He seems a little desperate and kinda bugging me with over friendliness which I imagine is because of his physical challenges, I'm guessing but he seems friendly and skilled enough and we'd be working together replacing doors and refinishing/painting that formica covered composite wood stuff the boxes are made of and replacing the (horizontal) particle board.

But I get the sense that you're thinking to go horizontal or even cheaper with the replacements. 

 https://www.alpinehomeair.comGOODMAN GPC1424H412 Ton, 14 SEER Self-Contained Packaged Air Conditioner, Dedicated Horizontal$1,834.00The 2.5 ton is $1871The 3 ton is $1886I used to buy these when I lived in California.

The strategy has been very good to me, and I'm a fan.Separate your construction costs into soft, horizontal and vertical components - soft for city fees, professional services , and holding/financing costs ... horizontal for any site prep, public improvements, and underground work ... vertical for foundation and everything on top of it. 

Tuftex UltraVinyl Corrugated Square Wave Panel) to cover it up (both vertically and horizontally - same height as the roof), so that it would still keep the sunlight in.

I had this issue and fixed it by replacing all the horizontals in the unfinished basement with cpvc piping.

There was a contractor that used to live next door to my friend that inspired the remodel - new kitchen and added horizontal square footage.Plans from the architect were drafted, turned into the city planner's for review, Comments were made, Architect corrected and then neglected - architect let them sit in his office for 5 months, finally turned back in and then the planning department moved and lost the plans.

TRUSTEE'S SALE OF 2061 ROYAL FERN COURT 12B TRUSTEE'S SALE OF 2061 ROYAL FERN COURT 12B Reston, VA 20191 In execution of a Deed of Trust in the original principal amount of $212,100.00, with an annual interest rate of 12.1500% from BRIAN DAVID BROWN dated August 26, 2005, recorded among the land records of the Circuit Court for the COUNTY OF FAIRFAX as Deed Book/Instrument # 17705 AT PAGE 2027, the undersigned appointed Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at public auction in the COUNTY OF FAIRFAX, on the courthouse steps at the front of the Circuit Court building for the County of Fairfax located at 4110 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Virginia on January 30, 2007 at 11:30 AM, the property with improvements to wit: APARTMENT NUMBERED 2061-12B, TYPE B-R, SOUTHGATE CONDOMINIUM, AS DESCRIBED IN THAT CERTAIN MASTER DEED ESTABLISHING A HORIZONTAL PROPERTY REGIME WITH ATTACHED PLATS DESIGNATING THE RELATIVE LOCATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF EACH APARTMENT RECORDED IN DEED BOOK 3912 AT PAGE 254, AMONG THE LAND RECORDS OF FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA, AND ANY AMENDMENTS THERETO HEREAFTER RECORDED, AS PERMITTED BY PARAGRAPH F.9 OF THE SAID MASTER DEED. and described in the above Deed of Trust.

The total project development cost is $6.8M, $1.2M for the land purchase and $5.6M for the horizontal and vertical development.

It had the wide horizontal aluminum windows(which were getting replaced anyway), and painted concrete block on the first floor and painted plywood T 1-11 siding on the second.