New Windows (Using Federal Tax Credits)

Part of President Obama's stimulus package was giving a tax credit to encourage people to make energy efficient changes to their homes such as solar panels and replacing old windows with new energy efficient windows.

Yes, we did a lot of research and got a lot of estimates. We had 11 jalousie windows to replace with 7 vinyl sliders, double hung and awnings by consolidating a few that were right next to each other.


Mike and Shawn arrived right on time at 9:00 AM.


Why did we end up choosing Windows Hawaii? The warranty for one thing. Anlin Windows provides a lifetime warranty for their windows (two years on the hardware for Hawaii) and Windows Hawaii provides a lifetime warranty for their installation. The price was comparable with the others. We liked the quality of the Anlins after seeing quite a few of them.


They removed the jalousie glass very carefully.

There used to be three jalousie sections here. They removed the partitions to replace it with one large window that had a picture window in the middle and two sliders alongside it.

Shawn carefully began caulking the outside of the windows.

Mike did the inside caulking. I told him that I've learned caulking can hide a myriad of spaces and defects in construction. He laughed and said, "Caulks got what carpenters naught."

I was surprised that there would be very little areas that would need touch up paint.

Mike and Shawn both said they were really surprised at how clean the house (inside and out) was. I told them mom was a stickler for keeping things looking ship shape.

Once they were done with the installation, they showed us how to care for and remove parts for cleaning if desired.

Here's mom's bedroom Before.

Mom's bedroom, After.

Family room Before

Family room After

The other side of the family room Before

The other side of the family room, After

Art went out for a jog early this morning and returned to hear the television in the family room blaring extra loud. He went outside and discovered that he couldn't hear much of anything from the outside. The windows really kept the neighbors nearby from hearing mom's treadmill and television. This is a very good thing since she does her exercise at 5:30 in the morning and then in the evening.

We're also noticing that the rooms are cooler now in the afternoon. This is also a very excellent thing.

The glass is supposed to be somewhat self cleaning and will provide mom with much better security when we're not around. Jalousies were far too easy to break into.

Well... that's it for 2010! The rest of the renovation work will be up to Art and me.

Sigh....

Decision #4: Vinyl Windows (Done!)

I did a post before about our quest for the best vinyl windows for our house. We have decided to go with Windows Hawaii's Anlin windows. It all finally boiled down to the Warranty.

Their competitor had a 5 year Labor Warranty. Windows Hawaii had a Lifetime Labor Warranty. Granted, I hope they'll be around for a lifetime. The competitor promised a lot of things which may or may not have been true, but when we checked the fine print on their warranty, couldn't find anything to back up what was said.

So it's all in the Warranty for us this time. The windows looked very similar and had somewhat equivalent performance qualities. The price was close. As Art said, "The devil was in the fine print details."

The Obama $1,500.00 maximum stimulus energy tax credits expire at the end of the year so we needed to get this done now.

With the solar panels, the windows, our furniture all being installed or delivered in November-December, we'll be sucking in our gut at the huge, nasty, painful bill we'll be getting next month. We are doing our part to stimuate the economy no matter how much it hurts.

Ah well... Our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter will be coming to visit in December so that will lift our spirits by the end of the year.

Looking Out at Windows

We were waiting for another window sales representative this morning when the phone rang. It was Keola, who we were expecting. Apparently he's come down with a horrible cold or flu and wanted to reschedule. Absolutely! We haven't gotten our flu shot yet.

Since he wasn't coming, Art said we should go down to Home Depot and price some vinyl windows there. That decision done, I started reading the comics.

Pearls Before Swine caught my eye.



We've gotten estimates for vinyl windows from two companies so far. The Company #1 fellow quoted $4,340.00 for Jeld Wen. Company #2 quoted nearly $8,000.00 for Anlin. The next windows we're looking at is called Makai.

Company #1 didn't have a sample of the windows, and didn't seem to know much about windows. He also gave some incorrect information which had us raising our eyebrows.

Company #2 was very knowledgeable and is a company of long standing. They also don't subcontract their labor. He said Company #3 does.

We're off to Home Depot now to check out their windows and hmmmm... maybe Lowes? That's our life for this week. We need to get this decision done quickly because we want to take advantage of the 30% off/up to $1,500. federal energy tax credit that expires this year.

Additional things to remember about getting the federal energy tax credits:

Requirements
U factor <=0.30
SHGC <=0.30

Tax Credit does NOT include installation costs.

SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient)
measures how well a window blocks heat from sunlight. The lower the SHGC, the lower the heat gain through a window. SHGC ranges from 0 to 1.

U-Factor
measures how well a window, door, or skylight prevents heat from escaping. It is similar to the R value for insulation. The lower the number, the more efficient the window. Ratings usually range from 0.20 to 1.20.