One Man's Trash

Our last blog entry was about beautiful security windows.  This one is about the windows they replace.

A Man's Home is His Castle
We are replacing aged, but lovely by most people's standards, windows on a lovely estate that is about thirty years old.  The theme of the estate was previously classic southern plantation-esque, and we are remodeling to capture the old world European feel, employing stone walls and the kind of chunky, burned wood accents you would find on a country manner.  The windows and doors, all seventy-nine of them, are coming out as part of the property's total makeover.  Those windows were state-of-the-art when the house was built, and are still terrific.  They are double paned, energy efficient, wood-framed, and the mechanical parts are all precision designed well-oiled machines, and they still work as such.

Here's the conundrum:  We can't even give them away.  We have tried the usual outlets, but everyone has their age and size limits, and these windows are older and many are larger than operations like Habitat for Humanity usually fit into their building processes.  

To be perfectly clear, we all adore Habitat for Humanity and their dignified mission, and we support them any way that we can do it.  But back to the windows...

The humble abodes in which most of us live, and in which Habitat for Humanity and most similar organizations specialize, typically do not call for windows over 6' x 6', and it is just not practical to depend on most homeowners to have to maintain equipment that uses 30-year-old hardware.  There are other operations around that do a wonderful job of using reclaimed materials, but timing is crucial with those companies, since what they are gathering can be based on the themes of the projects they have on the docket.  It's as if we are trying to give away a Ferrari, but nobody we know has room in their garage for one of those fancy cars.

We are open to suggestions.  Please comment if you have one, and we will diligently follow up.  We definitely don't want the vintage Ferrari of windows to go to waste.

- Jon Leon Guerrero