New windows.

The one constant thing in my daily schedule is that it is unpredictable. Unlike the predictable 9-5 job that most people have, I rarely know what each day will bring. Today was a good example of one of those days. One of my relatives is getting ready to build a new house and called last night to see if I would meet them and their contractor at the site to help lay out their house. Fortunately, I set my own schedule and therefore I was able to help.

After helping lay out the house, it was lunch time, so I headed to Burger King. While at Burger King, I got a call from a potential tenant who wanted to look at a one or two bedroom apartment. I currently have one two-bedroom apartment and two one-bedroom apartments available. I met the applicant and showed her the three apartments. She was very "IFFY" looking, with a lip ring, an eyebrow ring, and a 3 inch red and blue tattoo on the front of her neck. That sets off alarm bells for me, a LOT of alarm bells. I have found that someone who is trying to look like a druggie usually IS A DRUGGIE!

After showing the 3 apartments, I proceeded to the apartment that I have been rehabbing. One of the main projects left to do is replace the broken windows. I had already taken the double-pane, sliding window to the glass shop for repair. This window was from the Florida Room at the back of the apartment. Today it was time to remove one of the front windows and replace the glass in it. As I started removing the window, I discovered that both the lower pane and a small upper pane were broken. As I tried to remove the upper pane, it became obvious that the frame was in very poor condition. This building is very old, probably 75 to 80 years old, and the windows were probably the original windows. Based on these factors, I decided to remove both of the windows in the front of the apartment and replace them with vinyl replacement windows. After removing the old windows, I measured the openings. They were 26" by 53 3/4". I went to Lowes to see if they had windows that were the appropriate size. Unfortunately, they did not have a window that was even close in size. I inquired about ordering a window and was quoted $157 each. NO WAY! These are low income aparments and I'm not spending over $300 for 2 new windows.

There is a builder's surplus store just a few mile away, so I decided to see if they had a couple of windows that might fit. This store is just a big warehouse building with construction supplies strewn all over (in no particular location). They probably have 2,000 windows placed in several spots. Apparently, the size I needed is an odd size because I had to look through all 2,000 windows to find 2 that were close to the right size. The windows that I found were 24" by 53 1/2". They were white vinyl on the outside and a fake wood pattern (vinyl) on the inside. I would have preferred white on both sides, but beggars can't be choosers. The windows were only $42 each, which was a LOT better than the $157 (each) at Lowes.

By the time I dropped the windows off at the apartment, it was already 2:45 pm, so I decided to call it a day.

My goal for tomorrow is to install the two windows that I bought today and install the repaired window in the Florida Room. I also still need to steam clean the carpet in one room and do a few last items. Getting very close to wrapping this rehab up.