Eagle 1

We have been talking about replacing the inefficient, and less than functional aluminum doors and windows since we bought our house. We loved the look of them, but the windows are pretty much storm windows, and the sliding doors didn't really slide anymore. Also, you could feel a pretty decent breeze when standing by the windows, so they had to go.

The problem with new windows, other than costing a fortune, was finding something that looked good with the house. Most people nowadays just use white vinyl. That's fine on most houses, but I didn't feel it was right for ours. Sadly, living in the Southeast limits you when it comes to more modern windows that are affordable, especially aluminum ones. After doing some research online we came across a company called Eagle. Their aluminum clad windows definitely catered to the more modern design senses we were looking for. They also came in a large variety of colors at no extra cost. Anodized aluminum was an option, but was pretty pricey. We decided to go with a color called Gray Flannel. It was almost the exact same color as our current windows. It just lacked the sheen brushed aluminum has.

The company we used for the install is called Window Traditions of Georgia. When we went to their showroom the salesman knew exactly what we wanted and didn't try to sell us something we didn't need. He also talked about how he used to install windows in Eichlers so I knew we were in the right place.

We decided to focus on the two sliding doors and 3 windows instead of doing he whole house at once. This was mainly for budget reasons, but I also didn't want to replace every door and window and not be happy with the look in the end. I'm pretty picky when it comes to things that cost a lot of money. Actually, as I am writing this, I am being told that I am pretty picky with everything. That's probably true.

To get things started here are the doors and windows before they were replaced.

Yes that was an allen wrench used to lock the doors

... and that was the huge gap we had to deal with because the doors wouldn't close all the way.

Now that we have seen how crappy the old doors and windows were, lets see the new ones going in.

The old windows were so flimsy they shattered when pulling them out. I happened to walk downstairs as this was happening and just turned around because I was scared to watch.

Here is one of our new windows. Doesn't it look nice?

I actually liked having no window over the sink. If i wasn't so cold I would have asked them to leave it like this.

That is the last picture I am going to show. Come back next week to see the final result.

Be seeing you.

Refinishing help

Hey everyone, we could use a little advice here. We have this coffee table that we really love, but the finish on it is pretty bad.

Almost anything you set on it leaves a hazy looking mark. The clear coat must not have totally cured because it dents easily with a fingernail, and if you leave a book on it for a few days it kind of sticks when you try to pick it up.

So my question is, what is the best way to refinish this thing myself? It's solid wood, walnut I think, not a veneer.  I would like to keep the original color of the table if possible. Any advice you have would be great.