New Home Begins

[TnWV]

Looks fantastic!!! Being dried in has to be a good feeling.

 

[s219]

Looking great. It's a big milestone to get the roof on.

 

[srs]

Tom, everything looks great! A suggestion when it warms up. You should caulk inside where the exterior walls meet the subfloor. Use only a HIGH quality caulk that stays flexible. Don't be cheap here and only put a small amount in. You really want to seal this area tight! Not only can cold air enter here but tiny tiny tiny bugs can also get into the house from these areas. Sealing any hole, crack, openings will keep the house much more air tight and bug free. Some areas where pipes, wires, etc. come through an opening can be sealed with products like Great Stuff or equivalent. I know I'm getting ahead of your project but this is something to think about. Thanks for the great pictures too! Stanley

 

[sld]

I'm curious about the choice of double hung windows. Most homes I am familiar with use casements.

One of the previous houses I owned had double hung windows and I thought they were pretty good but I don't seem to see them anymore.

Great thread and thanks for taking the time to post everything.

 

[s219]

I'm curious about the choice of double hung windows. Most homes I am familiar with use casements.

One of the previous houses I owned had double hung windows and I thought they were pretty good but I don't seem to see them anymore.

Great thread and thanks for taking the time to post everything.

That's interesting, because around here casements are rare and double-hungs are the standard. We went with casements in our new house to get the right look (mountain/craftsman), but I can tell you they carried quite a cost penalty over double hung. In fact, our off-brand Certainteed casements still cost more than double-hung Andersens we were comparing to. Andersen casements were totally out of sight.

 

[mjncad]

I think single and double-hung, and sliding windows are evil because of the way they operate and seal, and that casement and awning windows seal out the elements and operate better; but I was glad to see Tom bought quality windows, which will make a big difference in how his single-hung windows perform.

Around here most homes have single-hung windows because the builders are so blasted cheap. We have vinyl single hung windows in our house and I absolutely hate them. They are bottom of the barrel no-name brand, don't seal for crap, are drafty and let in fine talcum powder dirt that has stained our Hunter-Douglas Duette blinds.

 

[mjncad]

I think single and double-hung, and sliding windows are evil because of the way they operate and seal, and that casement and awning windows seal out the elements and operate better; but I was glad to see Tom bought quality windows, which will make a big difference in how his single-hung windows perform.

Around here most homes have single-hung windows because the builders are so blasted cheap. We have vinyl single hung windows in our house and I absolutely hate them. They are bottom of the barrel no-name brand, don't seal for crap, are drafty and let in fine talcum powder dirt that has stained our Hunter-Douglas Duette blinds.

 

[tkappeler]

Tom, everything looks great! A suggestion when it warms up. You should caulk inside where the exterior walls meet the subfloor. Use only a HIGH quality caulk that stays flexible. Don't be cheap here and only put a small amount in. You really want to seal this area tight! Not only can cold air enter here but tiny tiny tiny bugs can also get into the house from these areas. Sealing any hole, crack, openings will keep the house much more air tight and bug free. Some areas where pipes, wires, etc. come through an opening can be sealed with products like Great Stuff or equivalent. I know I'm getting ahead of your project but this is something to think about. Thanks for the great pictures too! Stanley

Thanks. I have a list of things to do that can be done over time and get everyone involved. This is on the list. Also sealing along the ceiling line too after the ceiling sheet rock is in.

... but I was glad to see Tom bought quality windows, which will make a big difference in how his single-hung windows perform. ...

Thanks. We went with Andersen 200s not the 400 series for two reasons. My wife does not like the tilt mechanism in the 400. It is a wide plastic jamb liner that you press out to the frames to release the window to tilt. We wanted a more wood look and the big hunk of plastic was not the look we wanted. Second was price.

Thanks for the feedback all.

 

[dhagood]

I think single and double-hung, and sliding windows are evil because of the way they operate and seal, and that casement and awning windows seal out the elements and operate better; but I was glad to see Tom bought quality windows, which will make a big difference in how his single-hung windows perform.

Around here most homes have single-hung windows because the builders are so blasted cheap. We have vinyl single hung windows in our house and I absolutely hate them. They are bottom of the barrel no-name brand, don't seal for crap, are drafty and let in fine talcum powder dirt that has stained our Hunter-Douglas Duette blinds.

we have vinyl single hung windows in our house as well, and i don't like them very much either. we had casement windows in our first house and i absolutely hated those things. they were the original windows and both the window frame and the casement gears were aluminum. the aluminum window frames warped and would no longer seal; about half the aluminum gears were totally stripped out and the other half would just barely work. i will never have aluminum casement windows in anything i own and i hated them so badly that i doubt i can force myself to look at casement windows as a viable option.

have i mentioned that i don't like casement windows?

 

[mjncad]

Cheap casement and awning windows are crap too. My Mom's old place (1956) had steel framed casements made of angle iron. Although they are single paned energy pigs that had no seals whatsoever; the biggest hassle with them were the die-cast aluminum crank mechanisms crapping out. The local Ace hardware store kept a good supply of replacement mechanisms in stock.

When we remodeled Mom's kitchen, we put in aluminum clad wood framed Kolbe & Kolbe casement windows. Much, much better and she could easily open and close them unlike the original 1956 casements. There was no way my Mom could operate a single hung window, especially the one over the sink. She was 5'-2" in her 30's; but probably 5'-0" or less when she died at 90.

I'm not a big fan of vinyl windows because they flex too much in my opinion; but I do like that they don't need painting. If we replace the windows in Casa Lemon as I call our house, they will be casements. If I design a place, it will have casement and/or awning windows.