Windows

When we purchased Southmore we had no clue to the level of work we would be putting into this house. Termite damage was covered up by drywall, rotten subfloors were covered up with plywood, the bad wiring and plumbing were hidden in the walls, etcetera. One of the main things that was clear to us that we would need to fix was the state of the windows in our house. The front windows all had darkly tinted glass on them, windows were sagging in the bedrooms, sashes were rotten, and a couple of windows were broken or just did not exist. 

I am pleased to report that we are fixing these issues at the moment.  We briefly considered replacing the windows with double paned modern windows, but were talked out of it by Architect Joe who argued that the age of the house and its tendency to breathe would negate any positive effect of insulated windows. I would love to share with you a link to our window repair guy's website, but I can't. He seems to get work by word of mouth, which is how we got his information. Joe asked us at one of our last meetings if we wanted the name of his "window guy" and immediately followed with "do you speak Spanish?" 

Our answer to both questions was yes (a resounding yes to the first question, and a tentative one from me for the second.) Fortunately, James is both good at and confident in speaking Spanish, so we gave Arcadio a call and were grateful when he agreed to work for us. Arcadio is one of the few people in Houston that specializes in repairing old windows, and the skill that he possesses has been immediately apparent. 

The guys remove the window from the wall, scrub it and sand it extensively, repair original parts, rebuild missing parts, and then reinstall the window. We are keeping the panes that were put in our house in 1936, panes that have a bit of warp and character to them from existing in the same spot for eighty years. People pay premium to get this look with new windows, and we're getting this look naturally. Our house is looking better and better, and I can hardly wait to see what happens next.