While the deck renovation of this West Seattle ranch upgrade helped solve issues with the house settling (part 1), there were still problems with leveling the floors. Fixing this could lead to other problems like cracked windows. Not that they were in good condition to begin with, though. “Our large, fixed windows were single-pane, with storms on the outside. They were cloudy and the rest were failing,” Amy Trulson says. The couple chose to replace all of the glass on the main floor with double-pane, frameless units secured by dark-brown painted wood trim.
For the sliding glass door from the kitchen to the deck, and some operable units in the kitchen, living room and bedrooms, aluminum frame Milgards were the choice. “We couldn’t imagine anything but aluminum sliders aesthetically,” she says. “Due to the settling, we had to determine what to make square and what to just leave as [typical] of an old house,” Trulson continues. “One new window had to be made in a parabolic shape because of the slope in that corner. When we finally got to leveling the floor, we had the option to jack up one corner to make it ‘perfect.’ We determined our money would be better spent elsewhere, and that was a good decision—no one can even tell today.”
Making due with what you’ve got will help save money and headaches during your ranch upgrade. But sometimes a projects demands a clean slate. Check back for part 3 to see the complete kitchen remodel!
