Over-the-mountain homes feature beautiful windows and doors. Unfortunately, beauty has its price. These attractive architectural elements are divas – they do not react well if ignored. Once a window or door begins to deteriorate, the progression is quick. Restoring it is somewhere between difficult and impossible leaving replacement as the sole, expensive option. A simple double hung window replacement with architecturally appropriate materials routinely ranges between $800.00 and $1,400.00. Large, specialty and clad units cost even more. A front door with transom and sidelights, $2,500.00 to 5,000.00. $20-, $30- and $40,000 whole house window replacements are common.The villains in our drama are the elements – sun, wind and water. Our climate presents doors and windows with a perfect storm of rot-producing conditions. Blistering sun breaks down paint and caulk. Daily heating and cooling cycles create tiny crevices. Water enters in wind-driven sheets. Winter’s freeze/thaw cycles pry apart wood and paint. The result is pockets where water collects and saturates raw wood fibers. Microscopic demolition experts then turn your sturdy window frames to spongy mush.
“Why don’t they just make these things rot proof?” you ask. They do. The problem is that they are more expensive. A home builder operates in a highly competitive environment and must invest in the most marketable features. Which sounds better for the brochure?, “Enjoy breakfast in the beautiful screened porch off the kitchen.” or “Enjoy possibly not having to replace your windows in 10 years in spite of not taking very good care of them”. You get my drift.
“Builder grade windows” may sound like a put-down but the truth is that the quality of the factory made wooden windows in most over the mountain homes is quite high. The manufacturing tolerance are tight and the hardware and adhesives are high quality. The issue is the nature of wood itself – it’s organic. Whether it’s a log in the shady forest or a window sill in Vestavia Hills, if it remains damp it will turn back into dirt. Here’s how you keep it from happening to your home:
Caulk. If there’s a crack, caulk it. Use the most expensive stuff that’s designed for the job. I particularly like GeoCel. They sell it at Cahaba Heights Hardware.
Paint. You must keep paint on your windows. A host of factors affect how long paint will last but assuming you’re starting with a quality paint job, you can expect that some windows will need paint attention at 3 years. Do-it-yourself is possible but BE CAREFUL ON LADDERS. If you don't want to DIY, a good painter who routinely checks your exterior paint is an investment, not an expense.
Manage your gutters. Clogged gutters are a real menace. Take a Gene Kelly stroll around your home during a hard rain and see where water is running over. Finding the root cause is usually not difficult once the problem area is pinpointed. If your gutters routinely clog, either establish a cleaning schedule, hire someone to do it or install one of the anti-clog gutter products.
Adjust your sprinklers. Often the enemy is us. A lot of window replacements are first floor units rotted by the sprinkler. Conduct a bathing suit exploration of your home on a hot day with the sprinkler system running. Screw the top off the offending sprinkler head. Towel off and go to your trusty home center. Show the guy in the sprinkler department your part and tell him how it needs to spray. He’ll get the right one for you. Screw it back on.
If you like a happy endings, follow these steps and you’ll avoid starring in your own production of “The Most Expensive, Avoidable Home Repair”.
