Among the many joys of home improvement projects, are the little complications that come up and make a project take longer, cost more, etc. Certain kinds of projects are more likely to result in this than others, and a prime example is installing replacement windows.
I decided I was going to install 6 replacement windows this fall, to take advantage of the 2010 Energy Tax Credits. I’ve installed replacement windows before, and it’s generally a pretty quick job. My first 2 windows went in without a hitch. The next 2, not so much. When I took off the old storm windows, I found that one of the sills was rotted out, as well as a piece of 2×4 that sat underneath the sills. Day 1 was spent digging out the old, rotten 2×4. Day 2 was spent repairing rotten bits of (non structural) framing and brick mold around the window, and cutting and fitting a new piece of pressure treated 2×4 bottom trim. Day 3 was spent cutting out and repairing the rotten part of the sill. On Day 4, I finally was able to install the replacement windows. But now, I still need to add flashing and weather-seal the whole mess. Plus, I’ve decided to replace all the wood trim around the windows with PVC trim board. The old wood was in decent shape, but the paint was peeling badly, and at some point someone had covered all the peeling paint with really ugly aluminum trim. All in all, this was an amazing example of project scope creep. The scary thing is, I still have 2 more windows to install after this, and who knows what I’ll find there.
Aah, the joys of home ownership.