Maryland Glass Block

The windows in my basement were awful. They looked to be original to the 1952 house. The wooden frames were dry-​rotted, the glass single paned, and the storm windows stopped half an inch short of the edge. Two of them were also broken in some fashion, but just not worth repairing.
The man who came to do the estimate was straight-​forward, knowledgeable, nice, and not pushy. We chose «wavy» glass block. One thing I didn’t know to ask at the time was what the R-​factor of various choices was and whether one type was more secure than another. The wavy just looked best and offered a degree of privacy.
FYI: Maryland Glass Block is the only glass block place around that sells custom-​sized glass block windows you can install yourself ($ 99/​window if you install them yourself). Home Depot sells one size of pre-​made glass block windows for $ 99. No reason to go with Home Depot over Maryland Glass Block. Personally, I decided against installing them myself because one of my goals was to stop some leaking (air and water). As I didn’t have a strong understanding of how to install glass block windows, PLUS I knew those suckers would be heavy, I didn’t think I should chance it. (After watching two experienced men working together to level my windows, I knew I’d made the right choice.)
I got an estimate and then waited a whole year to decide to go ahead with the job. (I have been doing a lot of work on my house, so I had to get things done in the right order.) Maryland Glass Block stuck by their original estimate with no problem.
The installers were lovely. I had ordered two windows with vents and two without. Before cementing the windows in, one installer thought to double check with me if I really wanted a vented window in the laundry room. I said no. Then AFTER he had switched them (but before he had cemented them), I realized that the order was correct – I had indeed wanted the vented window in the laundry room. I felt so bad that I gave them a $ 30 or $ 40 tip. But they didn’t know that was coming and they were still so nice. They did a great job, too. They leveled the windows much better than I would have been able to do, cemented everything in cleanly, and took away all the mess of the old windows.
I’m glad I decided to put the vents in hidden places. They’re not the prettiest things. Honestly, I think the vents look a bit trashy if put in a living area. The pure glass block is kind of nice. Having a vent in the laundry room is helpful, though. And I like the idea of having another vent on the other side of the basement, should I need to air things out.
It’s been 6 months since they were installed, and the basement has been dry ever since. I also feel confident that this company would take care of things should something go wrong.