We had a friend of my father-in-law’s come over to give us an idea of what it would cost to fix/replace a few things around the house. We told him what we’re looking for, and he’s going to get back to us with an estimate. I’m afraid it’s going to be about $1500 total, if not a bit more. We’ll see how close I am to predicting the actual estimate!
1) We have a pretty bay window in the living room. Unfortunately, the center window, rather than being a picture window, is a 48-inch-wide double-hung sash window with a a broken pane and nonworking counterbalances. Therefore, we haven’t been able to use it since we moved in. We knew it was damaged; but the seller gave us a $250 credit at closing and tossed in the washer and dryer instead of getting it fixed.
The estimator said a window that wide shouldn’t even be made, so it had to be custom. It’s just too heavy to be an openable window. But we can’t just replace this one window; we have to do the entire bay window because the pieces need to fit together properly. We’d like to be able to open the center portion of the bay window since the two side windows are small, so we may get two more put into the middle to replace the one big broken one. Otherwise, we’ll go with a stationary picture window for the center.
2) Our front door isn’t too secure (going to leave it at that), and it’s mint green, just like the siding! Plus, it hits the archway into the dining room when it’s opened, so it needs to swing the other way, where there are no impediments. I’d like to get a steel door with a slim, brushed-nickel accent window in the middle. Which leads us to…
3) The screen door. It’s one of those old-style metal doors that is half-steel, half-window with the silly scalloped edge trim around it. If we’re going to do the entry door, may as well replace this classic, right? Going for a full-view on this one, nickel trim.
While we don’t ACTUALLY have to do these things right away, I feel we should. And Mr. Saver couldn’t care less about what anything looks like, so I have free rein over style and decor. Yay!