New Bay Window: U-factor not met, Inspector says need new glass, will argon maybe meet new code?

[LopezBart]

In case people are wondering why these requirements exist for replacement/remodeling windows, it's interesting. The lifetime of a house (and windows) has a much longer tail than more "consumable" products such as appliances and cars, and thus the persons incentivized to save money buying less efficient components are often not the ones who will pay for the increased energy costs over the long term. For rental housing, that separation is immediate, of course; the landlord puts in cheap windows and the tenant pays the heating bill. The same is true for house built on spec or as part of a development.

 

[egdede]

Forgiveness is easier to get than permission. Install it and never call for the inspection....Remember…the ***** of consequences rarely arrives lubed….

I'd vote for permission, y'alls permit process must be really bad to be worse than than the unlubed ***** of consequences?

 

[loganb]

I'd vote for permission, y'alls permit process must be really bad to be worse than than the unlubed ***** of consequences?

For me for work purposes when doing window replacement in a "like for like" scenario about half the AHJ's dont want a permit, of the others several want a permit always, the other only want it if the replacement is in a bedroom so they can confirm egress compliance.

Like for like permits like this are generally a straight administrative fee and auto approved ...fill out the request, pay the money and move forward.

If we get caught without a permit it's generally a fine of 3 to 4x what the permit would have cost and possibly a stop work order until you get all paperwork in line.

For permits that actually require drawings and a review the leadtime can easily be 6 to 7 weeks once submitted to the city and revisions start the clock all over, so getting caught on one of those mid project and being forced to stop and file for permits *****. The larger the scale of work, the harder it generally is to get thru without a permit.

 

[Chevy-SS]

HOME DEPOT COMES THROUGH WITH 50% DISCOUNT!!

For those still reading: Home Depot came through for me. Today I went and paid for new inserts to replace the non-compliant ones. Total cost was $1,268, but Home Depot gave me 50% off, so I actually paid $678 for a whole set of fully compliant inserts. All in all, I thought this was a pretty fair deal. Now I'm 100% legit, which is where I'd prefer to be, but I wish the process was more foolproof.

Many thanks for all the assistance and comments, especially @loganb , much appreciated.............

 

[Caneil]

Nice that you were able to get compliance, but ...ouch!