I installed them about 12 years ago in my parent's house, and then installed 7 more in an addition they put on over the summer. So far they have held up great without any issues at all. THere are some minor water stains on the inner wood sills, but that is from condensation sitting on there, not from leaking. If you are looking for a good comparable aluminum wood clad window, they are a really nice option vs Marvins (whom are one of my favorites). Most of the windows are double hungs, with a couple casements in the kitchen. Also installed a new casement in their addition basement for egress. They will cost you from 8-10% more over the 400s, but still should come in slightly under the Marvins. I am personally going with full fiberglass windows however. If you are after the wood look on the interior though, check out the Marvin Impervias. Also a great window that will be priced around the 400s (possibly lower depending on your dealer)with a fiberglass exterior and wood interior.

Yes- we really need to get some photos! I have just been tooooo busy every second of the day this past week! But it's really coming along: very exciting! I did purchase my Toto through a seller I found on eBay (ebuildersmerchant) but it wasn't an actual auction... I emailed them -as well as several other online retailers- with my list of plumbing and fixtures and asked for bids. I can't say enough good things about ebuildersmerchant.... their prices were gret, and the service was wonderful. Excellent communication, very fast shipping, etc. OK- pics soon I promise! Staecy

You are always going to have folks who THINK new is better. It's the way they are wired. A good many of those folks are in the real estate profession. They are looking at things from the point of the bottomline. Not always the best place to measure success from. I'd start by finding a different contractor. When it comes to contractors you generally have two types the one ones who like new because it's fast and easy and it fattens their wallets with a quick turn around and the the ones who are masters and will work with you to save what they can. Generally speaking the latter is more costly but they also have the advantage of being better problem solvers and better at their craft. There seems to be a point of pride they carry which the gut and build guys just don't have. That house has character. It has a good location and if you can afford to fix it up so it maintains that charm then I'd go for it. You fell in love with it as it is. Fixed up and maintained somebody else in the future will love it just as much if not more. My biggest rule in home ownership is go with your gut. If your gut tells you it's better to save it than flatten it them do it.

A few more updates.. Within the last couple of days, two sapodilla seeds have sprouted, and just today, I saw that two of the Peruvian apple cacti had sprouted, but they were right behind the plant tag, and I didn't see them until moving the tag. I've also got some white pitaya (dragon fruit) seedlings that have been sprouting over the last week or so. I'd all but gave up on many of these things, but I guess there is some hope for things that haven't sprouted so far. Still hoping for some A. Reticulata, A. Squamosa, Mexican cream guavas, purple star apple, blackberry jam fruit, phalsa berries, and jujubes that I'd recently planted (after cracking the shell and soaking in hot water for several days, with several water changes) from a seedling tree I had. So far, I've also had 4 out of the 7 chestnut seeds sprout. So, the final number that will have sprouted will be between 4 and 7. I'll probably propagate them in larger numbers next season, as long as I can verify the type and where they were grown. If nothing else, I could use them as rootstock for grafting. Lastly, I planted out the new unframed no-till (back to Eden) raised bed with two cassava plants and five sweet potato plants. I'll probably go back in after all of this rain and flooding and fill in the area with peanuts as well. It has a higher sand content than any of my other beds.