every time a window closes

… a door opens. That’s what they say, right? So a few weeks back, it may have looked like all the windows were in and we were set for the winter. But no. These two hopper windows have been waiting in a corner…

window1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas week, David and Joe finally unwrapped them (Thank you, Santa)…

windows

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

… and fitted them in over the upstairs sliders where they belong.

windows2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the living area is much, much warmer. Bonus: we no longer hear the constant flap flap flapping of the blue tarp. I can’t wait until said tarp is gone and a trip to the livingroom no longer feels like a visit to the bottom of the deep blue sea.

While the boys were at it, they also tackled installing the new and incredibly heavy aluminum door downstairs. But first they had to get it there…

door1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

door2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s where David takes over:

First we had to remove the old door and its associated framing (which was pretty funky, it must have been installed at 4:20 on a Friday). Once we had that corner of the house open we realized the beam was sitting on just two 2x4s, one of which was split. They missed an opportunity to land the beam on that foundation wall on the left side of the opening here…

door4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The concrete under the door was packed in under the old door in a haphazard way, so we replaced that too — remembering to use a bonding agent between old and new concrete so they’d stick together…

door5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We put super tape between the new door framing and the foundation walls, and used treated lumber for good measure…

door6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The old concrete work is pretty funky, so it took some serious shimming to get the door plumb and square. Then I filled the remaining spaces with low-expanding foam. That will look much cleaner when the walls get finished…

door7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The door hardware is German and super smooth…

door8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The locking system will take some getting used to. The lever throws the bolt and also four pins that lock the door along its whole length. …

door9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supposed to be storm proof or something — with the right glass, which we didn’t opt for since we don’t live in Florida.

Looks hot, doesn’t it? Our front door will be replaced, too. In the fullness of time, of course.

 

Tags: , ,

Leave a Reply