It does sound like you believe the windows should be a first priority. You probably should go with your gut feeling. I'd like to thank you for posting pictures of your home as you re-hab it. I've driven by your neighborhood countless times and I always wondered what the houses looked like inside. They always looked cool and comfortable in the summer. Must be the overhangs and the decorative cement block walls. I love that MCM look. I even have some Heywood-Wakefield furniture that would fit right in. Best wishes for a smooth project (yeah right) no matter how long it takes. It will look great.

I would say the opposite. It sounds like the windows could be replaced independant of everything else later but the things you'd have to skimp on now, like built in appliances, would be much more difficult to change out later.

Invest in the structure and fixed items that can't be replaced easily. Windows, stucco, bathrooms.

If you don't cook, why get Miele ovens and Gaggneau to begin with? Simply for looks? For the neighbors? If you must have something to keep your take-out left overs cold or to boil water on definitely go with CL items like your fridge or Ikea. Ikea's appliances tend to have a more modern look, but cost less than the fancier euro models. A bonus is they no longer have their name splashed across the front. So unless someone opens up your oven and looks at the writing inside, no one would be the wiser.

Not MCM, but here's my Ikea oven:

Upgrade later when you have the cash and craigslist the old ones. Go cheaper on the more easily replaceable items that are not built in, like faucets or hardware, even countertops. Consider going with butcher block (Ikea again) instead of the marble. These counters aren't usually glued or siliconed down like other types, so they're easier to swap out later. Check out brickmanhouses's counters stained with india ink. Although hers are in a farmhouse, the black stained counters could look very sleek and MCM too when paired with walnut cabinets. Hold off on the backsplash. If you don't cook, there's no worry of splashing food or oil onto it. Also, you won't damage it later when you finally put in the marble.

You should leave yourself enough room in your budget for "GOK". G** Only Knows. Especially on a whole house that's 53 years old.

Just my 2 cents.

the windows can wait.
Either six months until you are more certain, or a lot longer.

4 bathrooms and a kitchen are your priorities.

post in the Building a House forum.

Ditto. Invest in infrastructure first. Work with your architect to develop a 2 or 3 year timeline, so that none of the work you do first will need to be ripped up down the road.

Make sure you coat the windows with UV protection!

I would just have a makeshift kitchen now, myself. I would do the master bathroom as the first interior space, so that I have somewhere to hide when the remodel seems overwhelming.

I'd leave the windows for later - much easier to replace than built-in kitchen appliances. I also agree with other posters - why expensive appliances if you don't cook - seems like a waste of money unless you're planning to sell soon. Also, Miele ovens have been having temperature problems lately - see other threads, you might consider other brands.

The other advantage of waiting to do the windows is that you'll find out if you really need to do it. If the overhangs are that large, the sun may never hit the windows in the summer at all. Other folks have survived living with those windows for 50 years so far, another year won't hurt.

Or are they actually rotten or otherwise at the end of their life?

One suggestion--if you are sure you will have $ saved up within the year or so (for appliances), you could inquire about 1 year (or more) interest-free financing.

With the exception of mortgage and car loans, DH and I really don't take out loans, and we pay our bills in full each month. However, we took advantage of interest-free financing during a promotion at Sears when we purchased our washer and dryer back in 2003 (forget why), and then either set aside money in our budget each month, or made a set payment to Sears each month (I forget which, but end result was the same--washer and dryer were paid off within the year, with no interest charges).

When we reno'd our kitchen, we had money saved up and we paid for everything as we went along (via credit card, paid bill in full each month as I mentioned, or by check when we had to--tried to use the credit card when we could to accumulate miles!). Our reserve of funds for the reno was pretty low at the end and we had a backsplash awaiting its tile, and a built-in fridge to order. I didn't want to lose out on the tile guy, nor did I want to wait 6 months to a year for our built-in refrigerator. Although there was no mention of interest-free financing at the appliance store (where we had purchased our other appliances), I figured there was no harm in asking. They extended the financing and we were able to purchase the fridge at that time. We then paid it off the same way we did the washer and dryer, and we were able to use the reno cash we had at the end of the reno to pay the tile guy.

How old are those windows? It would make perfect sense in your climate to ensure proper insulation. It will save you good money on your energy bills. If you purchase Energy Star products, you even get a tax credit. And I agree with kathec - why not find less pricey alternatives (at least for now) for your ovens/range if cooking isn't a priority. More money saved for the built-in fridge columns, the baths and the landscaping! :)

Windows are important. Do them.

But the other stuff? Remodeled bathrooms? High end appliances? New pool? These things are really not important. Don't get them if you can't afford them. Just plan on doing them someday when you are financially secure enough to do it.

Most people don't have those things and do just fine.

Is this a home for you and your family? A home for just you? An investment property? I couldn't begin to think about renovation priorities without being clear on those questions. (Forgive me if these questions have been answered elsewhere.)

