We had our meeting with the window dude. I had already done extensive research on the "big boys" in our area as well as a cautionary tale from my friend who had gotten quotes from all three big window companies and had horrible experiences with all of them. (As well as ridiculously quoted prices. I did enough searching to see what windows should cost in our area as a ballpark.) I sent this local company who did not advertise but had 5-star reviews on all of the major review sites to the Mr and said I felt like we'd be cutting through the crap if we went straight to these people. We knew on the high end, we should expect to pay around $1000 per window since they are vinyl, not wood, so we figured around $3000 for the job. Now we had to put our game faces on.
We said we weren't going to sign a contract, we weren't going to tell him about the icicle that grew between the panes this winter, we were going to say we had another company coming out the same day so we couldn't give an answer that day and just the three windows. We would price out our dream window but probably go with something middle of the line but still way better than we currently have.
We were going to be an impenetrable wall.
Well, that didn't last long.
When we were asking about the triple-paned windows, and he told us it really wasn't better than double as far as energy savings so we could spend more if we wanted to, but that was up to us. That was $500 per window. I was starting to twitch because I wanted to say "DO IT" but you know...wall. I mentioned how I wanted quieter windows since the cars that go boom like to thump by on occasion, and he said triple-paned would actually help with that. We asked him to price out the mac daddy of windows with triple-paned, double strength glass with satin nickel hardware and it was about $740 for the two-bedroom windows, each, and $650 for the slightly smaller kitchen window. Now I could see we were both ready to break. The Mr asked about the patio door. I wasn't on board because I'd read some stories that the manufacturer wasn't the greatest. He said he understood the concern, but he'd never had a problem, and if there was one, he'd fix it asap and not just when it could be fit in. He priced the regular door, and the mac daddy door and the Mr said if we didn't replace it, it'd be the weak link, and it's the biggest sound conductor we have. The warranty is incredible, and the total was $5000 with double insulation around the door, both foam, and batting. He emailed us the quote, took his sample window back to the car, and we both looked at each other, and the Mr said he was ready if I was. The dude comes back in, and we're like "do it."
The best laid plans, eh?
I only hope the install and actual product are as good as the "pitch."
What best laid plans have you totally caved on?
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Yeah I take full responsibility for fulling caving in on this one but I just got such a good vibe from the start and felt like we were getting a good deal overall, even with our (my) add-on of the sliding door. The other thing is that I did not wake up this morning with any regret whatsoever about moving forward with that so I think that says it all too.
ReplyDeleteI'm easily sold so I need to be wary always. Congrats on your decision!
ReplyDeleteWe did the same thing with our guy and signed on the dotted line when we actually sat down to discuss all the details of the type of windows we wanted. Since there was no metal hardware to eventually become brittle and break, and the exterior would be capped with aluminum to create a maintenance free exterior, and the wonderful tilt-in's and both top and bottom to make cleaning a breeze, we went ahead and signed. They don't contract out, which was the biggest draw for me and I met both the installers a week later when they came to re-measure and answer my questions before placing the order. I asked if they'd remove our sliding door blinds and reinstall them because the Home Depot guy did not install them right and they've been a problem, so they will do that for us, too. Our total for 7 windows and the sliding door came to $7900. I'm hoping they'll be ready to install in a couple of weeks when I'm on vacation.
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