The DIY Window Hack that Saved Me Thousands

I know what you are probably thinking…

The title of this post sounds too freakin’ good to be true- a little clickbait-ish….right?

Well… it’s not! You should know by now, that I am no sellout. When is the last time you can recall me publishing a sponsored post? And no….I am not about to start the whole sponsorship thing today.

In all seriousness though, I truly did find a clever way to replace my windows on the cheap, and I am going to share it with you in this post.

Before I blow your mind with my window hack however,  let me give you a little bit of context.

Here is a photo of my kitchen when we first moved into our fixer upper..

My Kitchen Before:

As you will see, there once was a sliding glass door in our kitchen which led out to a deck (that is also no longer there). While demolishing the deck, we also decided that the sliding glass door had to go. Not only was the door in poor shape, it didn’t mesh with the flow of our kitchen. I found the door to be nothing but wasted space.

Wishing to maintain the natural light provided by the glass doors, we decided to convert the unit to a large window (instead of completely framing in the opening with sheet rock).

As with most of our home improvement projects, budget would definitely be an obstacle.

In fact, a casement window of such scale was quoted to cost anywhere from $3500 to $4500. There was simply no way we could justify such an investment.

As with most of our DIY endeavors, I knew we would have to get scrappy.

Then, while discussing the matter with our decking contractor one day, a genius hack was formulated.

My DIY Window Hack…

He suggested we simply purchase a piece of double pane glass and have it cut to our desired dimensions. Using trim and painted wood pieces,  we would then frame the glass to look like an actual window. (My mind was blown, ya’ll!)

Keep in mind…this would not be a truly functional window (one that you could actually open), but at least it would provide natural light. Given the weather extremes of our region, it’s not like we are really able to take advantage of open windows anyhow.

Deciding this was our best option, we then had double pane glass quoted at the dimensions we were looking for.

For the particular opening we desired, the glass would only cost us $700. Compared to upwards of $4000 for a real window, we considered this a true victory!

Given the large scale of the glass, I knew we would need some extra man power. So, we approached our contractor about installation costs.

The contractor charged us $700 to install the glass and to frame it in to resemble an actual window. To replicate the look of a window ledge, the contractor simply used a 2×4 on the bottom of the glass.

He then framed the outline of the “window” with moulding pieces and trim to match the other windows in our home.

It has been almost two years now, and I am thrilled with how this hack as served us.

That being said, it is important to note that I am not a licensed contractor and therefore know nothing about building codes or if this particular approach is code compliant. I would recommend you familiarize yourself with your local building codes before attempting this project.

Sure..I realize this method may not be ideal for everyone, but for our unique circumstances, it was definitely a win!

Now get out there and design some good vibes!