Frequently Asked Questions

I do. I am on every job. You are not going to meet me at your kitchen table and then have a crew you have never seen pull up in a truck. The person who measures your opening is the person who installs the window.

With a big company you get a salesperson, then a subcontracted crew, then a call centre if something goes wrong. With me you get one person the whole way through, and my name is on the result. The trade-off is honest. I cannot do fifty houses a week. If you want it done carefully, that is the point.

I started as an installer, working for other people. I saw the shortcuts. I watched good windows fail because somebody rushed the install and nobody checked it. I built Perla so that would not happen on my jobs.

Yes. I carry liability insurance and I will show you the certificate before any work starts. If a contractor will not show you that, do not let them touch your house.

Sometimes they can be repaired, and I will tell you when that is the case even though it makes me less money. A failed crank, a worn weatherstrip, a bit of hardware. Those are fixable. Rotted frames, sashes that will not stay open, frost forming on the inside of the glass every winter. That is replacement territory.

No. Plenty of people do it in stages, worst windows first. I would rather you do six now and six next year than stretch for twelve and regret it.

Usually the windows are not the problem, they are the messenger. Condensation means there is more humidity in the house than the glass surface can handle. Old windows with metal spacers make it much worse, because the cold comes straight through the edge of the glass. Newer glass with a warm-edge spacer runs warmer and sheds far less. Keep indoor humidity between 30 and 50 percent and you will see a real difference.

They will help, and anyone who gives you a precise percentage is guessing. What I will promise is a house that feels different. No cold draft when you sit by the window. Rooms that hold their heat. That is what people notice first.

Sometimes. A better glass package on a west-facing wall that bakes all afternoon is worth it. The same upgrade on a north-facing basement window is not. That is the conversation I want to have with you, opening by opening, instead of selling you the top package for the whole house.

I come to your home, look at the actual openings, measure, and ask what is bothering you. Then I tell you what I would do and what I would leave alone. You get a written quote. That is it.

No. I am not going to sit at your table for three hours or invent a discount that expires tonight. If tonight is not the night, it is not the night. I would rather you think it over and be sure.

Usually under an hour for a typical house. I am there to measure and understand the job, not to run a presentation.

I put the date on it and tell you honestly how long I can hold the price. Material costs move. I am not going to pretend otherwise.

Ask all four of us the same question. What exactly is going in, and what happens to the opening once the old unit comes out. Most of the price difference lives in the parts you cannot see. Insulation, sealing, capping, and how much time somebody is willing to spend on it. A cheap number usually means somebody is planning to move fast.

I tell you the day before what time I am arriving. I protect your floors and the area around each opening. Old unit out, opening checked and prepped, new unit set level, shimmed, insulated and sealed, then trim and caulking. I clean up as I go and the old windows leave with me.

Most homes are one to two days, depending on how many openings and whether anything unexpected turns up behind the old frames. I will give you a realistic number, not an optimistic one.

No. I open one opening at a time and close it in before moving to the next. Your house is never standing wide open.

Yes. Working one opening at a time makes winter installs normal. Sealants need more care in the cold, which is exactly why the installation matters more than the sticker on the glass.

Tell me before we start. Blinds come down and go back up. Alarm contacts on a window need your monitoring company involved, so plan that ahead. Interior trim can often be saved if it comes off clean, and I will tell you honestly before I pull it.

The windows and doors carry a manufacturer warranty, and I hand you the actual certificate rather than describe it from memory, because coverage depends on the product you choose. Here is the part most people miss. A manufacturer warranty covers the product. It does not cover a bad installation. That part is on me, and I stand behind it.

You call me, on the same number you have been calling all along. I am not a call centre. If it is my workmanship, I come back and fix it.

Mild soap and water, and no abrasive cleaners on vinyl. Wipe the tracks, keep the weep holes at the bottom clear, and put a drop of lubricant on the hardware once a year. Keep indoor humidity between 30 and 50 percent through the winter.

Yes. The old units leave with me and the site gets cleaned. You should not be finding screws in your garden a week later.