Like a lot of other folks out here, I’m looking to take advantage of the tax credit available to those of us who make energy conserving improvements on our homes. The alteration that works best for my home and my pocket book is getting rid of my old aluminum frame windows and having vinyl windows installed.
From what I’ve been told, the new windows have to be double pane with argon gas in the space between the inner and outer panes. The gas is there to enable the windows to attain the higher federal specs that have been put in place for this program. Other than the argon gas, it doesn’t take a lot of bells and whistles to make a window qualify for the E rating that will assure tax credits sufficient to pay for a large chunk of the new windows.
That’s a 30% tax credit we’re talking about. The credit is available on the windows only, unfortunately President Obama doesn’t want to help us pay for the installation.
Now that the nuts and bolts are out in the open, I get to talk about the buyer beware part. If any of you are considering installing windows, I can’t urge you strongly enough to get at least 3 or 4 estimates.
I recieved 2 estimates from a couple solid local contractors that the City of Idaho Falls recommends for improvements when you ask them to do an energy audit for you. They both offered me good windows that meet the federal E guidelines and their prices were comparable to each other, in the neighborhood of 3k.
The third estimate I secured was from a nationwide window company with a showroom on 17th St. Their salesman came to my home in his glossy black pickup, didn’t measure any of my windows, only took count of them, and then he began his pitch. He told me the “Obama Windows” had special requirements which called for their best window. He guaranteed that my heating cost would drop 35% in the first year or he’d pay the difference. He promised that if one of his windows ever got broken he’d replace the glass for free, vandalism and fire excepted of course. He gave me a glossy folder chock full of information about his company, and guarantees with long lists of special requirements and exclusions, and then he handed me an estimate for $5,950.
So just beware. Most folks know that the guys at Lowes and Home Depot are pretty competitive if you’re willing to give them a chance to bid jobs against the local contractors, and a lot of people go that route too. For me, I used to run a little service business in this town, and whenever I get a chance, if the local guy is giving me good price for a good product, he’s going to get my job.
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Let's have a new poll, alright, Joe?
:@:)
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I highly recommend Ard’s Paint and Glass in Rexburg, for both buying the windows and installing them. Also — installing windows isn’t rocket science. Over the past few years, I’ve installed six windows and a sliding glass door on my house, each time replacing aluminum with vinyl. You have to get a little dirty tearing the old ones out, but it’s not that hard.