I've got to quickly ready my fixer-upper for resale, so I'm suddenly switching to general contractor mode to do a lot of the things that I've been meaning to get done. Among these tasks is replacing the windows. This morning, I recieved an estimate from one company, who offered a price for their self-manufactured windows with argon and a product they sell from another manufacturer, without. I'm also expecting another estimate this evening or in the morning from another fellow, who buys windows off-the-rack and I'm pretty sure, based on our conversation, his doesn't include argon. The bid that I have on-hand is about $1500 less for the windows without argon. There's also a difference in frame-width, so the argon isn't the only difference, but the salesman says that his windows have an R-value of 3.3 and the other company is around 2.8 and the literature says the argon-free has a U of .34 and an SHGC of .35, while the argon is .30 and .21, respectively. My instinct is that because I'm not going to be living in the house, I probably should go with the lowest bid (from a reputable company), but I've never bought a house with dual-paned windows or argon gas. Does anyone have any opinions or experience about whether, if I were to go for the argon, it'd have any effect on the eventual purchase price or the appraised value of the property? As I told my wife on another subject, I feel that anyone looking to buy the place will offer down in $5k or $10k increments, so the $1500 might not result in a bid-down, but if it resulted in a higher appraised value and a different starting price, then that might be another matter, altogether. Thanks in Advance

I need to install a pre-hung door into an existing wall with metal studs but I am not exactly sure of how to start. I have done wood framing for a door for a new wall but not with an existing wall with metal studs. The door that I am going to be hanging will be a 30in Hollow Core door from Home Depot. Should I use wood or metal studs? Should I just cut the drywall to the size I need for the door then install the studs in-between the two sides of the walls or should I cut the drywall back to the last studs that do not need to be removed then do the framing for the door? Thanks in advance.