Storm Window Installation

The pile of windows is no longer on the porch, They are all up. Tomorrow I have a few minor adjustments to make and hooks to add but I am very happy with the result. It might not seem like much but this is one of the bigger projects that we have taken on. I describe it like this because it was a long road from choosing a manufacturer to getting to this point.


I knew when we bought the Tiny Bungalow that we would be installing wood storms. I had a dream at one point that I'd make them. I thenreconsidered the idea WITHOUT drinking a six pack of beer and decided against it. I am sure there are folks out there that don't even know that you can still get wood storms and I am sure there are others that are sitting in shock because we're not putting in something like aluminum or replacing the windows all together with vinyl. That would look really sweet, wouldn't it?

We narrowed our manufacturer choice over a year ago to a local guy, a place in Iowa, and Spencerworks in Nebraska. We liked the Iowa windows but decided against them because the built-in storm/screen combination required complete removal of a pane of glass to use the screen. I knew it wouldn't be long before we lost or broke one of these panes. The local guy ended up coming in at twice the price as Spencerworks and Spencerworks included the paint job. I really wanted to support the local economy and not have to ship the product but I also never got a follow up from the local folks when I asked questions about pricing and scope. Spencerworks it was.


To place the order for the windows, we had to measure the openings ourselves (my friend Steve helped me with this feat a few weeks ago), deduct some spacing (all as directed by the manufacturer) and send them a final order. The Spencer windows have concealed storms - this means that from the outside you can't see the movable storm windows (very similar to the typical aluminum storms people are used to except these look much nicer). The order was supposed to take 4-6 weeks but the windows arrived in three. You order the hardware with the windows and everything came well-packed in a huge crate.

Installation was deceptively simple but I don't recommend anyone taking this on alone (do as I say, not as I do). I am glad that I am still alive after the experience of trying to negotiate a ladder with tools, shims, and a 60lb window in hand. Yeah, sometimes I'm not too bright but I am also friend-deficient so I don't have much of a choice.


To install, there is a two-piece hardware assembly. A "female" one that goes on the window and a "male" one that goes on the window head. The window then slips in and the hardware interlocks like a hinge. I made a real fancy guide to mark all the windows and I borrowed a cordless drill to drill and screw. This made me think: how the hell have I gotten this far in DIY projects without a cordless. I must ask Santa for one this Christmas. One tool that did come in handy and I recommend it to anyone, even if you aren't friend deficient, is the magnetic wrist band my mother in law got me last year. It is awesome and saved countless dropped screws and hardware components. Thanks mom!

Even though the house and most of the frames are out of plumb, all of the windows fit pretty well. I think there is only one that I need to really adjust because the sill drops about an inch from one side to the other. In addition to the hinge at the top, the windows are held in place at the bottom with an eye hook.


One thing we didn't plan on doing during this process was choosing paint colors for the house. The color of the storms is Chocolate Cherry. I chose a color called Olive Leaf for the trim and to complete the food theme, the body of the house will be Brioche. It will be some time before we see the rest of these colors on the house but hopefully I'll get the garage painted before fall so you can get a preview.Hopefully we'll find a difference in our heating bills come fall as well. The most noticeable difference right now is the noise. I've always complained that the house has paper walls because we can hear EVERYTHING outside. Traffic on our street is bad and even non-violent storms can be annoying. Now it is almost silent in the house - very strange.

Another nice bonus is that the storms conceal the double-hung windows and protect the from the elements. They are in sad shape and can use all the protection they can get. Hopefully the project of restoring them will begin in another year.

