Recently we had a member who saved $13,000 buying windows for his log home using a tip from our log home building class. Yes, he bought these windows for pennies on the dollar. Click on the thumbnail to the right to see the actual windows he purchased.
The windows he bought were used , and he said that they "looked practically brand new." They were made by Anderson Windows, a name brand manufacturer, and are part of their 400 Series.
The Anderson 400 series is completely clad, providing protection for the wood frame even if the windows are left open when it's raining. The exterior cladding is vacuumed formed, so there are no miters / seams (common failure points). In fact, the Anderson 400 series of windows are noted for having very good casements. They also use high performance Low E-2 insulated glass, making them very energy efficient.
If you go through 'traditional' retail avenues it is easy to spend $10,000 to $20,000 on just windows. We've had members spend as little as $100 getting all the windows they needed for their log home using tips that we cover at our log home building class.
In fact we are so dedicated to the principles of debt free living, frugality, re-purposing, recycling and free-cycling, that we dedicate a section of class to just that topic. It is chocked full of awesome tips and tricks on how to get good deals on building materials. We also maintain a database in our members only forum, where our former students can share their resources about great deals when they find them. Just recently we had a member find all the insulation for the roof of his log home at a cost of almost nothing. The price was so unbelievably low, and the amount of available insulation was so great, that after he got his insulation he helped many other Association members get the exact same deal. It is that kind of spirit, a mix of frugality and helpfulness, that drives our Association and our members.
