Vinyl Windows, Siding and other great investments for your Home.

You’ve just bought the worst house in the best neighborhood. Now it’s time to spruce the place up a bit. But deciding how to split up your budget could make a lasting impact.

Kitchen & Bath.

Remodeling your Kitchen or bath is sure fire way to WOW guests and also give you a pretty nice return. Kitchen and Bath remodels are usually the most expensive when comes to construction with an average recouped cost of 66.75%. So what are the best investments when redoing your Kitchen or Bathroom? Keep the finishes traditional with all-wood cabinets and stone countertops. Save square footage by skipping the whirlpool tub and going for a walk-in shower. If you recently purchased an old home with a lot of charm but only one bathroom, it is a smart investment to add more Bathrooms rather than remodel your current one.

Home maintenance.

The major thing that homeowners often overlook is the structural things like windows, roofing, and a front door. Although choosing the right windows might not be as glamorous as choosing colors of granite countertops, it will improve the livability of the home as well as increase the value of your home when it comes time to sell. Investing in Home maintenance like windows or doors will give you the largest cost recouped in the metro with an average of 73%. It is important to remember that not all windows are created equal. Universal Direct windows are custom made for each home, while other window providers have one size fits all windows, Universal Windows Direct windows look like they were original to the home. An effective replacement window will keep the inner pane of glass warmer to the touch during winter and cooler to the touch during the summer. Our exclusive UniShield® system has been proven to be more effective than comparable products on the market today, which in turn, means more energy savings for the homeowner.

Curb appeal.

When it comes to selling your home, first impressions count. If the exterior of your home is lackluster, it doesn’t matter how nice the inside is, most buyers won’t get past the front door. That’s why siding has a recouped cost of 74.9%. Make smart decisions when it comes to siding, Vinyl siding looks great and is guaranteed to be maintenance free. Our exclusive UniShield Vinyl Siding offers endearing looks and enduring performance, making your vision for your home a reality. All of our vinyl siding delivers the warmth and quality appearance of wood without the costly, time-consuming maintenance and repairs. Superior panel thickness and an advanced lock design provide superior rigidity and exceptional holding power, keeping panels straight and tight in the most extreme of conditions. UniShield siding has been tested extensively and rated to withstand virtually anything that Mother Nature may throw at, including Gale-force winds, hail, as well as snow and ice during the winter.

Extra space.

A common problem for homeowners is running out of space. If you are living in a booming housing market, it might be to be too expensive to stay in your desired neighborhood while increasing your square footage. Make your current home, your dream home by investing in additions like extras bedrooms or bathrooms. Every 1,000 square feet added to a home boosts the sale price by more than 30 percent, according to the 2005 study for the National Association of Realtors. A new trend for home additions is hobby rooms. Whether it's an exercise room or room devoted solely to your antique stamp collection, it will increase the value of your home. The average cost recouped for home additions 53.4% But don't go square footage crazy, you don't want to price yourself out of your current neighborhood.

Call today Steve for a free in-home estimate

(612) 866-2888

Window Replacement: Do you Check the Contractor's Insurance Before You Sign a Contract?

Replacing Windows in your home can be a long and confusing process.   Once a decision is made on a window purchase,  contractor details can be overlooked.    

The results are not surprising.   If you're like most people you care about the level of liability insurance your contractor carries,  but when you're in the thick of decision making on windows you don't think of it.   You and your window buying partner are choosing styles, colors, glass upgrades, and often trying to fit the windows you want replaced in to your budget.    By the time you've come to decisions on all of that,  it can be hard to remember if your contractor carries insurance.   Did it come up when you first met him?  Did you ask to see it?  Did he say he had it but you didn't see it?    Suddenly, the excitement of buying new windows can be clouded by panic that you may not have hired the right person for the job.  

Next time you meet with a contractor to discuss a project, arm yourself with information.     Download our FREE eBook on "9 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Contractor"  and feel confident in your decision to hire.

Replacement Window Cost: What does it cost to replace a window?

What does a window cost?  

You know you need to replace some windows but you really feel you need to get an idea of what windows cost before you let a sales guy into your home.   You do a quick web search, you call a few places, and find you aren’t really getting a straight answer.   Frustrating!     What does a window cost?   It seems like it should be a straight answer.  But it isn’t.   You wouldn’t call a car dealership and ask what a car costs would you?   The last time you wanted a house did you call a Realtor and ask what a house costs?   No – because with those purchases you’ve made them before and you understand that quality, options, brand, and features all make a difference in the bottom line price.

