Superior Improvements Ltd.

Off the subject......

2010-08-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

Okay - I know this is a window/door blog about our business but one of the things about us is that we are a family business - which makes us real people so I decided I will share some things about us. It is summer and we are busy with work and after a long day is the heat Scott doesn't feel like cooking as much as he does in the cooler weather. That means I get a chance to play in the kitchen. We are growing tomatoes and peppers in the garden but our zucchini and beans and lettuce took a hit with all the rain and heat. So yesterday we hit the farmer's market down the road or should I say the farm down the road. They weren't sure if they were going to open after last week's storms but we were able to get some great fresh from the field produce. We got Zephyr squash, 3 kinds of garlic, red and yellow beets, and some garlic scape. This was something new to me - it is the greens of the garlic plant and they are delicious. How do I know? I already made three recipes with them. Here's what I made.......

Smoked Salmon Spread with Garlic Scape

There are 2 different things that people call smoked salmon. One is lox like you put on a bagel. That is not the right kind of smoked salmon for this recipe. That is actually salmon that is cured in a salty brine and then cold smoked. It comes in thin slices and is a rosy pink color. The smoked salmon for this recipe is the type that looks like a salmon fillet – bones, skin and all – that has been smoked. This salmon often comes in flavors – I prefer the plain.

• 1 – 8 oz package of low fat cream cheese

• ½ pound of smoked salmon – see above – chopped or flaked

• 1 ounce whiskey

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 1 Tbsp prepared horseradish

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 2 garlic scapes – sliced into 1/8” slices

Combine all ingredients – the spread will be chunky. Serve with crackers.

Garlic Scape Pesto

www.onehundredeggs.com/?p=1083

Golden Beet Salad With Ginger and Garlic Scape Dressing

http://herbsspices.about.com/od/salads/r/GingerBeetSalad.htm

A customer sent this to us.......

2010-07-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

A customer sent over this amusing little snipet.........

"Last year, I replaced all the windows in my house with that expensive energy-efficient kind. This week I got a call from the contractor who installed them, complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I hadn't paid him.

I told him just what his fast-talking sales guy had told me last year: that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves!

'Hellooooooooo? It's been a year!!!!' I said.

There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I just hung up."

Tempered Glass

2010-06-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

Even the window man is not immune to the fate of the weed wacker's flying stones. We were in Northern WI this weekend at the lake and look what happened. Good thing we know who to call!!! Now we have a good excuse to go back. The best thinng to do in this situation is to lay down a tarp an take ahammer lightly to the broken glass and it will start to fall onto the tarp gradually. Be careful not to break the inside piece!!!!

Pella Storm Door with Rolscreen

2010-05-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

I have a customer looking for a storm door with a retractable screen. We are showing her this one from Pella. The door is shown here in white but it is available in brown, poplar white and putty.

Rolscreen® Storm Door

Model 3550 Olympia

Pella® Rolscreen® storm doors provide all the beauty you want and ventilation you need in one neat, complete package. The operating system includes a conveniently concealed screen. Gently pull it down to any position for the ideal ventilation. Lift it up and it glides out of sight. A refreshing breeze, clear view or both. With a Rolscreen retractable screen, it’s up to you.

Review in my inbox

2010-05-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Opened my inbox yesterday and found this note from a customer whose windows we serviced on Friday.

We were so pleased with your service. We had been unsure as to where to go to have our casement windows repaired. Now we know who to call. It is good to find a business that you can go to when you need service.

Nancy K. - Pewaukee

Nancy had called me last week with a request that we come out and take a look at her windows with broken casemwnt mechanisms. We stopped out on Friday and had the appropriate parts right on the truck and were able to repair her windows while we were there. If we had not had the parts, we would have been able to order them and return to install them. We are able to take digital pictures of any parts we don't carry and have access to a parts research team that can find just about any window part.

Before and after

2010-04-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Before: These picture over awning windows weren't in very good shape.

After: We replaced the old windows with single hung windows - cottage style. The bottom sash is operable - it slides up to allow for ventillation and the top sash is stationary.

These windows are eligible for the 2010 energy tax credit.

Seal Failure in Patio Door

2010-04-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

This is what a seal failure looks like. The left panel of the door needs to have a new tempered thermal pane unit installed.

Window Styles

2010-04-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

I get asked this question a lot.

