[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVE-hn0Cc1c[/youtube]Me and some friends went to Moore Oklahoma to bring water, clothing and other supplies. I was amazed at the amount of stuff that had already been donated, really good to see people helping each other in a time of need. Thank all of you for your donations.

Abram

Windows and the Oregon Trail: It is a with a sudden change of weather when you notice your windows. Yes, the old windows needed to be replaced when you first moved into this house some years ago, but that was something that would have to wait. Now, with every passing season, you notice more and […]

With all the technology available to us, wouldn’t it be nice to have a way to envision what new windows might look like in your home before you buy? Well we have just such a program CLICK HERE to start using the program, or if you would prefer to see a video on how to use the program, here it is  Window Designer Tutorial and if you have any questions, just send us a quick email.

 

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What do you think of when you think American farmer? For me it’s someone who is hard working, creative, and resourceful, those are exactly the characteristics of Lucas Spinhirne. His Great Grandfather settled in Vega Tx to start a life of farming many many years ago, so it is safe to say that farming is in his blood.

Lucas was showing me  around his farm when I noticed a hay trailer like I have never seen before, it had an engine on top with a lot of hydraulic  hoses going to and from the pump and a control board which consisted of several switches, so what makes this trailer so special? It is home made, Lucas wanted a quicker way to haul the big round bales of hay from the field to the farm so he started thinking and planning followed by hard work and some trial and error. The way he use to haul hay was by driving to the field with a trailer, get out of the truck, climb on the tractor, load the trailer, get back into the truck and haul it to the farm. The way he does it know is with his new self made trailer is he backs up to the bale of hay,  flips a couple of switches from in the comfort of his truck and loads the bales, he then drives to the farm and flips some more switches to unload the hay.

For me it was refreshing to see that there are still people out there that “make things work”, when met with a challenge they think, “how can I make this work?” instead of, this will never work. That is the kind of attitude I could use more of in my own life.

Here is a short video of Lucas talking about farming life and the siding work we did on his home.

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkLUY-12KRE[/youtube]

 

Lone Star Windows and Siding serves all metro and rural areas of the greater Texas Panhandle including Amarillo, Canyon, Borger, Pampa, Dumas, Dalhart, Groom, Panhandle, Hereford, Vega, Tulia, Fritch and many others providing replacement windows, gutter, siding – vinyl & steel – doors and more.

Buy New Siding

WORTH THE INVESTMENT?

Last summer, the paint was peeling badly on the south and east sides of our house. Those sides get a lot of sun. The sun, combined with exposure to the rest of the weather all year, wears down the paint quickly. It had only been three years since I had the house painted for almost two thousand dollars. My neighbor had vinyl siding installed the previous year, but he said he paid a lot for it. I just wanted a quick, cheap fix so I didn’t think siding was worth it. I landed on doing it myself!

 

Paint is cheap, right? Not really when you consider the square footage of just one side of a house not to mention 4. Then, don’t forget the primer because the paint apparently does not work by itself. I lugged heavy buckets of paint and primer back from the home improvement store, along with brushes and rollers and rags.

 

I just wanted a quick, cheap fix so I didn’t think siding was worth it. I landed on doing it myself.

 

WEEKEND ONE: SCRAPPING

When I first got out the heavy ladder I would grow to hate and got up close, the peeling was worse than expected. My job of scraping the peeling paint just increased. I came to find that scraping is a harder chore than it looks. I spent a full weekend scraping the two sides alone.

 

WEEKEND TWO: PRIMING

The priming took another weekend of climbing up and down the infernal ladder. It seemed like every time I came down I would see a spot I missed. After buckets, brushes, rollers, and sore leg muscles, I got the priming finished.

 

WEEKEND THREE (AND FOUR): PAINTING

When the actual painting finally began, it took another weekend to paint the house, and another yet to paint the trim and fix my mistakes. By now I had paint on almost every window and ruined two pairs of old sweats. The end result looks…decent. It looks like a hapless homeowner went cheap.

 

The investment may be more, but next summer we are having our house wrapped with vinyl siding. To paint or not to paint…I choose not!

 

WHAT I LEARNED

The cost of vinyl siding is more than paint, but once it is installed there’s nothing left to do. Take the hose to it once in a while to clean it off. It doesn’t ever rot or peel. And the insulation they install underneath it adds R-value to the walls. The investment may be more, but next summer we are having our house wrapped with vinyl siding. It will add significant value to the place, but I will be most thankful for not having to climb that ladder again.

Scott

Okay, maybe I’m a bit biased, but I have seen the benefits of new windows
both personally and professionally for over 22 years and I wish you could
hear the number of times clients say they love their new windows.

Having installed windows for over two decades, I understand the need for
windows as a practical necessity, but that people love them?! This got me to
thinking about my shopping habits. Whenever I buy a product that makes
my life more productive, saves me time, or is just plain cool (iPhone), I

tend to love those products myself.  In fact, I would venture to guess most
Americans love shopping because it gives us a great feeling.

Whether it’s an impulse item or something that you spent weeks researching
like a treasure hunt, shopping is fun; and when you find the right product
and the right people to do business with it can be a blast! How many times
have you told a friend about a purchase that you made? We all do this, and
it’s fun to tell the story about how we got our new products. It goes
something like this:

Me: Hey Derek, guess what? I’m calling you on my new iPhone 4s!
Jealous aren’t you?!

Friend: Dude its 5 in the morning! Are you mental?!!

Okay, bad example! But it does show how excited we can get to share
something that is important to us. It’s like when your kid runs up to you
and says, “Daddy, Daddy! I just lost a toof! Can I have a quarter?” (or
whatever the going rate for a tooth is at your house). You can’t help but
smile and ask for the evidence; “Yup, that’s a tooth. Here’s your quarter.”
Then that ADD-riddled child runs off all excited to tell his siblings that
he just got a quarter (and if your kids are anything like mine, they start
to work loose other teeth, whether they’re ready or not!).

So the answer to the question: Should I buy new windows? is YES! If you can
afford them and they’re something you want…or better yet, if you can
justify it with a need (“Um, honey, we really NEED new windows…”). Do a
bit of research (check out the Customer Complaint Summary at the BBB) and
ask around. Above all, enjoy the experience!  Oh! And be sure to tell a
friend!!

Abram Letkeman