Improving by the Block

The summer of new home improvements continued today as we took on another upgrade project, this time for the basement windows. The basement only has 3 windows and they are your typical basement casement windows, and like many of the other windows in the house they are from the late 1960s. The previous owner had some curtains over them which prevented almost all natural light from entering the basement, and when we removed them we found out why they had them up to being with; the windows were terrible. In addition to the years of dust caught behind the curtains there were scores of cobwebs and legitimate spider webs. The spider webs serve to reinforce my thought that these windows leak air, as spiders generally tend to make their webs in areas that offer a food supply, and where air can enter, so can small bugs for them to eat. We are resolving and improving all of that today by having these old and very inefficient casement windows replaced with glass block windows. Two of the three windows will have vents that can be opened, as this is a requirement for fire code as it allows for ventilation in the basement should it be needed, but the third will be solid glass block. In addition to improving the look of the windows and improving the energy efficiency of them, the glass block also provide additional security that the old casement windows severely lacked! I was shocked at how quickly and easily it was for the guys from Downriver Glass Block to open and remove these windows, from the outside! I’m surprised for that reason alone the previous owner hadn’t replaced these years ago, but then again, with them covered they may not even have remembered what kind of windows they were! Once the windows were fully replaced we were immediately surprised at just how much more light the new windows let in! It’s nice to have some natural light down there. Now all of the windows in the house have been replaced, with the exception of the exterior storm doors. To replace these windows was relatively inexpensive as well, which was a nice change after the last two projects! Thankfully we are done with everything now and we can relax a bit and enjoy our new home.