"replace the single pane glass now before summer hits here in Arizona"

that's the house in the 'well known' area in north Phx - right?

do the windows/glass. the overhangs won't keep the a/c inside - or the heat out. it'll beat down on the over hang and be an oven. what you save on your a/c can go toward finishing inside...

and check for energy credits available.

Can you sew? You can help insulate the windows with light-colored (reflecting back out) drapery, perhaps of some kind of gauzy or sheer or linen fabric. My inlaws had a wall of thick single pane windows in Minnesota MCM house (yea, facing north, an incredible heat loss in 1960s) but the floor to ceiling light colored drapery really made a difference.

Also, you might want to have some kind of more thermal units, perhaps one of the new kinds of insulating blinds. You can open them after the sun is gone and in strong sun time of day some allow soft light infiltration to prevent the cave syndrome.

Kathec said what I would have if I had been here first. Scour CL, keep it simple, but do the structure right. Do enough to get by in the kitchen. If you rarely cook, then it can wait.

Do the windows! We moved into our 23 yr. old house about a year ago. All of our hardwood floors are damaged by the sun with our single paned glass windows. We replaced the roof and all 32 windows and 3 sets of sliders. We are so much more comfortable in the house. And our utility bills are so much lower.
Anyway, getting the kitchen done now and we don't have the budget we had hoped to, but are staying within it and without regret.

Do the windows -- you can simplify the kitchen and still have it read high end. Maybe consider the single island rather than the double. You can do a nice counter depth frig instead of the build in.

You have an amazing space -- people will be wowed by the glass first and foremost. (Especially if it keeps the house cool.

Houses have thermal mass.

"Do you all think this is a wise choice?" in a kitchen design forum.

rockybird, I saw a few of your other posts including one that led me to 199 photos in your Photobucket account.

I don't have time to research your other posts (there are many) sufficiently to establish more than a hunch, but I think something is "off". I notice that you are not asking anything on the Build forum at any time. I notice also that you already had this house last summer. But you wrote today "... I dont really know if the single pane will be so bad, though, as there are HUGE overhangs. Other things in that need to be done include:-redo 4 baths, paint/restucco ext., new pool and decking, landscaping. Of all these, it seems the windows and kitchen should be done first. ...." Yet your photos show finished bathrooms. It get curiouser and curiouser.

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I want to say thanks you for all your replies. I am still considering windows as the best option and appreciate the advice to cut back on appliance costs. I am re-thinking my appliance choices but really want that gaggenau cooktop. Although I dont cook now, I hope to pick it up at some level when I move in. As a new physician, I am hoping things will settle down enough with work and the house to do some cooking eventually.

Kathyquiltz, if you are ever in the neighborhood, please feel free to stop by and see the house! Unfortunately, most of the homes in this neighborhood are being torn down to make room for McMansions.

desertsteph - I dont know if it's a well known neighborhood, but you as an arizonan understand my fear of summer heat and utility bills.

daviddro- LOL! You are right! This is one big elaborate hoax! How clever of you! Keep sleuthing, maybe you will find some more information about me and bust the case. No, there are NO finished bathrooms. No toilets (although I have 4 toto's waiting to be installed). Until I decide on how to do the baths, I left two showers standing and I hope they work. All else is gutted. I did splurge on a concrete ramp sink so there will be a working sink for guests and bought a second temporary concrete sink off cl for the master, which will eventually be gutted and expanded. Perhaps the finished baths you are viewing are in my other property? Yes, I did purchase the house last summer, but what of it? Believe it or not, people do run into contractor issues (the flooring guy is on week FIVE on fixing the concrete floor. If you remember from my other posts you have searched, the scoring lines were crooked and I moved the ducts). And you trying taking a project on like this working 60-80 hours a week on a budget as a single person. Lastly, I dont know anything about the build forum nor did I know it existed, although I have posted on the window forums several times. Feel free to search for me there under "rockybird."

Regarding the window replacement:

You mentioned you might get the single panes done before the heat arrives but that there is a deep overhang. If you haven't lived in the house during the summer, I'd wait and see how much sun and heat gain you actually have to contend with. My late Mother designed a beautiful MCM house. She carefully calculated the exact angle of the sun in both winter and summer. During the winter the sun reached almost to the back wall of the south facing rooms (deliberately not quite all the way in order to avoid sun on the full wall of bookcases). But she also made sure that due to the precisely-sized deep overhang the sun never directly penetrated into the house in the summer, limiting unwanted heat. It worked perfectly as she planned; perhaps your building is also that way and you don't need to have additional protection. If reflected heat is a problem, then consider changing the surface just outside to be less absorbtive.

A little study of the geometry of seasonal local sun angles would help you know now, or you could wait and see. Or you could contact a solar panel installer who will probably have a special tool used to calculate annual solar possibility. That would give you the answer, too.

I admire your house!

L