Guess what?  Windows are the same way.  {gallery}double hung{/gallery}

Sure, you can buy a window for $189 but you can also  buy a window for $1500 or more.   That is a wide range and not particularly helpful.  So when you call and ask us what a window costs we can't tell you.   We aren’t trying to be rude.   We need to understand what you’re shopping for so we can be helpful.   The answer to each of the questions below will impact the price of the window. 

How big is the window?

What style is the window?

Are you looking at vinyl, fiberglass, wood, aluminum clad, a composite or a mix?

Do you want the window unfinished, primed, stained, painted, an upgraded vinyl color?

Do you want double pane or triple pane glass?

Do you care about energy efficiency?  You can have air, argon or krypton in the panes of glass

How many coats of Low E do you want?

Which spacer do you want in the glass package?

Does the window need to be tempered glass or egress size to meet code?

Do want the glass obscured?

Do you want to upgrade your screen to a full screen or a smaller weave?

Do you want grids or etched glass?

What is the condition of the existing window frame?   Does the sill need to be rebuilt?

Are we doing the install or are you?

Is the install a pocket / retrofit / replacement or is it a full frame install?

Is nailing fin required?

Will new stops, sills and jamb need to be built?  If yes, are we looking at pine or oak?  Will you paint or stain when we’re done?

How does the interior casing look?  Can we re-use it?

You don't have to know all of these answers right now.   The purpose of an in-home estimate is to help you and your window buying partner understand what these options mean, and decide what you're really buying so we can give you a price.  

Every window replacement job is going to be different, and different factors and decisions will play into the cost.  If you know you need to replace windows in your home and you want to get an idea on what it will cost you, an in-home estimate is the only way.   Let a window consultant come into your home and help you and your window buying partner decide what you want in your home.  In -home estimates should be free, and should not come with an obligation to buy.

Contact Steve the Window Guy today and get started with that quote.  

Author:  Melissa Brager

Want more info?  Check out these blogs:

Choosing a glass package

Choosing window colors and options

Now Hiring: Marketing Manager

Marketing Manager needed to work in our Bloomington, MN office.

Who we are:   

• We are a local, family – owned company with offices in Bloomington, MN.  

• Steve the Window Guy is a brand of our business.   Universal Windows Direct is our company name, and ties us to a pretty awesome group of dealers and resources throughout the country.

• We work hard, we take our work seriously, and we laugh a lot.  

• We love cheeseburgers & popcorn and some days we have a toddler in the office.

What we do:

• We make homes warmer, cozier, and prettier.

• We sell and install windows, siding, roofing, front doors, patio doors, and attic insulation

• We do what we say we’re going to do and we take pride in our work.

• We all pitch in.  We all share ideas.  We all work together to meet our goals.

What you’ll do:

• You’ll make sure we have appointments in the books for our sales guys to run.

• You’ll hire, train, and manage a small staff of people who will set appointments by

  • Working home shows and events

  • Marketing our products door to door

  • Working in a call center

• You’ll work shows, you’ll market door to door, and you’ll make phone calls, too

• You’ll work tirelessly to help the team meet our goals.

Your background will include:

• College degree in business, management, marketing, or similar field.

• 2+ years in a customer service field;

• 1+ years supervising staff

• 1+ years working in a call center or canvassing preferred

• Proficiency with Microsoft word, excel, and internet programs. 

• You will need to be able to lift 50-75 pounds. 

• You will need to be able to stand on your feet for up to 8 hours a day.

To apply: Send resume and letter of interest with salary requirements to Melissa at mbrager@universalwindowsdirect.com.

To learn more about us, please visit our website at www.SteveTheWindowGuy.com   or www.UniversalWindowsMN.com

Home Shows: Steve the Window Guy Closes out Spring Home Shows

This blog gives a behind the scenes look at our life working home shows!

We survived.

The spring home show season for 2014 is officially over for us.

 Some companies hire a staff of people who do nothing but work shows.   We chose not to do that.   Steve, Zach and I work most of them.   We prefer to have people in our booth who know the product and can have an intelligent conversation with you.    Zach, Dave, Joe, Sarah and Mike are all people we adore both personally and professionally.    They are smart.  They are helpful.  They are knowledgeable.  They are good people and we trusted them to represent our company.   Having that level of trust made those big huge long shows very successful for us.   More importantly, their help meant we didn't have to be there every minute.

Home shows are a lot of hours.  Still, they are the best way to get our name out to the local communities.      Are they the only way for us to personally connect with homeowners and potential customers?  YES!   Are they hands down the best way for a prospective customer to see the quality of our replacement windows and doors while comparing to the competition?  ABSOLUTELY!

But is working a home show every weekend easy?  NO!

While everyone else is winding down their Friday and calculating how much longer they have to pretend to work before Happy Hour , we are just getting started.  We are loading the truck.  We are printing our move-in instructions.  We are gambling with rush hour traffic; trying to get a bit more done in the office before we go set up.

