Windows

If the salesman is to sell you windows then he will first destroy any positive thoughts you might have about your existing windows.

His main task — yes and with you in tow — is to trash the positive thoughts you might have about your existing windows. He must prove to you that whatever you have is worthless and a danger to your children. He will do this. Just watch him and listen.

He will talk about how your windows are made of wood and that wood warps and rots. And then how you have no weatherstripping and air rushes into the home from all around the window edges. He will tell you that one pane of glass lets heat in during the summer and cold in during the winter. If you have aluminum or steel casements (the frame around the glass) then he will point out rust and corrosion and how they don’t open or close really perfectly anymore.

He will then measure your windows. He measures them across the bottom and from bottom to top. He can be fairly casual in his estimate of their sizes. He can over measure. If the window is 36 inches by 36 inches (total of 72) then he writes down the combined total of the two numbers or … Ahhhhhhh … 80.

His price sheet lists all windows by such combined numbers, not by an “X” and a “Y.” Further, the windows are priced in ranges. Everything from a combined inch number of “80” to “100” will be the exact same price. Certainly, a 72 combined inch number would have put you in a lower price bracket but … you missed it by just inches.

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Thus, in this example, if you have a window that is an “80” then your window will not be as good a deal as if it was a “100” because you aren’t getting as much window for the same amount of money. Take a look at one of the real price sheets.

Yes, the most expensive windows in your house — for their size — are those little bathroom windows with the frosted glass.

A reasonable price for a window is actually about $30 for each square foot of glass. In the present example, the window actually has nine square feet of glass in it and so it should cost about 9 × $30 or about $270. But this is certainly not your day.

The price of a window in this price range is … $1,613.00. Another way to calculate the price of a window is to multiply the “Combined Inch” number by $3.00. So in the present case the price should be 72 × $3.00 or about $216.00. Close enough, and easy for you to remember …

You will see several price lists on these pages. You will see a “low” a “middle” and a “high” price list. Just remember that these are the real prices you will see at 11:00 at night when the salesman closes in on you.