4 Things to Focus on when Shopping for Replacement Doors and Windows for Your Pleasant Hill, CA Home

The moment that you decide to get replacement doors or windows for your home in Pleasant Hill, you may not have any clue about where to start or what to focus on. That’s because most homeowners only have to replace their windows or doors once in their lifetime. Some homeowners never actually replace their old windows or doors. They simply paint over the frame, clean them up as best they can, and just “deal with them.”

Whether or not you are planning on selling your home in the near future, it is good to know that the right replacement doors and windows can actually add value to your house. That means if you are planning to sell and moved to a new home in the next year or two, with the right investment in quality replacement doors and windows, you can actually get more for your home at the sale.

That is contingent on the fact that you focus on the right things when shopping for those replacement doors and windows. Let’s talk about what for things you should focus on when you begin this process.

1. Personal preference.

It is far too simplistic to say that whatever looks good is good enough, especially when it comes to replacement doors and windows. You may look at your neighbor’s house and their front door and say that you should have the same type of door on your home, but your house, unless it is a clone of theirs, may be a different style altogether.

You may look at the door and say it is too simple or that you would prefer something more ornate or solid looking. Your personal preference should be one of the top priorities with regard to replacement doors as well as windows. You are the one who has to live in your home. You are the one who has to pull into the driveway after a long day of work and see your house and the condition it’s in.

If you end up looking at your brand new replacement front door and are dissatisfied with the way it looks or think that it is too simplistic and or embarrassing, then this is going to affect your comfort level at home.

The same holds true with regard to replacement windows. If you sit down in your living room to relax and notice that your replacement windows just look cheap and don’t do anything to improve the interior decor, it is going to affect you directly.

Take into account your personal preferences with regard to replacement doors and windows.

2. The size of the windows or doors.

Just because you have a medium sized picture window surrounded by two double hung windows in your living room, that doesn’t mean that you have to replace them with the same exact size, style, and type of window now.

You can actually completely change the size, style, or other features of every single window in your home, if you want to and have the budget that can afford it.

Changing the size of a window will mean more work on the part of the installer, which will add cost to the replacement window or door. However, since this opportunity only comes along once every 15 to 20 years, on average, it is worth taking the time to seriously consider how each room in your home would look with a completely different layout and design of the windows.

As for replacement doors, maybe you have a basic entry door as your front door, but you would much prefer something more elegant, larger, or more inviting. Maybe you would like to have a side rectangular window on either side of the front door. Maybe you have a preference for a double front door.

No matter what it is, if the size of the replacement doors or windows could be different and you would be happier with that, this is the time to make those decisions.

3. Budget.

As we just mentioned, your budget is going to be important. You need to focus on having a set budget before you begin shopping around for replacement doors and windows. You could spend several thousand dollars on a single replacement front door for your home. That might not give you the same type of return on investment as a less expensive replacement front door, but if you can afford it and would prefer the more expensive design, then that’s fine.

However, one major problem that homeowners have when they shop for replacement doors and windows and don’t set their budget is that they will end up seeing different styles and types of doors and windows that they believe would look amazing in the house, but they are more expensive than they expected.

Suddenly they are allowing their emotions to control the transaction process. When you do that, you could have buyer’s remorse. If you have buyer’s remorse about replacement doors or windows, you are going to be reminded about it every single time you come home or wake up in the morning.

As long as you establish a budget on how much you are willing and able to spend on a single replacement door or the whole collection of all entry doors and windows in your home, stick to that budget and you will be happy in the long run.

4. Energy efficiency

Energy efficiency is crucial for replacement doors and windows in today’s economy. When you are considering replacing all of the entry doors and windows in your house, you have an opportunity to impact the 40 percent energy loss that most homes experience through their old, drafty windows and doors.

That’s right. You will likely be losing at least 40 percent of your home’s heat during the winter and cool air during the summer through your old windows and doors. When you focus on energy efficiency, the more energy efficient doors and windows you choose, the more money you will save, on average, every single month of the year. When you begin to add that over a period of 10, 15, 20 years or more, the savings can end up being many thousands of dollars.

These are just for things to start focusing on when you shop for replacement doors and windows for your Pleasant Hill home. Contact a-Taylor Made Window today for a free in-home consultation.