The secret to getting a lot done on Saturday

From May to November, most of the OP is up very early on Saturday morning. I know this because there is usually an inordinant number of people on the 400 block of Lake Street. The first thing most folks do on Saturday is head down to the parking lot next to Pilgrim Congregational Church to go to the farmer's market. Some say they go for the fresh vegetables others say they go to listen to the great folk music. They are lying. The real reason they all go is to get the home made donuts. They are usually still warm when you pick them up... ...if you are early enough to get them. They are made by the church or a local non-profit organization, who get the proceeds from the sales. I don't know how many they make each weekend but if you are not there by 9:00, you are usually out of luck. It is not strange to see the line stretch half a block for these goodies. If you are in the OP on a Saturday morning and don't get your donuts, I don't know how you make it through your day.After eating three (1 powdered and 2 cinnamon), I got back to work on the bedroom. I am in the home stretch of stripping the woodwork in the bedroom with only stripping the window apron and head needed to complete the work. I was feeling so adventurous (probably powered by the sugary goodness of the donuts), I decided to take apart one of my windows to see what the future holds in store for me. I can see by the number of weights that though they are painted shut, I have double-hung windows. All of the ropes and weights are in their place and most are still attached. I'll see you guys again in a few months when it will be time to get you working again.

Since I have ADD when it comes to working on the house, I also decided to dig up a concrete walk in the back. Since I am working on the screen door for the basement, I figured I should make that entry a little safer. This ended up becoming Saturday's nap project. There was an 8" drop towards the basement that has been driving me nuts. After filling the area under the dropped walk with four bags of stone dust and filling a gap between the walk and the patio with a few bricks, I have reduced the step to about 2 inches. Still not completely safe and still full of cracked and broken concrete but a noticeable improvement.
The long-term goal is to move the patio and change this entire area into brick pavers. This will happen when (if) I finally get to renovating the back of the house.

Is there such a thing as a caulk fetish?

I think that everyone I know that reads this blog has asked me, "how is the bedroom going". 'Slowly", is my only response. I turned a corner, so to speak, this weekend and I now have a majority of the baseboard stripped. I have also been hunting around stores for some window stops so that I can begin stripping the window casing.

I need these because (hard core restoration folks, avert your eyes) I am seriously thinking of throwing away the ones currently on the windows. They are painted and would need stripping but worse, they are cracked and chipped all to hell. I intend on restoring the old windows but stripping all of these stops is just a bit much. I may not have a choice though - I have yet to find anything the right size - gotta love old homes.

This morning I pealed one stop off, to take with me to the hardware store. I made what is becoming my typical discovery in this house when I remove something - caulk. The previous owners must have had a caulk fetish - it is everywhere. When I took down the molding/rail at the ceiling, it was there, they had it at the toe molding too, I can't believe I didn't find it holding down the wall to wall carpeting I tore up last year. It is everywhere!!! Were they afraid of something getting in - were they getting infested, was there a draft??? I can't believe this stuff really helped. I have convinced myself that this was the only thing that the PO could do well so they did it a lot! I have images of this couple, their array of caulking guns, spending the weekends filling every crevice of this home with that wonderful white goo.

Enough with the caulk rant. I have finished the first three coats of plaster on the south wall of the bedroom and will begin working around the remaining walls. It will kill my mother in law, who is visiting in a couple weeks (and who reads this blog) to know that she will not be sleeping in a finished bedroom. Mom, you can now go scream.

It has been beautiful here the last couple of days so we decided to take advantage of it and "HGTV" (verb) our backyard. I gave myself a strict budget and a time limit and came up with something to dress up our garage. I believe we have the ugliest garage in the OP. It seems like almost everyone's garage looks like a cute garden cottage - even the small homes in my neighborhood have them. Unfortunately, ours is a mess. As part of our dress up, we spray painted our trellises and put them up against the garage wall. We planted clematis beneath them and put hanging baskets on the walls above them. If everything starts to grow it might look nice - for now, I am just glad it looks better than it did.

Everything is primed for my mother in law's visit. We have tons of empty containers, planting bed space, and a huge sink in the backyard waiting for plants. This will be nice - we didn't start planting flowers until July last year - maybe we will actually have things looking nice before the summer is over this year.