Our first renovation project (or I should say MY first reno project as I was still a single gal)came in the form of a homeowners dream. Our house is situated relatively close to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, and by relatively close I mean about a mile away from the closest runway. So even though we have the advantage of living only blocks away from a beautiful urban lake we have the disadvantage of living with constant air-traffic noise.
Seeing as our neighborhood existed long before the airport did the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) created a noise-abatement program to compensate homeowners for having to deal with all the noise pollution. I was fortunate enough to be one of those lucky homeowners (lucky in the fact that shortly after I received said compensation the program was severely cut back and many homeowners were left to deal with the noise on their own. It's still a very controversial subject around these parts and perhaps one day I'll get into more detail, but not just now).
So just what sort of compensation did I receive? Well, my particular package included all new sound-insulating windows (including the storms), new doors, air conditioning (because my home did not previously have A/C) and roofing insulation (though purely for noise). Now, for some homeowners there would be no question as to whether or not to accept this compensation. Thousands of dollars worth of improvements for free? Heck yeah! But the aesthete in me really had to mull it over. My house still had all the original windows (with original hardware) and doors. The woodwork had that certain patina that only comes with 80+ years of age. I already felt so fortunate to have found a house in as good a condition as it was, I wasn't sure I really wanted to mess around with it.
In the end, knowing that all the wood work would be replicated exactly as the original, the horrid aluminum storms would be taken away and I would have A/C during those humid Minnesota summers was enough to make me a convert. In hindsight there are still pros and cons - i.e. I got a lot of improvements for no cost on my part and I got to replace the ugly vinyl windows on the upper level; but the contractor who won the bid for the job did, in my opinion, sub-par work (seriously, I could have done a better job on some parts and that's not necessarily saying a whole lot!)and even though I had true-divided-light windows to begin with, I would have had to pay hundreds to have the same style replaced (I opted for the free version with snap-in grids). Overall, I'm happy with my decision. It really did make a world of difference as far as the noise goes. Now, if they could only do something about their flight patterns during the summer months so we could enjoy a noise-free backyard BBQ we'd be all set. But we can't have everything, can we...
2 comments:
I'm 2 or 3 blocks north of the last sound contour for MAC improvements, so I'll never have to consider the dilemma of whether to accept free replacement windows.
Did your old divided lite sashes make it to a salvage shop?
We still have almost all of the old windows. When I found out one of the contractors was going to take them home and sell them himself (seriously?!) I asked that they leave them for me. My husband has plans for the two in-swing windows. As for the rest, who knows. I may get around to sending them to the Re Use center one of these days.
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