My First House

The first house I ever had all to myself was one half of a duplex I rented in a cool, up-and-coming old town in Denver, called Littleton. I got this place a few months after starting my first real job following my graduation from college. In a way, this house was like a symbol of my newfound independence.

I had lived completely on my own once before, in a studio apartment that I had for about three years. However, a studio apartment just can’t compare to having a two-bedroom duplex (built in 1914, I might add) all to yourself.

Shortly before I moved into the apartment, the owners replaced all of the windows with modern vinyl (or were they composite?) windows. I did see a couple of the windows before they replaced them, and I can tell you they did need it -- the old wood frames were warped and the Virginia creeper had started coming in through gaps between the window frames and the wall.

Each replacement window had been measured and custom made to fit. I guess there’s not much else you can do with older homes, which have irregular window sizes. All of the windows were double hung windows. The patio doors, however, were not replaced.

I never appreciated how well those new windows worked at keeping the heat inside in the winter, and keeping it out in the summer, until I moved into my current home a year later -- also an old house, but with the original single-paned, wooden framed windows. It’s amazing how big a difference new windows can make!