The Kitchen Hold Up

We've had one lingering item that prevented the kitchen from being "complete", at least in our minds.


I mentioned a couple years ago that our bathroom window had spots on the inside of the panes.  We naively thought the seal had been broken and that it was moisture.  We were surprised when we contacted the company that installed the windows, (before we bought the house), to find out that it was a malfunction of the window itself, specifically "a failure of the low-e coating on the inside of the window when it's exposed to oxygen".  They were holding an internal investigation and a third-party tester contacted us to replace the window and it was done with little headache.

We noticed about a year ago that it happened to one of the living room windows as well.  This time is was the top sash, which on our windows, is sealed in place.  Mike's been around the block a couple times, so he felt comfortable switching it out.

Big mistake.  First, it's on the ground level, but it's still over 6 feet up from the ground so he needed a ladder.  Second, it's a much larger window and when we tried to break the seal, the window broke.  He was able to manhandle it out, but it was scary to watch, and I hate cleaning up broken glass.

I was running around like a crazy person so I didn't get a shot of the broken glass, but it's the washed out window behind the gold lamp.
 
When we noticed this little kitchen window top sash had started to fail as well, (that's 3 windows so far if you're keeping track), we contacted the window company right away.  It actually was at the same time we we're dealing with the living room window so we were already on a first name basis with these guys.  They said they would order one right away.

I was notified to come pick it up, which of course can only be done during their work hours, which means I had to leave my work early to make it there, because they kept worse hours than bankers.  I picked it up, only to find out when I got home that it was for the bottom sash.  Womp, womp.

I realize you don't really care about these small details but Mike and I like having a sort of diary to remember these little nuances by, so skip ahead if you want.  I returned it, on another day that I had to leave work early.  So, we waited until they contacted us again when the new window came in.  And, like 2  months went by before they confirmed it was in.  I said I wanted it delivered at this point since they already messed it up and made me leave work early, and a week later a guy stopped by the house.  He came carrying a giant window, much too big to be that little window in the kitchen, so I made him wait while I opened it to check.  Sure enough it was the same one we had replaced in the living room.

We waited another 6 weeks for them to get us a new one out, and another 2 or 3 weeks for an installer to come out and replace it.  He replaced it in less than 20 minutes.  Mike totally could have done it, but he's not just any homeowner also, but we figured that the way the larger one went, it would be better to have a certified installer do it in case we have to use the warranty again.

The window wasn't as bad as the bathroom, but it was enough that it bothered me when ever it caught my eye.

    
What really bothered me was it looked worse from outside.  Also known as the door we use to get in our house, everyday!


It just gets worse the closer you are.


Agh!


So, it only took almost 6 months to get this little window fixed, but it's over with.  And, the sad thing is no one will even notice!



Now, I finally feel like I can clean up the kitchen and do a final reveal!

No comments