“I have a picture window in the front of my house and the seal is failed. Should I replace the glass or the window itself?”

OR

“I have a big window in the front of my house that doesn’t open now and I would like it to. What are my options?”

There are several options available and I will try to describe them here.

Number 1: Replace just the glass. This is a valid option sometimes however not the most cost effective. Also not eligible for energy tax credit.

Number 2: Replace with another picture window. Usually eligible for energy tax credit. Cost is about the same or possibly less than glass replacement and new window is maintenance free. To the right is a picture window. The advantage is there is no obstruction to the view. The disadvantage is that there is no way to open this window and let air in. This is the least expensive option.

Number 3: Replace with a 3 lite slider. This is usually eligible for the tax credit. Also maintenance free and just a little higher than the cost of the picture window installed. The 3 lite slider has a stationary center sash and 2 operable sashes which open by sliding toward the middle over the picture unit on either side of it. There are screens on the exterior of the 2 side units. 3 lite sliders are available in 2 different configurations. The first is – ¼, ½, ¼ - meaning that the center unit is ½ of the width of the opening and each end vent is ¼ the width of the opening. That option is pictured to the right. The window is also available as a 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 unit which means the 3 sashes are the same size.

Number 4: Replace with a 3 lite casement. This is usually eligible for the tax credit. It is also maintenance free but more expensive than the picture window or the slider. The profile of the window is similar to that of the slider pictures above, but instead of sliding in to the center to open, the windows crank out to the exterior of the home as pictures at the right. There are several options within this group also. The same ¼, ½, ¼ and 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 configurations are avalible. As with the sliders the ends are usually operable. Screens for the casement window are on the interior.

A is for..........

2010-04-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

Argon - Argon is an inert, colorless, odorless gas. It has lower heat conduction properties than air. If the air in between 2 panes of glass in a double insulated glass unit or thermal pane is replaced with argon, the windopw's energy efficiency is enhanced. Argon gas is usually used in combination with low E.

Astragal - Not a female space shuttle pilot..........An Astragal is a vertical wood piece attached to the edge of one window sash which closes the other sash when it closes. Part of a window frame. Specifically a strip, usually of wood or metal, separating two panes of glass.

Awning window - The awning window is a window style with an outward swinging sash. It is usually to hinged. It is usually wider than it is tall.

Window ABC's

2010-04-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

The world of windows has it's very own specific vocabulary. My background is not in construction but in Health Care- I graduated from Marquette university in Milwaukee with a degree in Medical Technology and spent my first 15 years out of college working in a lab. Through the years I have learned alot of new things and wear many hats - accountant - secretary - advertising specialist - webmaster - IP girl -customer service person - scheduler as well as mom, wife and grandma.

I'd like to share some of my knowledge of windows and the terminology used in the window world through this blog.

Curb Appeal

2010-03-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

"Curb Appeal" is defined as the attractiveness of the exterior of a residential property. One of the best ways to add curb appeal to an existing home is by replacing the front entry door. Pictured above is a door we recently replaced in a home in Greendale.

Interior Views of fire door

2010-03-17T08:36:00.001-07:00

Before

After

Door to Garage

2010-03-17T08:12:00.001-07:00

We pride ourselves in being window repair and installation specialists, but another part of our business is door replacement. One of the types of doors that we replace is the door between the garage and the home. Code requires a 20 minute fire rated door in this situation. These doors add an element of safety and security since the new doors we install are solid wood and fire rated to keep flames and fumes from the interior of the home. Think about the flammables and fumes that are in a typical garage.
We recently installed a door in a garage. Look at the shelving to the left of the door and think about the chemicals that may be store there.
Here is the new door. In this case we replaced the existing door with a flush door but fire rated doors are also available in panel door styles as well.

Maintenance Free Exteriors

2010-03-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

It seems like Spring has sprung and now is the time to think about exterior home maintenance. Here are some examples of what we can do to trim the exterior of the window opening to make it maintenance free. No more painting!!!

Another Another 5 star review

2010-03-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

Another review from our yellowpages.com ad site........

New Yellowpages.com Review

2010-02-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

Energy Tax Credit

2010-02-16T07:06:00.000-08:00

I'm getting lots of calls these days about the Energy Tax Credit offered by the government for windows installed in 2009 and 2010. I always recommend checking the government site www.energystar.gov/taxcredits for the most accurate up to date information but there are a few things I wanted to mention here too.

