I am so exhausted I can hardly keep my eyes open. And I am usually a night owl. I got up early in case the workmen came as early as they did the last time.
Then I spent the entire day raking the moss out of the lawn, digging compost out of my compost pile, shoveling it onto the lawn, spreading seeds, watering, planting plants. I did this for 7 hours straight. Then I did some weeding. But this was my own choice. I have so much yard work to do, I just need to make a lot of progress.
Meanwhile, the men who installed the first 12 windows came back to install the final 5. That should have been a piece of cake for them. They are incredibly skilled and the hardest workers I have ever seen.
But it wasn’t quite as easy as it should have been. The window company didn’t tell me that the frame surrounding my windows was much larger than my original windows. I think I mentioned in my prior post that I had to throw away or recycle my shutters because they no longer fit. But that wasn’t all that wouldn’t fit.
The crown moldings above the front windows on the first floor were also too small. I spoke to the project manager about the fact that I didn’t receive information that I needed when I decided to go ahead with this company. I doubt that I would have gone with them if I had known that both my shutters and crown moldings wouldn’t fit. He said that the installers “would take care of it”. I asked who would be paying for that, and he said that they would. Thank you, at least there’s that.
Nevertheless, no one communicated that to Luis, the head installer, that he would have to take care of it. But he spent some time thinking about it, and he decided to craft them himself to size. He went off to Home Depot, bought the materials, and came back and created crown moldings that look so much better than what I had before! And I believe they are made from waterproof materials and he used much more effective flashing than I had before. They are fantastic, and so is Luis!
Now I need to remove some of the mature shrubs and trees in front of my new windows. They look so good, I shouldn’t block them with overgrown landscaping. With the wider trim, the windows look more finished. I almost don’t miss my shutters.
If someone asked me if I would recommend the window company I chose, I don’t think I would. Communication with me, the customer, was pretty awful. They left out key information that I needed to make an informed decision. They (or my inexperienced salesman) screwed up my order, and as a result, I had to have the windows installed on two different occasions 5 weeks apart. No one followed up after the first installation to find out how it went. I doubt that anyone will follow up this time either.
The only good news is that I met Luis and his crew. They are subcontractors, not even full-time employees of the company. I assume that’s because the company doesn’t want to give them benefits or pay them a regular salary.
But I will hire Luis and his skilled crew to do other projects in my home when they have time to do them. Hopefully, the stock market will recover some of the territory it lost, and I will be able to have them replace my deck.
If you are considering replacing your windows, do a lot more research upfront than I did. I asked my neighbors for recommendations, and only one family had replaced their windows. Unfortunately, it looks like the neighbor who gave me the name of the company they used and loved mixed up the name. They hadn’t used the company I went with after all. Oh well. It’s done, and the windows are great…so far.
Glad that is all done and you can get your inside all in order. Summer is nice but sounds like you have a lot of work still to do. You know the old saying NO REST FOR THE WICKED 🙂
You nailed it, Gloria! I hope that the grass will decide to grow after all this work (that’s not even done yet)!
So glad they’re done, and everything looks GREAT! I love Luis, too, and I haven’t even met him yet 😉
Thank you, Kim!! I have some ripe bananas. LMK if you are in the mood for a banana daiquiri later this afternoon
Luckily it’s done to your satisfaction but without Luis you’d be in for a fight. I can’t believe how much work you put in to beautify your home.
Marcia recently posted…My Windows Are Finished!
Thank you, Marcia!
At least Luis was a hero, even if the company itself is not up to his standards, and the whole ordeal is OVER!!!
Yahoo! Thank you, Gabrielle xo And now I found someone to redo my deck when I get a cash infusion one of these days 🙂
I am so glad that it is done! It’s too bad that the company was so poor at communication, but at least Luis was amazing!
Lola Seicento recently posted…Boxwalla June Beauty Box: Be Drunken Featuring Naturallogic
Thank you!