Now I just need to get my windows ordered this afternoon to get this ball rolling. So it took a few months and several tries, but I finally found my perfect match. It would ruin my credibility, and since this is what I do, I couldn’t really use ignorance as an excuse.” Bonus points again! □ I assured him that I definitely do want him to pull a permit. The people in the permit office know me and trust me, and I’d hate for them to catch me doing a job like this without a permit. But he finally said, “Well, I would definitely want to. I think something in the way I worded or asked the question gave him the impression that I didn’t want a permit pulled for this job, and he seemed kind of reluctant to answer the question outright. My final “test” was when I asked him if he would have to pull a building permit for the job. He didn’t make anything seem impossible or too difficult, and on the flip side of that, he didn’t act as if this job wasn’t worth his time. But if I wanted three separate windows of equal width, and it turns out that those vertical pieces are load-bearing, then he could just move them over so that they’re spaced equally. ![]() If there’s not one there, he could add one. □Īnyway, he said that if I wanted one solid window there (like a big picture window), he would just need to be sure that there’s a 12-inch header above the window. I refrained because… awkward…but I wanted to. You can put whatever kind of window in there you want. He said, “You don’t have to keep this configuration. I told him that the other company had told me that I’d have to keep the windows in the same configuration as they are now because the two vertical pieces separating the casement windows from the center picture window are load bearing. My next “test” for him was the front window. He was easy to talk to, he understood exactly what I wanted, and he explained things to me very clearly. He texted me, andshowed up during the time frame he gave me. He had given me a time frame when he would show up, and said he would text when he was on his way. So he came yesterday morning to measure and give me an estimate for installation. I told him what I wanted, and then said explicitly, “I do not want replacement windows!” And without skipping a beat, he said, “Oh no, you don’t want those! You want everything taken out and everything replaced.” Aaahhhh…he gets me. I called this framer/window installer, and was impressed almost immediately. And since he’s a self-employed local small business owner (it’s just him and his assistant), I bet he knows other self-employed small business owners who could do just about anything I need done on my house! So I texted him, and he sent me a name right away. I have a plumber who I absolutely love and trust. So the window company that I told you about on Wednesday was about my fourth attempt, and when it went south, that’s when my frustration and discouragement set in. For whatever reason - either telling me that what I wanted wouldn’t work, or telling me that a building permit isn’t needed for that kind of job when I know it is, or giving me ridiculously high quotes, or showing up really late for the appointment (something that doesn’t really convey trustworthiness and dependability IF they don’t call or text to let me know they’ll be late) - I just didn’t get that feeling that I wanted to hire them for the job. I had already talked with and “interviewed” two or three other installers, and I just didn’t get that feeling that any of them were right for the job. My experience with that window company actually wasn’t my first attempt at finding someone to install new windows. I’m sure you could tell in my last post that I was feeling pretty frustrated and discouraged about windows. And when it comes to window installers, I’m certain I’ve found my perfect match. It might just be a “feeling” that you have. You may be able to put your finger on exactly why it’s right, or you may not. I think finding the right sub-contractor to do work in your house is much like a relationship with a significant other - when it’s right, you just know it.
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