Family Owned, Family Run

Have you ever wondered why we call the floors above the ground level  stories ? For as long as I can remember, I have taken this vernacular without question. Then, as I was preparing some paperwork for our crew, drawing up a floorplan for a multi-level house, I wrote down  2nd story  for the second floor. My wife was nearby, and I said out loud as though she was already in my head,  "Why do we call a floor a story?" 

She stopped what she was doing, laughed, then said, "I've never thought about it." 

Amazing how we go through life accepting phrases or idioms without questioning them. I know that's how I am. So, I looked into it and consulted the greatest scholarly resource available. The Internet. As one might imagine, there are many different answers from many different sources. 

One site said that during the middle ages, in the era of kings and queens, each floor of a castle was designated as a "storey" (store-y), because the rooms above stored items such as food and various supplies. You may be wondering, what does this have to do with a window company? It doesn't. That's why I rejected this boring, potentially right answer in favor of, what I imagine is, the truth. 

For there is another potential reason we call floors stories, and it has to do with windows. 

That's right. Back during the middle ages, windows were designed with words or pictures, all depicting a story. The stories were told by floor. So the first floor windows would be the first story, and the second floor windows would be the second story. 

Oftentimes, when we do work in homes with families, children will place stickers upon their windows or on sliding glass doors. They mark their home with a story of their own for all who pass to engage in the narrative. Though it might not have been done intentionally,  those children are entering into a grander, historical narrative connected to the origins of windows as storytellers. 

The PGT logo is etched into every piece of glass, and though it is not as artful in nature as those in medieval times, it still tells a story. It speaks of a family willing to invest in their home, to preserve energy, block out unwanted sound, and protect from coming storms. 

A Better View, becomes a part of that story the moment one reaches out to measure the windows and doors at their home. Everyone has a story to tell. It will be our honor to become a small piece of yours.