Carolina Home & Garden

The summer edition of Carolina Home & Garden will feature three homes with contemporary design.  Two of those homes we were privileged to be the window supplier.  This is one of those homes.

What is Concierge Service?

CONCIERGE SERVICE

“Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interest first”.   From The Go-Giver.

At Window Designs of the Carolinas we take this premise very seriously.  When a client entrusts us with the window and door portion of their project, we embrace the responsibility for the successful completion of that vision.  From planning to execution and service after the sale, our goal is to own this phase of the venture.  

KOLBE WINDOWS AND DOORS

We are proud to announce that we have begun representing  Kolbe Windows and Doors in our market.   https://www.kolbewindows.com/

Tomorrow we head to Wisconsin for training on the many unique and exciting products that Kolbe has to offer.  Displays are on order and should be installed in September.  Keep an eye on this site for pictures and stories of our adventures with Kolbe Windows and Doors!

In a Jam?

IN A JAM?

One of the most frequent service calls we are asked to make is to address complaints of swinging doors out of adjustment. Doors don't open and close easily, multipoint locks won't engage properly, reveal at door panels suggest they are out of square, etc.  Most of these complaints have a single culprit; lack of jamb screws.

Jamb screws are approximately 3 inches long and are designed to not only attach the hinge to the jamb, but to penetrate through the jamb and shim and then anchor into the jack.  All the doors that Window Designs of the Carolinas provide come with a package of screws including at least one jamb screw per hinge.  Yet on the final walk through 75% of all doors we have provided do not have the jamb screws installed. 75%!  

Frequently, other screws have been installed in place of the jamb screw.  

Window tech extraordinaire, Jon Burcham, was recently called to look at a door provided by a competitor 5 years ago.  

The homeowner told Jon over the phone that other service techs had been to her house on four separate occasions and that the door had never worked properly from the beginning.  She said she had to hit the door with her hip to close it.  Jon speculated that jamb screws were missing.  Upon arriving he found small screws in all screw holes, and many of the screw holes had been reamed out from frequent tightening down and there wasn't much remaining in the way of grip.  And of course, no jamb screws.  The little screws frequently used do not have enough holding power to withstand the weight of a heavy door panel for long.  You need something more than just a hinge attached to the jamb.   Below is a picture of the screws that were used and the jamb screws that were desperately needed.

Jon routinely visits our jobsites shortly after windows and doors have been installed.  He always carries jamb screws because more often than not, installers have failed to use the screws provided.

For best results install one screw in the top screw hole of each hinge.  But if you only install jamb screws in one hinge, make sure you install it in the top hinge.

Jon says that if you have lost the jamb screws provided, any coarse thread 3 inch screw will work.

Semco window and door visit

Bill, Kevin and I travelled to the Semco Window and Door plant in Merrill, Wisconsin last week.  The folks at Semco were very gracious and we got to meet many of the employees who work every day to help support us in our efforts to differentiate Window Designs of the Carolinas with exceptional products and service.   

Of particular interest was the glass plant where they insulate the glass in-house using SuperSpacer, and the test chamber where new products and product improvements are tested for performance.  We enjoyed very valuable time with Semco’s product engineer, Dan Emmerich, and learned of exciting new products being developed to meet market demands.   

A special shout out to Pat, Rich and Ginger for putting this all together.  The time they took from their very busy schedules was invaluable to us. 

Heights and other scary things

As previously described in this blog, The Window Gal does not like heights.  From time to time I find it necessary in my job to attempt to access something that is just a bit out of my reach.  Normally, I look around me to see if I might employ somebody else to ascend the lofty height to perform this task for me.  Other times I find myself all alone and left to my own devices.  I remember an incident a couple of years ago when a builder was supposed to meet me at a construction jobsite to confirm some rough openings.  He was running late and phoned me and instructed me to go up to the attic and measure a specific window opening that he had a question about.  I hung up the phone and began the search for “the elevator”.  My heart began to sink as I realized there was no such conveyance and I found a ladder that was already in place and seemed to stretch to the heavens and disappeared into the darkness of the attic.  I looked around and saw that all the workers were busy with their jobs and I felt reluctant to impose so I stood there and waited for the builder to show up.

 

To that builder, I am sure that the ladder in question looked a little like this:

To The Window Gal, the same ladder looked more like this:

When the builder arrived, I had already rehearsed my explanation which was that the fire truck that would be needed to rescue me, had I climbed the ladder, wouldn’t have been able to get past the heavy equipment already on the jobsite.

In January of this year I incorporated my business and changed the name to Window Designs of the Carolinas, Inc.  I, personally, will always be The Window Gal, but now the company grows and matures.

While the company will still offer access to many of the major brands, our focus will be on promoting four brands that have proven themselves in terms of versatility of design, value and quality:

Loewen reigns as the luxury option featuring solid Douglas Fir as the standard wood species. This substantial product lends itself to exceptionally large openings and structurally demanding designs.  http://www.loewen.com

Semco is one of the best kept secrets in the industry.  The fit and finish of the Semco window is unparalleled.  26 standard colors and a patented, extruded aluminum, hinged nail fin all offered at a surprisingly economical cost make the Semco window the best choice for achieving the biggest bang for the buck!  http://www.semcowindows.com

Windsor, while very similar to Semco, offers additional features such as painted interiors, Bettervue high transparency screen mesh as a standard, and exceptional values in their doublehung window line and their sliding doors.  22 standard colors make the Windsor window worthy of serious consideration for any window and door package. http://www.windsorwindows.com

LaCantina Doors - many window and door lines offer stacking and pocketing multi-sliding doors as well as bifolding doors to compliment their clad window lines but LaCantina brings enhanced performance and features to these type products at a compelling price point.  Douglas fir or Mahogany interior and custom color matched aluminum exteriors are capable of achieving required DP ratings and can even be built to meet the Dade County Impact Certifications. http://www.lacantinadoors.com/why-lacantina

Come by our new facility and check out some of the displays of these exciting products.  We'll help you find the windows and doors that best fit your project.