“One of the reasons we bought this house is the great big family room,” Amanda said. “We looked at three places in the Pembroke area, and this one has a little bit smaller bedrooms, but the family room has more than enough space for everyone to be together comfortably. That’s really important to us, so we went for it.”
Amanda’s pleasure with the large family room soon dimmed. “It’s really dark in that room. I wondered why the previous owners had all the curtains drawn, but once I felt the draft that blew through them, I knew exactly why she had those heavy drapes. If you didn’t cover those windows up, it was freezing in here.”
Older homes, including many of those found in Pembroke and surrounding neighborhoods, often have their original windows or poorly made replacement windows from the sixties or seventies. All around these windows, tiny cracks and vulnerabilities appear in the window sill, which let icy cold winds blow right through.
“The curtains keep the cold out, but they keep the light out too!” Amanda said. “This room should be bright, cheerful and fun for the family. Those curtains have to go, which means the windows have to go.”
Upgrading to modern replacement windows in the family room eliminated the cold drafts that made the room unusable. “I thought we’d save a little bit of money on the heat because I wouldn’t have to keep cranking the thermostat up, but I was shocked at how much we wound up saving – it made paying those holiday bills a lot easier, I’ll tell you that!”
“If you have a large room you’re keeping dark because the house is drafty, get replacement windows installed,” Amanda urged. “Your kids need sunshine and so do you! You don’t have to be cold. Replacement windows keep your house cozy!”