Welcome to the continuing “Home Improvement” saga. This Sunday’s episode is entitled “The Guiding Light”.

We open today’s program with the appearance of Terry Carrier of Carrier Home Improvements. Terry is laden down with tools and is about to embark on his mission to bring a new light in our home.

Welcome to the continuing “Home Improvement” saga. This Sunday’s episode is entitled “The Guiding Light”.

We open today’s program with the appearance of Terry Carrier of Carrier Home Improvements. Terry is laden down with tools and is about to embark on his mission to bring a new light in our home.

Okay, enough of the soap opera stuff.

a couple of months ago I told you about my tour of the Atlantic Windows factory in Port Elgin N.B., and how I was impressed with both the people working in the plant and the product that they produced. Gwen and I had contemplated getting new windows installed for some time now as the old ones are drafty wood sliders. In addition to being drafty, they are single glass units with clip-in storm glazing.

We decided that we would tackle the three windows in our kitchen/dining area first and when Terry came out to do the measuring we suggested that he increase the height of the dining area window to allow more light in the room. As it turned out, this was a great idea.

Although new windows that have Thermopane glass, a low ‘E’ coating and are gas filled take a while to make your money back in energy savings, they will certainly add to the appearance and value of the home as well as comfort. Although energy savings is important to us it was the comfort and appearance that was a deciding factor.

We chose Atlantic Windows Premier Series vinyl windows for several reasons, first and foremost they are virtually maintenance-free. The white vinyl extruded frame goes right out to the vinyl siding, so there is nothing to paint. Sure, we have to clean the glass once in a while, but even that is made easy in that they can be cleaned from the inside. The big feature though is Atlantic’s lifetime warranty on everything except glass breakage and that includes parts and labour.

There were several styles of window to choose from and we chose a casement style for the dining area and tow canopy windows for the kitchen. Although one of these is out of the weather due to a large roof overhang, the other is a south exposure and is subjected to heavy rain. Sleet, and snow. The canopy style allows us to open the window even in driving rain. In addition to these conveniences the elimination of the centre mullion gives us more light.

We chose Carrier Home Improvements for a few reasons and the first of which ifs the fact that Terry is an old friend. His price was very competitive, he is a member of ‘SAWDAC’, the Siding And Window Dealers Association of Canada. As such, he registered jour installation into the “Window Wise” program which has strict window installation guidelines that must be adhered to.

The installation was considerably more complicated than anticipated. You may remember last Sunday I said that the original builder of our house was lacking a builders square, well, that was not all. It would appear that the builder changed his/her mind several times during construction as we found some un=supported lintels and other strange phenomena when the old windows were removed. These had to be supported and braced. Terry was sure that it was a standard product. Not. Although standard in style, ours if 7” to the weather in today’s standard is 8” with. Improvisation was required.

The completed job has the appearance that nothing has changed except for the one larger window and fewer mullions. The new windows look like they have been here forever. They operate very smoothly and lock securely. The casement model has a single lever, two-point locking mechanism that tightly seals the window all around.

Both Gwen and I love the idea that there will be no more sash painting, but three things stood out for us, the increased daylight in the rooms, the clarity of the glass that Atlantic Windows uses, and one more thing. The Low-E treatment to the glass (this keeps the heat in during the winter and keeps the sun out during the summer) gives it a reflective exterior that provides just a little more privacy in daylight hours.

One other thing that was really appreciated. Terry and Roddy, (Terry’s assistant) installed the windows so that we were able to have more inside sill space and the guys even extended the sill so that Gwen could put some plants on it as well as knick-knacks. They did a great job.