The company that put our new windows in is a very reputable local company, they left a gap, then stuffed some fiberglass insulation in the middle to block, then filled with expanding foam, then covered that with some kind of high dollar caulk...no drafts around these babys!
I would check the manufacturer install instructions. Not sure if pvc siding is the same as plastic stuff you see on most houses around here. When installing the ones that are plastic you have to leave room for it to expand and shrink even the nails don't get pounded in tight. The siding has to breathe or it will buckle and pop off the house.
So, Lowes guy coming at 2 pm, then another guy I called last Thurs. coming at about 7pm. He's a local guy who runs an ad in the paper every week (yep, our paper comes out once a week ). I did some more cleanup of the siding yesterday. Discovered yet another type of siding on one section that's horizontal T&G pine. I'm not pulling anymore siding until I hire someone, then I'll get after the rest. Brother came over and we went over where the furnace will be installed. I need to pull apart a "pantry" (shelving and a couple cabs) to make room. I'll either build a new, smaller unit, or buy one.The gas line for the old DV heater can be rerouted about 6' (in the crawl), and it'll be easy to run the wiring once that's gone. He'll also come over and help move the gas line that runs on the back of the house. It needs to be lowered because of the new door going in. News at eleven. Or sooner.
Well, it wasn't the Lowes guy. I forgot we set the appt for Renewal by Andersen, but they had to reschedule for tomorrow. After the local guy left, wife and I think we'll cancel the Renewal appt for tomorrow. Still have the Lowes appt for Oct 5th, but that may get cancelled as well although they have 20% off Jeld-Wen. Local guy gave us the place he gets his stuff, so we'll probably take a trip to Gaylord tomorrow to check out what they have and maybe pick what we want. He can start in November. Looks like we may have found our guy. He lives about 4 miles north of us too. Keeping fingers and toes crossed.
Alrighty then. Guy from Lowes came out and seemed like a nice enough guy but he was really hot for Pella windows, saying he hasn't seen the Jeld-Wen rep in a couple years. I have doubts about that. Seems like he'd lose his job if he didn't check in on his clients occasionally. Don't know, never been in sales. Install price for a normal sized window is about $400, so I doubt that's gonna happen. I've installed windows, and in no way shape or form is that worth $400. No offense to anybody who does it for a living, but nope. Local guy does it for a LOT less. He tried calling, but we were out, so I expect a call Monday. Pretty sure we're going another direction with the local guy. His supplier will custom size the doorwall so I don't need to reframe the wall. It'll be slightly shorter than normal, but won't be a problem. So, after the talk with Lowes guy, local guy will get a call to put us on his schedule. Possibly next month sometime. We hope. In the meantime, we went out of town last weekend, and were gone for about 4 days, so nuttin got done. Upon our return, the pantry is just about gone, and I have a tentative plan to disarm the gas line to the old DV heater. Had an Aha moment today while tearin' up the pantry that I should put in an outside light at the new laundry room door. Power is already right there.....piece of cake to run a new line to the switch and light. Wife is still painting and repainting the living room. The color wasn't quite what she wants, so......................... Sorry for the novel. More news next week.
Finished pulling out the pantry today (only a small partition wall), and got some of the drywall down back there on the outside wall. Pulled the insulation to check and it has paper on both sides (very similar to some of the stuff I've found elsewhere). Musta been a thing back in the day. Oh, and saw daylight (a good 1/4" gap) between the Celotex pieces, so ............... Aaaand, the Lowes guy called earlier. Nope, nope, and .....nope. Almost $10,000 more than the local guy. Nope. So, I called local guy and expect a call or for him to show up soon to do final inside measurements on the windows. Gotta' talk to him about a couple other things we want done on the front porch. Hoping he's only scheduled out another month or so, which will give the window order time to show up. Brother's coming over tomorrow to see how we'll do the furnace install and make a material list. Cutting holes in the ceiling from the attic will not be the funnest thing I've ever done (I only know that because I've done it, and I've also done funner things). Obviously, the pantry shelves were put in before the ceiling tiles.
Lowes guy called back this morning after he "shaved" some cost (part of it was me tearing off the rest of the siding). Didn't help much, so he's now definitely off the list. Still waiting on the local guy to contact us. Aaaand, the first guy we talked to (Amish) called yesterday afternoon and said he'd have the estimate done today. This should be interesting, but with as long as it's taken him and his contractor to get even close with the program, I HIGHLY doubt they'll be doing any work here. We'd really like this done before 2020.
Amish, it takes a little while to get them altogether, but when they show up it will be done fast and right.
they build a lot of pole buildings around here, the rows of screws look like the were put in with a laser. They start in the morning and usually finish by dark.
