bathroom, so I’ve decided to make the upper sash of the dormer windows obscure also.  It’s only a $150 expense, but I think worth it.  I probably won’t put any type of window coverings in the bathroom and the obscure pane will minimize the unsightly framing I can see.

I still love the trio windows in the “wet” area of the bathroom.  The window on the left will actually be inside the shower, which unfortunately can’t be completed until I sell my house.  Funds are getting too tight and I don’t want to compromise.  Only the bottom sash of the center window is obscure, but only my head is seen in the upper sash.  No neighbor’s windows on that side, just  a parking lot for a business.  Plus I plan on steeling an idea I saw at my friend Joan’s house.  She has a stained glass hanging in front of her window in her bathroom.  I want to do the same.

The plumbing rough-in tested my resolve.  It almost broke me.  It made me doubt my decision to purchase the house, my ability to restore the house.  It caused for a negative working environment between me and father.  BUT today, six weeks after we started I received my plumbing rough-in approval!!!!  For as easy as it was to run the PEX, running the PVC for the vents, waste, and drains was the polar opposite.  Never again will I try to install PVC…..and I mean that.

Drains running to the basement. Most on the left had to be redone.

Corrected kitchen drain pipe

It took four visits by my City Inspector, Tom Huddleston to get that sticker.  The first visit was a gut punch.  We thought we had a darn good route ironed out for everything, NOT. He went through and pointed out how we had almost every vent pipe located on the wrong side of a drain pipe, which means we weren’t properly venting the pipes and in some cases were allowing sewer gases to still enter the house.  That reality meant we had to cut out about 1/3rd of the pipes.  He also pointed out some things that I should correct to make the final install of fixtures easier, for that I was grateful.  For instance I ran the pipe for kitchen sink too high (I had two existing notches, I chose the top-notch to run pipe, instead of bottom), which would make it hard to install the farmhouse sink.

Me made all the corrections and scheduled visit number two.  He had pointed out to us that we had configured the drains on the first floor tub wrong during the first inspection.  Clearly we didn’t understand the correction as we managed to install new pipes, what looked to me, in the same way they were that was wrong.  This was the beginning of the erosion of working with my father. Far be it for me to question anything.  That resulted in the removal of another $40 in PVC.  The second shot at doing what we were told proved beneficial, as after sending Mr. Huddleston pictures of the reconfigured tub pipes we were ready for another inspection.

Visit number three was the water test.  With all corrections made, it was time to see if our fittings were glued and sealed correctly.  Mr. Huddleston took my sawzall, cut a pipe in the master bathroom and we took a hose connected to the washer hookup and began to fill the line.  My heart was racing.  Optimism soon faded as I started walking around the house only to see drips from several areas, one so bad that we half filled a bucket before we pulled the plug-in the clean out valve.  We had 5 leaks.  Armed with the process for testing, my father and I began cutting out the bad areas and making repairs. We went from clear cleaner, to purple so we could clearly see where we were working.  We did a second water test.  6 new leaks.  L is for “Leaks” in the pictures.

At this point it was time for my father to return to Florida for a previously scheduled appointment and I decided it was time to call in a professional plumber.  I’ve developed a friendship with the staff of Leons Supply,  plumbing supply store located less than a mile from my house, due to the multiple trips per day I was making to their store, so I asked one of their staff, Hugh, for a referral.  He gave me the name of Andre with Tip Top Plumbing.

I called several plumbers, but he was the only to return my call and be available the next day.  It took my father and I eight hours to fix the first five leaks.  Andre and his brother fixed six in two.  We did water test number three.  $420 investment, no leaks or so I thought.  I decided to leave the water in the line, so I didn’t have to fill it again for Mr. Huddleston.  About 30 minutes after they left as I was entering the bathroom to finish the strapping project when plop on my forehead a drop of water.  Another new leak.

I called Andre, who was already at another job, and he said he’d return at 8am the next day to make the repair in time enough for me to meet the call-in window to get on that day’s inspection schedule.  Of course the location of this leak proved a little more difficult to access, but as promised the repair was made in time.  I have a new plumber.  Andre was awesome to work with.

Water test and inspection visit number four proved to be magic as I was awarded my blue APPROVED sticker.   He also added a message to my walls, fittingly next one that had to be cut out to make room for a reworked pipe.  Mr. Huddleston is a 30-year career plumber and he shared that if he had been hired to do the job he would charge $7200.  That was in the middle of the bids I got.  The only sense of vindication I have is that a spent less than my lowest bid.  HOWEVER, I lost valuable time on this project and I’m a firm believer that time is money.  My early June move-in will not happen.  I can only hope we can make up some time and I can hit early July.