We had the great spot for adding a bay window in our California home. There was already a large window in the front room, which went down to just a few inches above the flooring and extended to almost the ceiling. Outside there was a lovely flowerbed, shrubs, and a great view of our law. It was just the spot to install a bay window.

The window was almost a perfect square and was 72 by 72 inches. We had been thinking about a bow window, but decided to go for a bay window instead. We though our house would look better with a bay window with three panels than with a bow window with multiple panels. We wanted to use the seat of the bay window for potted plants that were sitting on the ground in front of the current window. This would help us have more space and give a better appearance to our home. We though a lovely bay window curtain would also add just the right touch. We set off to go shopping.

I began to scope out plans for building our window after we decided that we would install a bay window. We looked through different books and magazines and also on the Internet for various plans. I found quite a number that had plans for how to build a bay window from scratch. I was also thinking that this might not be necessary, since most of the big window makers like Pella and Anderson make pre-assembled windows that are easy to build using a picture of a bay window and detailed instructions.

Nowadays most contractors won't build a bay window from scratch. It's not really that efficient when you can spend less money or the same and save lots of time using a pre-made window. Since the pros use these pre-assembled windows, we figured we could do the same for our house.

Before you decide to go it on your own with installing a bay window, you may want to hire a contractor. You can't do this job in one afternoon alone and you might need more than a whole weekend to complete it. Even if you don't get a contractor, make sure you have some strong help because the windows can be heavy.

To install the window you will need to have a hole in your house for a while, you should check out the weather reports and make sure about your timing. Since it can take a couple of days to complete this project then you don't want to have rain leaking in your house.

Check out the construction codes for your community. You may need to follow special rules or requirements. You might also need a building permit to do this work.