Ron had several issues with his Rockwell windows on the front of his home that faces west.  In most cases, homeowners will find their most significant window issues on the south and west sides of their homes.  Reason being, it’s the sun that does more damage than the water.  The ultra-violet rays from the sun break down caulk and paint allowing the entrance of water between window components.  Once the wood becomes saturated, it becomes continually more difficult to keep paint on them.  Thus, a kind of snow-ball effect.  When left un-maintained, it’s just a matter of time before those wood components go bad.  The picture below is a good example of water leaking behind a stationary sash.  This really cant be controlled, however, maintenance is the key to longevity.

Bob’s house has been on the market for quite some time.  Slowly, he has made improvements to the home to make it more appealing to buyers.  As with many homes on the lake, there were significant window issues.  An already competitive selling market would not support a new window package running into the $50,000 range.  We addressed nearly every window on the home in some form or fashion and kept his project under $20,000.  Thus making his home attractive to buyers and keeping $30,000 in Bob’s pocket.  Below is just one example of what a Window Makevoer can do for Caradco windows and 15 other major brands.

Hamilton Proper homes in Fishers, IN are not that old!  Most being right at 10 years, many have Rockwell and Winsor windows already going bad.  The Cook restoration was very routine for us.  We have worked with Rockwell windows for many years and have them mastered.

It’s just a fact of life in today’s economy that sometimes it just comes down to price.  It’s no secret that we do lose business to a cheaper bid.  But quite frankly, we never said we were cheap.  We said we were good!  What’s important to point out is what you are getting?  When we hear, “that seems high.”  We respond with, “compared to what?”  No one who has ever shopped for new windows thinks that!  When a customer thinks “repair”, they think cheap.  Well maybe.  It still depends on what “repair” means. 

I’ve said for years, “you will always find it cheaper, but you won’t find it better.”  Our goal was to be an innovator and leader in our industry.  Although we gladly put ourselves in that position, its a constant challenge to remain there.  What we still strive to communicate to our customer has never changed, “you get what you pay for!”  That is very true in our industry.  A Window Makeover is NOT a repair.  It’s not a patch job.  We don’t show up and make it up as we go along.  We don’t stop at Lowe’s on the way and grab some wood that we’ll try to make look like your window.  Most importantly, a Window Makeover is a complete rebuild of the frame.  We don’t pick and choose which parts to replace.  Also, in most cases we are installing brand new sashes.  You can’t get much closer to a new window without ripping the whole thing out of the wall.  We know of no other company manufacturing replacement sashes for obsolete windows to the scale that we do.  This is clearly the biggest difference between us and a “window repairman.” Also, our Rot-Free conversion process is a trademark protected product exclusive to Window Makeover that is an upgrade to the existing window.  Some have tried to copy this process, but our years of experience not only created it, but continues to improve it. 

My reason for this post is; recently we lost a very significant job to another contractor of which was not a window restoration company nor claimed any experience as such.  They were cheaper!  They got the job despite our reputation and experience.  This job was very large and required a large number of replacement sashes of which we were capable of supplying.  We also had planned three days for our crew to complete the job.  Of course, we were curious as to how it would go.  Consequently after two weeks of sending only one guy, cutting sill parts out of 2×4′s and patching sashes with putty…it didn’t go well.  “Inexpensive” has its place, but so does “in-experience.”

Moral of the story; Line items are very important folks!  This goes for anything you purchase.  Understand what you are getting and the value of what comes with it.  Value and price are connected, but not the same.  Value comes in the form of innovation, reputation, experience, dedication, and the work ethics of great people.  When you buy the right product from the right people, you will get what you pay for.  Before you compare one price to another, make sure you have a shiny red delicious, not a bad apple and an orange.

Ryan Schwartz, Founder/CEO