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WINDOW'S/doorwall's/door's
I have used different window company's through out the years and I have learned many things about quality and service. Iverson has a liberal account program along with the ability to sell you several different kinds of windows. I personally have had excellent results with the Anderson Clad Casement windows. Iverson has several window lines and their showroom is very large and well set up for viewing your different choices. Iverson Architectural has a design program which is excellent, but the way my program is set the customer's and myself go through the choices together. Window's is such a personal thing. Lets use a 3500 sq. ft. house an example. If I purchase windows in a professional upgraded window, it will generally cost me in the $30,000 range. If you want to save thousands of dollars, you can purchase a very nice window in the $15,000 to $20,000 price range. You save thousands of dollars on this item but do not fool yourself into thinking the windows are of the same quality. If you want quality you have to pay for it. Don't get me wrong here. People who build homes for $500,000 still have a budget and have the need to stop the buck somewhere. Many times you will hear about someone who had terrible problems with their windows in the beginning. They would not work correctly and other issues. Be very careful that your carpenters take their time and properly plum the windows. Plum means to set them correctly and have them square. Even the best windows won't work properly if they are not plummed right. This happens more often then you might think. I have talked to several people in the industry and many of them have mentioned to me that you can get an excellent idea of the quality of the window by comparing the weight of one window to another in the same design style. The heavier the window the more likely it is a quality window. By the way, do not forget this. In most cases a double hung window is less expensive than casement windows. In a couple of lines this is not true. But in most cases, it is. DOORS (ENTRANCE)
Look at this picture. I do not put in my doors until I am ready to brick my houses. Most people today select a front exterior door and sidelites which are very expensive. In the homes many people are building, it is quite common to spend between $2,000 & $5,000 for a front door and the window sidelites next to the front door. Some people prefer a combined 2 front door system. Whatever your choice, be assured that your front door will get dented and scratched if your not careful. You cannot be at your home every minute, so you have a couple of choices here. If you are purchasing metal door that is not too expensive you can install it right away and put a lock on it and have contractors come in the garage entrance. Metal doors can be fixed rather easily when dented and scratched. But, I prefer to have my customer pick out a very nice door between $2,000 and $5,000 and then order the door and sidelites with a call door in it. Iverson Architectural will at this point store your real door and send out the sidelites with a throw away door in it. That way, when it gets damaged, (and it will) you won't have to spend enormous amounts of money getting it fixed or replaced. Keep in mind, you need to have a door installed before you start bricking. Normally a good steel door is good for your garage entrance into your home. Like I said before, these doors are normally easy to repair. Under normal repair circumstances you cannot tell they were scratched or marred at all. Do not fool yourself into thinking that you can build a home without any problems. They exist and the best you can do is be as careful as possible and make things right as the project moves along. You are not building a home in a controlled atmosphere, and you are not building a piece of furniture. I say this to the perfectionist more than anyone else. I have literally seen people think they can change an industry's personality because they want it to be more controlled than it can be. I probably have more control over the business than many because I am personally on the job all of the time and only build a few custom homes a year. But the normal builder who builds 20 to 50 homes a year does not have the luxury of seeing every house all the time. If you think about it, most people are very happy with the final product, they are just not as happy with the process as they would like to be. The more knowledge you have about the building process will greatly benefit you through the process. End result being, you are less anxious because you are smarter about what to expect. Its just a common sense approach to life. Sorry I got off- track. Lets get back to doors. There are many types of interior doors and interior doors comes under the blanket of interior trim. When you order your interior trim package you need to have built your home with the size of interior doors you want. Most of my house are build with 2.8 to 3 ft interior door openings. They are big enough to handle it, so why not install bigger doors in the first place. It is excellent for flow of traffic, and being more comfortable in the house itself. Not to mention, the importance of a few years down the road when you might have the need for big doors because your Mom and Dad move in with you and they have the need for handicapped entry. The cost of building with 3 ft doors when you build is very inexpensive. The cost of putting them in later is very EXPENSIVE.
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