Goldfinch Brothers Inc., the glass and glazing company that last year celebrated 118 years in business, plans on presenting the M and M of window treatments at this year’s Everett Home & Garden Show.
That is, the window manufacturers known as Milgard and Marvin.
“Our intent when we com
e to the home show is, it’s all about residential applications,” said Skip Crout, vice president of Goldfinch’s residential division.
When homeowners stop at the Goldfinch Brothers booth, they are more than likely thinking about retrofitting their home with double-pane or energy-efficient window, Crout said.
And when they talk to Crout, they are talking to someone who not only can guide them through the process, but someone who has walked the walk.
Crout said he recently retrofitted his home with new windows.
“We redid our whole home and basically we’re getting better energy efficiency, which is kind of the key nowadays with new systems because you do definitely improve the amount of energy you use, and the retrofit will help you stay warm or cool,” Crout said.
Another big selling point used to be that homeowners in the market to replace old windows with energy-efficient ones got a tax credit with a $1,500 value. That was in 2010. Today, however, that tax credit has dropped to about a $200 value, Crout said.
Though that selling point doesn’t pack the punch it once did, Crout can speak from his own example, besides touting the products, that retrofitting an older home still makes sense.
“My 1954 house was totally retrofitted and now we’ve seen a definite drop in our energy costs,” Crout said.
Retrofitting a home with new windows is only one of the services Goldfinch Brothers can offer homeowners.
The company still does any odd replacement project, such as a broken window or an old sliding glass door.
For sliding glass doors, Goldfinch offers a variety, from a standard 6-foot door that slides open just 3 feet, to a door system that opens 24 feet wide with sliding doors that stack on top of each other.
The bigger system can run about $25,000; single, new smaller sliding glass door systems can cost under $1,000.
Even with the continuing recession, Crout said Goldfinch still sees customers who want a high-end window system.
The cost-conscious homeowner is out there, however. That’s the customer who may not want to do the whole home in new windows right now, but wants to see some savings and some added comfort to their living space.
“We have kind of a wide range of a customer right now,” Crout said.
Around since 1892, Goldfinch employs about 85 people, including more than 50 employees represented by various unions in the glass and glazing trades.
Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.
Goldfinch Brothers
Glass & Glazing, 2812 Rucker Ave., Everett; 425-258-4662, www.goldfinchbros.com/
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