"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."
Robert Louis Stevenson




Showing posts with label Retrofit Windows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Retrofit Windows. Show all posts

Monday, February 4, 2013

New Windows! Granite Slab, Kitchen Update


Finally something to post about.

We decided to have new windows and glass doors installed before finishing up the kitchen.  The old ones were original to this house that was built in 1975, aluminum and heavy with lots of drafty areas.  One of the glass doors sounded like scraping metal to metal when you opened it; I won't miss that sound at all.  The first thing I thought about after I used the new door was how quiet they were. My neighbor's dog always heard when I opened the door and would come running down the bank to the fence, looking/waiting for her treat. I don't think I will need to buy as many milk bone for her now, you can barely hear it open.

The install was this last Friday, a big job, 11 windows and 2 glass doors.  Getting ready was not all that bad, I just removed all the drapery and blinds from the windows and doors and moved some furniture.  Moving all my potted plants from around the patios and entrance was the most work!

Windows Delivered
The two tall ones are for our two front windows.  Those were 10 feet wide!

Front window and side window, so weird seeing all the windows in the house out. But the views were great!  I kept expecting birds to fly through the house.  This is one of the installers giving me the high 5.  Not one window broke and they did a fantastic job of cleaning up afterwords.  We had a crew of 5 men.  It took them about 5-6 hours for the entire job. 
Front window before
and After
Kitchen Before
Kitchen After
Inside Kitchen being installed
Patio Door off Kitchen, before
and After
Entrance (dining room window) Before
After (dining room window)
Mexican Patio Before
Mexican Patio After
another view of Mexican Patio
Kitchen window after installation
Kitchen Sliding Glass Door from inside.
 I love the way they look now and hopefully this will save some money on the heating and air conditioning bills. Last month the electric (we have an all electric house) was a whopping $408.00!

On to the kitchen update:

Saturday we found a granite slab that we liked for the kitchen counter.  Here is a photo of that, it is called Cafe Creme, we bought it at Arizona Tile in San Diego.
 
Cafe Creme Granite


This granite is quarried from bedrock in India. It has a lot of tan and brown tones with some garnets, and a bit of gray too. This was our third trip to Arizona Tile, we looked at a few other slab yards but they all were too high priced.  My guess is that Arizona Tile has such a huge slab yard that they have more room to negotiate.  Choosing the granite took me more time than the cabinet color.  Oh, this also has just a slight hint of sage green to it.  I love it and can't wait until I get this on the cabinets.  I still have to have the base cabinet that I moved, secured to the wall and leveled. Then I can have our fabricator out to take measurements, make the template and cut into this beautiful slab!!