Best $20 I Ever Spent?

So the plumber came over on Monday to deal with the Memorial Day Weekend Fiasco. By the time he got here, the drain was running again, albeit slowly. He said that often the weight of water sitting in the sink will push a clog through; that was probably what happened. He applied some Magical Crystals, which fizzed their way through the drain and forthwith, presto-changeo! The drain was running just fine.

Asked what I owed him, figuring it would be about $65.

“Oh,” says he, “how about enough to cover my gas?”

So I gave him twenty bucks.

While he was here, we got to chatting about the late, great SWAT team adventure and I remarked as to how I wanted to change out all the sliding doors to get something more secure, because two of them don’t even latch.

He looked at me kinda funny and said, “Why would you do that? You’re already doing the best thing you can do to secure a sliding door: dropping a stick or metal bar in the slider groove.

“Doesn’t matter how good the door’s latch is. To get in, all you’ve got to do is take a rock or a hammer, break the glass, and open the door.”

Hm.

Well, one of the doors is extremely not low-E. Even on a reasonably mild day and even though no direct sunlight ever hits that door, the ambient temperature outdoors will make the glass feel warm to the touch. Explains a lot about why the bedroom is hotter than a two-dollar cookstove by about 4:00 p.m.

And the one that came with the house has a pane of something that doesn’t even seem to be glass. Plastic? Did Superlite make sliding tinfoil doors with plastic panes???? It’s cheesy and it looks cheesy and its decrepit and I’d really like to be rid of it.

The third, in the dining room, does possess a functioning latch. Though it’s not my favorite color or style, its glass doesn’t get especially hot in the summer and it works just fine. Sooooo….

Why am I doing this?

Why, instead of replacing all three doors with expensive fancy white wide-rail vinyl sliders, why not keep the narrow, dark-framed dining-room sliding door and then…and then and then…

Get two narrow-rail Simonton doors, which not only happen to be cheaper and better reviewed than Milgard but which also come in a wider range of colors. Order them in “bronze” on the outside to match the existing dining-room door and “tan,” which is the darkest interior color. This would come close enough in appearance to the existing door as to not be too annoying, I’d get low-E doors with the best cheesy latches available on any sliding door product, and it would cost ONE. hell. of. a. lot. less.

For the saving, I’ll bet I can replace that last bedroom window and still come out ahead. Or at least have enough to hire a painter to spiff up the interior.

That twenty bucks on the unnecessary plumber’s trip was probably the best twenty dollah I ever spent!