Factory windows, and other things

Hi friends, Lauren here. Can't wait to tell you guys about the MOSTAMAZINGTHINGEVER that happened to us.

So as you saw, we tore down the back of our house. That is our future kitchen! We are going to rebuild it. We want factory style windows to be the back wall of our house.. to start about 5ish inches above the counter top and reach all the way to the 11 ft ceiling. Some inspiration photos:

So, as it turns out, having these windows made is incredibly expensive. We contacted a couple companies and basically they all have to be made custom. We knew this going into it and were working it into our budget. We were working on our drawings, and went to an empty building in Paducah with windows that we liked to measure the dimensions and get an idea of the width and height of each pane. We went into the attached tire store to ask the guy there who owned the building and what was happening to it. This was the Wednesday before T-giving. The guy there actually owned the building. He was supposed to have it torn down two days before but it got delayed for some reason! We could have the windows for the salvage weight of the steel (which is, um, 10 cents a pound, so, like 100$ for 15 windows).  So yes, friends, this mean we have 15 of these guys:

Yes, they are a little rusty but nothing some sandblasting can't fix! They even have casement windows that open (the inside 8 panes open out together).

We immediately ran just around the corner to our glass guy Randy to ask him if he could help up rehab these windows. We plan to have them sandblasted and powder coated, and some low-e glass placed. They are 7 feet wide, perfect for our kitchen, and we'll be using 4 of them. Now we are just looking for a local fabricator to make us a matching door! 

Levi and the guys went to tear them out on Friday, and they were basically tearing the building down behind them!

These windows will match perfectly with our exposed beams that will be in the ceiling of our kitchen. Levi has been working with Goodman lumber out in Symsonia to find a small amount of lumber that was in the right size range to be appropriate for exposed beams (I think 2" x 8"). 

Goodman lumber is a hardwood dealer. They sell oak grown right here in Kentucky to huge companies. Those huge companies cut it down to sizes and sell it to places like Home Depot and Lowe's. They also sell small amounts for very reasonable prices to local folks but most people don't really know about them or have the means to cut lumber down to the sizes they need. Not us! Levi is buds with these guys now. Today we went to pick up our red oak pieces that Levi will be cutting to size with his new jointer we found at the thrift store. 

Warehouses with stacks of wood in every direction

Stacks of poplar

Our pack of oak getting loaded into the truck

Our friend Darren has finished repairing the brick foundation in the back, and a new pack of lumber is on the way tomorrow to start rebuilding the back of the house. Levi has started wiring the electric and has plans for the plumbing. Things are moving along!