Have you ever seen a home show get set up?  It’s like one of those little Chinese puzzles we used to get as kids at birthday parties.  Everyone is jockeying for a spot by the door.  Everyone is frantically unloading their stuff and dumping it into their booth so they can move the truck and the next guy can get in.  It isn’t a calm process.

Then, once all of our displays are inside we arrange the booth.   Do you think the booth would be easy to arrange every time?  It isn’t!   We have different set ups every single time based on the location and size of the booth, the number of corners the booth has, whether or not we’re on the end, and even what show it is.     This means once everything is unloaded we do the whole scratching our head thing and start moving stuff until it feels right.    (Not unlike when we moved into our home trying to decide the best spot for the sofa!)

We do our best.  We make a list of what we forgot, and we head home.  Do we stop for ice cream?  Yes.  Most days.

If we are both working, the “show prep” continues with prepping the babysitter for the next day.   We try to clean the house so we don’t look like total slobs.   We try to make sure there is food for the sitter and for the baby… and we usually do an okay job at it.      Just like that our Friday night is shot.

Saturday Mornings are crazy.  We are busy getting up and ready to go.  We need a big breakfast.  We need to pack a lunch.  We spend what time we can with our daughter.   We greet the babysitter and give her last minute instructions, then we race off to buy the caffeine we’ll need for the day and then race to the show.    Often we stop at the office to grab something.   More often then I’d like to admit, we stop at the grocery store to buy food for lunch.   And a doughnut.   (our nutrition suffers). 

By the time the show opens we are ready to go and we work.   We talk to hundreds of people every day.  We demo our replacement windows.  We show the quality of our steel and fiberglass entry doors.    We talk about the benefit of being a preferred contractor with Owens Corning for our roofing.   We talk until we cannot talk any more.  Then we ride home in silence.   Exhausted.

The next day we repeat the whole routine..  with the added bonus of tear down.    At the end of the show we tear it all down, pack it all up, re-load the truck, jockey for loading space in the back of the show space and then take it all home.  And unload it all back in to the warehouse.   Sunday night is usually a late night.

Then on Monday morning the week starts all over again.   The phone keeps ringing, orders keep getting placed, jobs keep getting installed, and our sales guys keep running appointments.   We look ahead to the next weekend and what we need to do to get ready.

For us, home show season starts at the end of January and goes until mid-April.   We have a few weekends off, but for the most part we are working every weekend.  It is necessary.  It is beneficial.  It is tiring.  It is exhausting.

If you talked to us at a show this year, thank you very much.     We appreciate your time and consideration.    We love our company.   We believe in our products and we strive to do the best possible job for you and your family.

Next weekend we have a weekend.   This is going to feel new to us.  And it is going to feel so very  GOOD.   I can’t wait.

Meanwhile, if you or someone you know is in the market for replacement windows,  doors, siding or roofing, please contact us for a free quote.

Steve The Window Guy sells more than just windows in MN!

Author:  Melissa Brager

Related Articles:

Why you should go to a Home Show

Tips for Visiting Companies at a Home Shows

Finding a Contractor you can trust

Window Terminology: Window Terms Starting with "B"

Balance

A mechanical device (normally spring-loaded) used in single- and double-hung windows as a means of counterbalancing the weight of the sash during opening and closing.  UniShield windows come with a true balance system, and no weights for a cleaner look and for consistent performance.

Bay Window

An arrangement of three or more individual window units, attached so as to project from the building at various angles. In a three-unit bay, the center section is normally fixed, with the end panels operable as double-hung or casement windows.

Bow Window

A rounded bay window with 5 or more sashes – often all of them open.

Building Permit

A requirement in most cities to ensure the installation meets state building code requirements but also they always ALWAYS look to make sure your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms are installed and working. .

 For more information on window terminology, and to get your free quote on replacement windows from Steve the Window Guy click the button below.

Steve the Window Guy for Universal Windows Direct is a full exterior remodeling company focusing on replacing windows, siding and roofing. Steve and his team of are experts in working with people just like you to create a plan for the most cost efficient way to complete your exterior remodeling project. We are part of a national dealer network that has catapulted to be a top 10 remodeling company in the nation. Locally we have an A+ rating with the BBB with zero complaints. Steve has been recognized by Universal Windows Direct as National Dealer of the Year three times for his hard work and dedication to getting things right. We are locally owned and operated in Bloomington, MN and work throughout the Twin Cities Metro. Updating your home can be easy.

We believe Steve the Window, Siding and Roofing Guy was just too long of a name.

*Source: Qualified Remodelers Top 500 List, Published September 2021.