Real Estate Investing Tips, Issue #012
Rehabbing - Windows In High End Classic Houses

Sorry for the delay since the last newsletter. There have been a lot of changes in my life and it has been a time consuming process. I will make every effort to publish on time from here on out.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today's Topic: Rehabbing - Windows In Classic Houses #012 June 03, 2005 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rehabbing Windows Can Be A Big Job.

If you are considering window replacement in a classic house in the upper end price bracket, there's more to it than meets the eye.

If you are not experienced as a rehabber and have not been involved in this process, perhaps the following comments can help you avoid some errors, time loss or cost over runs.

We have replaced windows in rehabs many times and it is not a big deal. We almost always use vinyl replacements and it is a fairly standard function for rehabbers.

Recently, we got involved in a window replacement project in a 1929 Classic Tudor style house in a very nice neighborhood in the Green Lake area of Seattle.

The project was a restoration function to upgrade the aluminum framed windows (installed in the 60's) in the living and dining room plus replace all of the original single pane double hungs in the bedrooms and bathrooms.

The total number of windows in the project ended up being 18 double hungs (36 actual windows).

Choosing The Right Product.

One of the primary difficulties was choosing the style and manufacturer of windows to satisfy the client. The over riding objective was to come up with replacment windows that matched the period style of the original windows when the house was built.

This was a major process in itself, partially because the homeowner knew nothing about windows when the project was initiated. I worked with the client at length suggesting web sites and local manufacturers with which to interact and gather information.

This process involved about 15 emails and several conversations over a two week period.

Then it was Home Show season and that began another segment of communication and investigation. After the client was sure that she knew exactly what she wanted, I spent half a day with her at the Home Show looking at windows with her.

We started at one corner and went through the entire show looking at all of the options. I spent a good deal of time looking at quality and technical functions of the various windows explaining my perspective to the client.

At the end of the day, the two windows she had chosen on her own were not the ones she chose to install in her house.

She almost chose a solid wood double hung that was a beautiful product. I worked hard at convincing her not to buy that style because of the maintenance and painting required on the exterior. With all the mullens and lites, it would require a significant amount of work in the years to come.

With some effort, I convinced her to choose a metal clad exterior window that had a 'powder coat' painted finish from the factory.

She finally chose against the solid wood windows (although the millwork was beautiful) when the final bids came in. Wow, were they expensive - almost double.

We got price quotes from many of the big names and installed quotes ranged from $13,000 to $26,000.

The product we settled on was a metal clad product with painted aluminum exteriors and vertical grain fir interiors. These windows have a tilt in function and latches that make it a snap to tip both the upper and lower double hungs inwards and remove them quite easily for cleaning or service.

The Install Was The Easiest Part Of The Job.

Demo and removal of the old windows and installation of the new windows was relatively an easy process. This took about three and a half days including on site milling and installing new cedar trim - after the windows were installed.

The client wanted to paint the interior of the windows to match the rest of her interior trim - although I insisted that it would look a great deal better to have a natural finish on the interior vertical grain fir.

Because she was unable to visualize natural wood windows in her house, she ordered the windows unfinished on the interior. That way she could go either way after they were installed.

Boy that was a mistake on my part.

On the interior, we used a water based Verathane and put four coats on in the dining and living room. There were 8 double hungs in those two rooms alone.

Needless to say, the finishing took a great deal of time. But the project came out beautifully and the client was very happy.

What I Learned On The Job.

1) Never order custom windows with solid wood interiors unfinished, for two reasons.

First, the finish from the factory will be much better than you can apply on site because they spray them repeatedly in the finishing department before glass is installed and the windows are assembled.

The factory finish would have cost the client about $2500 more, but if I ever do another job similar to this, I will insist upon it - or charge about $5000 to do the finish work.

Second, it would have saved about two weeks of time.

2) I learned something about period restoration from a person who knew nothing about windows or renovation. Had I ordered the windows myself, they would not have come out as nice as they did.

Here's why.

The client insisted on installing 6 lite leaded glass in the upper windows in the dining room and living room.

The manufacturer quoted $8000 just for those top 8 windows. We got them locally for about $2200 (that was my idea).

I would have skipped that feature entirely and it would have diminished the architectural look of the finished product significantly.

In addition, I would have used similar design windows - but vinyl replacements and I would have been wrong.

The manufacturer we used is Weather Shield out of Wisconsin. Great stuff and the service was excellent.

If I do more high end jobs - and I plan to in my keeper portfolio - I will use them again.

Most people have no idea how much work is involved in a high end window project after they are installed.

I didn't.

That's it for this time...

Regards,

Michael Barrett

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