New thermal pane units installed in existing windows do not qualify for the energy tax credit. However the new glass is much more energy efficient than older units especially when the seal has failed.

I had a customer call me this morning to ask about the new t panes we had installed for her this summer and if they would qualify. She had actually acquired the glass on her own through her warranty from Simonton windows. We installed 8 average sized glass units for her. I explained that in order to qualify for the tax credit, the entire window - frame and all - would have had to have been replaced and the window would have to be paid for by the customer. The tax credit does not include labor.

The customer went on to tell me how happy she was that she had replaced the thermal panes because her gas bill has gone down $40.00 per month. Her labor costs will be absorbed shortly just by that savings.

I had another customer who had rotted Norco sashes which we replaced. She also questioned the ability to take the tax credit. Again, it was not the entire window we replaced. We could just as easily replaced the entire window - at 3 times the cost even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with the existing frames and some of the sashes. Even with the tax credit - window repair may be a more ecconomical way to solve your window problems than entire window replacement. The tax credit only applies to 30% of the material and has a limit of $1500.

Bad Swiggle

2010-01-29T08:56:00.000-08:00

Ugly - isn't it. This is a picture of a themal pane glass unit with bad swiggle that we took out of an existing CertainTeed vinyl window in a customer's home. See that black bump at the bottom. That is the swiggle coming up into the airspace between the 2 glass pieces. The seal cannot be repaired, the entire thermal pane unit is custom maufactered to size and replaced into the existing vinyl frame.

Flashback Friday - Bay Window South Milwaukee

2010-01-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

Flashback to last summer............... Nice to see the green, flowers and shirtsleeves.

In these pictures the guys are installing a bay window in the front of an existing home. The homeowner bought the bay window and thought he was going to install it himself. He removed the exiting double hung windows and could not figure out the bay window installation. When we went to look at the job, there was the hole you see above with tarps over it. We installed the window for him and rebuilt the roof. The homeowner was going to replace the siding himself.

Wednesday Wisdom - Tempered Glass vs annealed glass

2010-01-20T06:14:00.000-08:00

There are 2 main types of glass that make up the thermal pane units we replace in existing windows as well as come in newly manufactured replacement windows. People are often unaware of the differences between tempered and annealed glass and their appropriate uses.

For normal installations, glass is annealed. In cases where a window is less than 18 inches from the floor or in a shower, glass must be tempered by code, even if the glass being replaced is not tempered. Patio doors must have tempered glass as well as windows in an entry door or glass in a storm door. Also any window within three feet of an open door must be tempered.

Annealed glass is slow cooled to relieve internal stresses so that it isn't apt to break during extreme temperature changes. When annealed glass breaks, it breaks into large shards which can be very dangerous.

Tempered glass is one of the hardest glass types. It is created by using chemicals and heat to balance the eternal stress rating of the glass. It breaks into small pieces when broken. Because it has to go through more processes in its creation, tempered glass is more expensive than annealed.

Larson Storm Doors

2010-01-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

Pictured above is a Larson storm door and storm sidelight panels we recently installed on a home in Oak Creek. Larson storm doors
http://www.larsondoors.com/ are manufactured in South Dakota and are made to be energy efficient for our cold Wisconsin winters. Besides the energy saved with a new storm door, addition of a stylish Larson door adds curb appeal to your home.

Doors are available in a variety of styles:

Full-View - pictured above
Screen Away - Unique to Larson doors - features a retractable screen and balanced window system so you can easily go from screen to glass
Ventilating - with either single vent or multiple vent styles
Security

Doors are available in a variety of colors and glass options.

Introduction

2010-01-18T07:18:00.000-08:00

We at Superior Improvements would like to introduce ourselves to you. We are a small family owned and operated business, specializing in wood and vinyl window and door repair or replacement.

Call Mari in the office and husband Scott and/or son Ryan will service or install your windows.

You may have windows or doors that don't operate as well as they could or foggy glass that needs replacing. Maybe you have broken hardware or rotted wood. We can show you the options available to repair or replace them.

In addition to repairs, we install custom replacement windows, bay and bow windows, security, storm and entry doors, patio doors. We specialize in custom cut-ins and custom woodwork.