And, just when the complexity of decisions was getting overwhelming, we remembered that we were also dealing with choosing windows for a house made to be mobile.
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Windows — how very much I appreciate them, how very little I knew about them.  I had no idea there were so many options, and that those options might have a huge variety of exceptions and contingencies.

We saw a glimmer of this unending, but conditional, window options situation back in the fall when we innocently checked out the window department of Lowe’s while on a lumber-buying mission.  Three fat window catalogs later…

Since returning to California from our Christmas vacation in Pennsylvania, Eli and I have been itching to get back into the tiny house build.  And, our next stage was walls – oh excitement to make this project actually look like a house! (instead of a snazzy portable dance floor).  But, wait, you can’t build walls until you know where and how large your windows are going to be.  Okay, let’s get some windows.  With our Sketchup model, we already knew the location and dimensions of our windows.

So, with window quantities and dimensions all tidily tabled in my notebook, I figured we just head to a window shop, hand the table over, and a quote would be readily forthcoming.  We even already had some idea of the style (single-hung, double-hung, casement, awning, fixed, bay, specialty – it begins) of each window that we wanted.

But, the moment we set foot in the window shop, the questions started:  “New construction or renovation?”, “Building style?”, “Where in the area will it be located?”, “Prioritize esthetics or functionality?”, “How concerned with insulation value are you?”.  We got hit by choices of manufacturer and brand, materials, style, hardware, look, glass type, efficiency, affordability, longevity, reliablity, warranty, and I’m sure I’m forgetting things.  And, there’s also the environmental concerns of those options to consider.  And, all of the options have pros and cons and trade-offs (as seems to be true of all things).

And, it’s not so simple as saying, okay, I want a window made by this manufacturer, of this material, in this style, and this size.  Each decision may be dependent on other decisions, with qualifications.  You choose a manufacturer for quality and then find out they don’t make windows in the material you thought you wanted.  Or, you want a window that’s 4′ x 3′, well this manufacturer has a limit of 3/5′ x 3′ for casement windows.  You want fiberglass windows, well, this brand doesn’t make double-hung windows in that material.  But, you want all your windows to have some consistency or your house ends up looking piecemeal.

But, the real clincher is, that each manufacturer measures dimension elements in their own unique way – and, most importantly, there’s no standard to what the rough opening dimensions will be. So, a 2′ x 4′ window may be sized differently depending on your manufacturer.  This means, we have to get the windows ordered, so we can find out the exact rough opening requirements for those exact windows, before we can make any headway on the walls.

And, just when the complexity of decisions was getting overwhelming, we remembered that we were also dealing with choosing windows for a house made to be mobile.  So, just to top it off, we also need to consider that while being towed, the house will basically be surviving a sustained earthquake and hurricane…  Right…  Well, that did make one decision easier… tempered glass it is.  And, unless we’re planning on avoiding all mountain passes (or any elevation changes, really) we need our windows to have “breather tubes”… or there’s a really good chance our windows would be popping like glass bombs.  Yikes!  Think about it, most of the time you’re buying windows in the location where you’ll be installing them.  So, they’re generally made for the elevation at which they are being sold.  Sacramento elevation – 30 feet.  Hmm…

Anybody have experience wading through this window buying shenanigans??  What did you decide??