A Clearer View

I have a confession to make.  We hired out.

The seal in our kitchen window gave out last fall.  Yes, the same kitchen window we had partially replaced in October 2011 shortly after we moved in.  The broken seal wasn't effecting the window's performance too much other than a little fogginess.  And then the seal started decomposing and dripping down between the window panes.  Unfortunately, we were the only ones that knew what those gooey-looking white streaks on our window were.  To every other observer who's been to our house in the last nine months or so, it's looked like our window has been serving as a bathroom for seagulls.  Ew.

So the entire window needed replacing.

Yes, we still enjoy DIY.  Yes, this project would've been perfectly do-able for us.  Yes, hiring out is much more expensive than DIY.  However, we decided it'd be the best choice for us right now.  We remain very busy with other projects (Steve is building his boss a huge work table, our bathroom is still not entirely finished, the nursery needs a little more work), I'm hugely pregnant and wouldn't be able to assist with the window, and we really wanted to have the window replaced before we reached the hottest part of the summer.  The time and effort required on our end at this point was far greater than what professionals would need.  For us, in this case, it was worth forking the cash over to have someone else do the grunt work.

And boy did it pay off (har).  We decided to hire through our local big box store because they guarantee their work (something that the local company we went with in 2011 did not).  Despite taking about six weeks from initial consultation to finished installation, we only had people out at our house for a grand total of about two hours- an hour for initial consultation and quote, 15 minutes for the subcontractor to check the site and double-check measurements, and 45 minutes to cut out the old janky window and replace it with a shiny new window with thicker panes, a screen, and a 10 year warranty.  If we'd have done this job ourselves, we would've needed to buy some tools we didn't already have, custom-order a window, and the removal and installation process would have taken at least a full day's worth of work timed to a weekend when Steve's dad would be around to help.

All fixed!

Now that the new window's in, I can't believe we lived with it the way it was for so long.  It's so much prettier (since it doesn't look like it's been victimized by birds), and we can finally open the window for ventilation while cooking now that there's a screen on it.  I've also noticed that the contents of the sink get less hot when sun is shining in the window- because of better insulation, I'm guessing.  The best part of all is that neither Steve nor I had to take any time away from our other projects to get it done.

What do you consider when deciding to DIY or hire out?