I was not compensated for this post, nor did I received any products. I am just a happy Home Depot customer.
When we bought our house in December of 2011, we knew we would be making some improvements and doing a bit of remodeling. The house is in a liveable condition, it just needs some “New”. Our original plan was to work for two more years, save money, then come home from Arizona and start doing some of the little projects that would make our home prettier, more up to date, and more energy efficient. But, as you know, life happened.
Now that I have been approved for disability, and have a little money to spend on the house, we are finally getting started with home improvements. This may not sound exciting to many of you, but for me, it is wonderful!
Our existing front door looks like this:
I don’t know about you, but even though it works like a door should work, it is just UGLY. We also have an existing storm door. The closer thing at the top of the door has pulled out of the door frame so many times that the screw holes are stripped out, and it won’t stay there. We even used wood glue, and epoxy glue, and it came out again and again.
In addition to that, the door catch broke off, so the door will not stay shut at all. When Parker, my grandson comes over, I have to keep the entry door closed so he will not fall out of the house onto the porch.
The windows, while functional, are old. They are not a good quality window to start with, and they seem to have not been caulked when they were installed about 20 years ago. They have also been screwed shut, so that they can not be opened, and do not have locks on them so that if we took the screws out, we would not be able to lock them.
And, someone used duct tape on the window sill in the bedroom for some reason, and when it was removed, it left this ugly stuff that will not come off.
We decided to make the first two projects on our home improvement list to replace the windows and the front door and storm door. Because we had such a hard time finding a local person who would actually come out and give us an estimate and then show up to do the job, we decided to go to Home Depot for our needs. It has been such a pleasure so far working with them.
First, we went to the Home Depot in Cedartown to look at doors and windows. We talked to JT the first time we were there. He showed us several varieties of entry doors and storm doors, and told us the first thing we would need to do would be to schedule an appointment for someone to come out and measure for the doors. We went ahead and made the appointment. To make the appointment for measuring for the door, we had to pay a $30 deposit, but if we decided to buy our door from them, that will apply to the balance due.
We also decided to start the process of getting windows installed. We did not have to pay anything up front before they came to measure, and show us samples of different windows.
In a couple of days, Don arrived to give us the window presentation. We were surprised at how good they looked, and how much heat they can filter out in the summer. The windows we picked out will help tremendously in holding down our power bill in both summer and winter. Home Depot not only sells them, they also come out and install them. At the time the sales person is at your house, you pay a 25% deposit towards the purchase. You don’t pay the balance due until you are completely happy with the install. We placed our order with Don after he measured our existing windows. He said someone would come out in a day or two to verify the measurements.
Sure enough, someone showed up to re-measure the windows and verify the number of windows ordered, and the color and style. This guy, whose name I did not get, said as soon as he got home and input the measurements in the system, the windows would be ordered, and that would trigger a call to set up an installation appointment.
A few days later, someone from Home Depot showed up to take some measurements for the door. He was only there for a few minutes, but he wrote down several notes about our door and took a picture of it to include in the online account, where we can go at any time to see the progress of our order. After this guy left, John called and told us that the next step was to go back to Home Depot and order the doors.
The process for buying a door and installation is a little bit different from the window process. After discussing the differences between a fiberglass door and a steel door, we decided to order the fiberglass one. It is more energy efficient than steel, and won’t dent,or expand in heat. We picked out which door we wanted, then we picked the storm door, and finally we decided on which hardware we wanted for the entry door. We had to pay in full for the price of the doors and installation at the time we placed our order.
When we got back home today, we had a phone call from Home Depot, scheduling the installation of our windows. So, I’ll be able to show you the new windows on October 7. Can’t wait!
Something else I liked about working with Home Depot, is that all of the people who come out to your home have to be bonded and they will have a Home Depot ID tag. I like that as a safety factor.
I love that you pay a deposit but it’s applied to the balance if you purchase from them. And that you don’t pay the balance until you’re happy with the install. Those are qualities of a good company!
We have purchased lots of our supplies for our home remodel projects from Home Depot. In fact, we will be going there next week to get more. Owning a home, means always fixing something.
I know it is so exciting to make some changes around your home! We will be needing new storm doors soon, as well. We’ll definitely check out Home Depot for that! Can’t wait to see your “after” pics!
That’s awesome!!!! I’d love to do some repairs and updates around our home.
We always go to Home Depot when we need to fix or repair things. A few years ago we redid our bathroom and purchased everything from Home Depot. Since we’re not handy people we hired a handyman to help us put in the new sink, toilet and fan.
Good luck with everything. I can’t wait to see the before/after photos.
OOOh home improvement projects are so exciting! I can’t wait to see the finished product!
I can’t wait to see how it all looks in the end!
Isn’t funny how something like new windows can make you so giddy as a home owner? I’m excited to see how they all turn out.
It is so much fun to make home improvements. I too can’t wait to see the end results!
So glad you’re finally getting around to doing the fix-ups you wanted to. They’ll make a world of difference, not just in saving you money on your heating bills, but on your emotional state too since you’ll be smiling every time you open (yes, you can finally open them!) your windows!
I know, Andrew! We live on a dirt road so we can’t open the windows often, but after a rain, it should be heavenly to be able to open a window and smell that wet earth.
I love Home Depot. I’ve used them for carpet installation and was very pleased. Thanks for sharing!
I am excited to see how this installation by Home Depot will go. Hopefully new window will look nice. Was not it better that you pay them after they are done with their work of fixation. I believe , not to pay , until you feel perfect about something.
This is also good idea that all employees had their badges ( Tags) . Good for security and information who is actually coming to see your house.
The front door does seem to be the right place to start, both because of the conditions it was in, and symbolicly.
Home Improvement! Nice and unique post i would say.
Liked it.
Cheers!
It’s always fun to make improvements to our homes.
Great fun making these improvements and it will be fun for all of us to see the finished product:) Good to know that the Home Depot people are bonded
Home improvements never seem to end, that’s for sure. My husband and I moved away for two years and rented our house to a tenant. Coming back was quite a shocker to say the least since we had always managed to stay on top of most things, but then had to fix two year’s worth of something else living in our house.
We live in a really old house, built in 1909, so there is always something to do. We use Home Depot a lot, they have everything you need at good prices, but unlike you, we will never use them again for installation. Our last experience with new windows was poor. We had to call the installer several times (didn’t respond) until I wrote a complaint letter to Home Depot, outlining the problems. So my caution in this is: While there probably won’t be a problem with Home Depot, there could be a problem with the installer – check out that company before closing the deal.
Home improvements and Home Depot are in cahoots that’s for sure. It’s a good thing everyone wants to be a handyman. Also a good thing that HD is a good company and seems to always stand by its products and services. All the best as you fix it up.
I can’t wait to see the project completed! I’m sure you’re just beside yourself. I hope you see improvements to your energy costs too. Wouldn’t that be great? Home improvement projects are fun, especially if you’re planning to stick around in that house to enjoy them.