Window Replacement in Florida

Replacing the windows on a Florida house is not the same job it is anywhere else. The heat comes in through the glass rather than around it, the code cares about what a two by four does to your window at 130 miles an hour, and your insurance carrier has an opinion about all of it. Most of what you read about windows online was written for a house in Ohio.

This is the short version of what actually matters here, and where to read more on each piece.

The four reasons people replace windows here

Storm protection. Comfort and cooling. Insurance. Noise and light. Energy savings are on that list, but they are usually not the biggest number, and we will not pretend otherwise.

• Impact protection. In parts of Florida it is required by code, not optional. Where it is not required, it is still the difference between plywood every August and doing nothing. Where impact windows are required
• Heat. In this climate the number that matters is SHGC, not the one the salesman leads with. What actually cuts the heat
• Insurance. Florida law requires carriers to give credit for opening protection. Getting it depends on details most homeowners find out too late. How the wind mitigation credit works
• Cost. Two quotes on the same house can differ by a factor of three and both be honest. What actually drives the price

The decisions you will have to make

A window quote is really four decisions stacked together, and a good installer will walk you through each one instead of handing you a single number.

• Impact glass, or standard glass plus shutters, or nothing. More on this
• Frame material: vinyl, aluminum, fiberglass or composite. Each behaves differently in this climate. More on this
• Window style and how it opens. This affects both price and how much air you actually get. More on this
• Full frame or insert. This one is buried in most quotes and it changes everything. More on this

Then there is who does the work

You can pick the right window and still end up with a leak, because in this trade the installation fails more often than the product does. Flashing, fastener pattern and the condition of the buck are what the inspector is looking at, and they are what nobody selling you a window wants to talk about.

That is the part we work on. Every company we refer you to has been through a seven point check covering license, insurance, permit history, lawsuits, complaints, corporate standing and their own contract, and we publish their complaint record next to their referral count. See what we check

Where to start

If you are early, read the impact and energy pages and figure out which of the four reasons above is really driving this for you. If you already know what you want, tell us your county and we will send it to installers there who passed.