Kitchen- Replacing a Garden Window
Posted by Wayne
Technically, the window that was in our kitchen is called a garden window, but it is often incorrectly referred to as a bay window (mostly by me). The main problem with this garden window was that it was the same ugly brown/green metal color as the sliding glass door I had replaced, but also that the double paned glass had gotten foggy in between the sheets of glass.
Searching for a replacement garden window convinced me that window business is sketchy and underhanded. I say this because it is impossible to find any good information, explanations, or prices about replacement windows online, even after extensive searches. My typical process would be to learn a lot about a subject online and then go purchase something in person, but this is impossible if the subject is windows. Just try to find a window price online.
I finally broke down and began looking in person at Lowe’s and was told that what I was looking for (a custom sized replacement garden window) didn’t exist. I did in fact see a company online located on the other side of the country that was building custom garden windows, and they even had a pricing calculator on the site, but it was a joke because it had many terms and options with absolutely no explanation that figured into the price. All I could figure was that it would cost about $5k, and it’s not like I’m going to buy something online unless I’m sure it’s what I’m looking for anyways.
I paid for a guy from Lowe’s to come out and measure the window space (in a sense, I was just buying insurance that what would be an expensive window would fit right), and he told me that I could get a custom garden window built, but it would likely be in the $2500 price range, and a standard window would only be about $250. Because I had figured $1000 for the garden window budget, I went with the standard window and also had him measure and order two other windows in the living room, and all three windows plus installation cost about $900 total.
I know this is a DIY blog, but I figured for a few hundred bucks extra I would get these three windows installed, watch him replace the windows and learn how to do it, and then do the other windows in the house myself if ever needed. For shame. This is one of the only upgrades in the house thus far that hasn’t been done by me. It wasn’t that I wasn’t confident in or capable of replacing the windows myself, I just had no experience and the window business conspired to keep information away from me that I just got sick of dealing with it and asking questions to which I didn’t get sufficient answers. I was scared to measure and order the windows myself, so that should tell you something, and I’m 100% confident in my ability to use a tape measure.
It was very interesting how he installed the windows. I was wondering how he expected to rip out all the old frames in the living room without messing up my drywall, paint, or siding on the outside, and was surprised to see that he didn’t remove the old frames at all. He removed the old window panels, and the new windows slipped in through the frame, he secured them, and then finished around the old frame with vinyl strips and caulk. I never would have guessed. The garden window replaced with a big standard window was a shocking difference and at first I thought it was just too big, but it made the kitchen a lot brighter and cleaner feeling and now I love it.
All the windows look fantastic. Of course I want to strangle the guy who charged me $300 for an hour’s work, but it probably would have taken me 12 hours to do the same job. Ehh, it was probably worth it. At least I know how to do it now.
I asked the window guy to leave the large kitchen window unfinished because I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the counter underneath yet. He left me enough vinyl strip to finish the job myself. These vinyl strips give the illusion of a perfect fitting window, but as you can see from the 2nd image below the actual window is slightly smaller than the hole.
Before
After
Total Cost: $900, Total Time: 0 hours (broke down and hired a pro)
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