Wall speakers

I got a "designer's deal" from Cambridge Soundworks for their top-of-the-line in-wall speakers. Retailing at $200 a pair, I got these Ambiance 82's for $160. It fits perfectly in the gable wall created after raising the ceiling to the rafters. Speaker wires are routed to this room and to the family room.

Home office

As global headquarters for my burgeoning world-conquering business (yeah, sure), my home office had to be spectacular. While most any space in a typical house can be adapted to serve as a basic office, for me the criteria were proximity to an exterior door, relative privacy, space for occasional sitting clients and an efficient computer layout (criteria which are actually quite universal for any viable home-based, computer-dependent business).



The original living room was perfect for a makeover. It's right off the front door. It's an otherwise static 12 by 16 foot box that gets little use. The new bow window improved it dramatically. Gleaming morning sun, though controlled by the Pella slimshades, meant the computer displays had to face perpendicular. It was the only absolute. Besides that, the entire room design was a balance of flexibility, feasibility and fantastic features.

My needs also included a side layout (conference) table, lots of deep desktops (for large drawing sheets) and plenty of bookshelves. Mindful of the potential for a change in room function, I designed semi-modular components. They would simply be furniture pieces. In fact, I scaled back my original plans and went with simple same-height work surfaces all around (instead of lowering the printer table, for example). The built-in wall shelves can hopefully serve as general storage at some point in the future when I'm gone.

Next, raising the flat ceiling to a nice volume.

Bow window, part 4

(Continued from part 3.)

Day of total completion for the bow window... All glazing surfaces have been applied with Rain-X, which is an excellent surface treatment for all glass surfaces. The interior pine surfaces got a light sanding, a coat of wood primer, then two coats of latex enamel semi-gloss paint.
Pella has a nice fold-away crank feature and a convenient low-position locking lever that operates both latches simultaneously. The bugscreen has an extension knob that aligns with the slimshade adjustment knob. These are essentially triple-glazed units with the extra glazing panel over the slimshades. The fixed sashes have a U-factor of 0.27 (the lower the better) while the casement sashes are 0.30 — truly amazing performance. It's quite noticeable, too, like when standing at the window on a cold windy day or when a noisy vehicle drives by. This is truly a high-performance window.

Bow window, part 3

(Continued from part 2.) Finishing a bow or bay window with proper trimboards always require careful planning, detailing and precise cutting of all the pieces because there are a lot of angles. In fact, computer-aided drafting was essential.

For visual balance, I created a heavy bullnose wrap-around sill to add some "heft." It had to have good shadow lines. The profile took no less than three pieces. With so many odd-angled segments to cut, anything more elaborate was not practical. The half-round piece is a 2x redwood moulded with two passes on the router using a 3/4"-radius roundover bit. The skirt had to be tall enough for appearance as well as to create the proper drip to keep rain water out. The transition at the wall, to the side trim, was especially tricky. I had to use the Dremel tool there.

Luckily I had a large overhang. Framing up to the tail rafters was a lot easier than creating a new roof over the window. Weather protection is always a critical issue with protruding windows. I think mine turned out okay.



Caveats
Pella makes a good product. But they are a direct distributor (except for their limited Proline series, available at Lowes). This means you have to deal with Pella salesmen. For their San Francisco east bay team, I tend to hesitate in recommending Pella. After giving me my fantastic deal, they felt they had to skimp on normal service. Delivery of the windows came five weeks after their promised date (initial order was made in May!). Then the missing cable connection kit was nearly impossible to get. I had to twist some more arms. A factory dent on an interior wood surface became my own fix after waiting two months for nothing. Their only saving grace was a warranty-replacement of two glazing panels after six months with no questions asked. So beware. Or just pay full price.

Price comparisons
A vinyl bow window the same size would cost about $2,000 (Milgard). Installation costs of a bow window like this would be about $3,500, with unknown detail designs. So I estimate the "full retail" cost of the installed Pella bow to be about $6,800. I like to think I saved a ton of money, but I realize this is still a splurge.

Bow window, part 2

(Continued from part 1.)

The important parts of the detail are the cable connection (to top plate), insulation above the headboard (and below the seatboard) and attic ventilation. Three extra sill plates raised the window to align with those in the rest of the house.

Physically, the raising of the unit into position was purely "Archimedean" — using a standard hydraulic vehicle jack and some custom stacking blocks. Two guys held it from tipping over during jacking. When it was high enough, sliding into place was easy. The existing brick veneer precluded structural support from below, such as corbels or steel L-brackets. This meant the cables are the main support. For added safety, the factory headboard was screwed to the header beam and steel brackets were installed at the jambs.