§ 02.05Windows + glass — TX + OH
Most window calls are not a full replacement. Fog is a glass swap. Drafts are a sash. A stuck sash is hardware. A rotted sill is the only one that needs the whole unit. We walk every opening, run the sashes, check the seals, and tell you which fix you need.
Five symptoms cover almost every window call we get. Four of them are a repair, not a replacement. We walk every opening, decide row by row, and tell you which fix you actually need before we say a word about brands. The numbers below are the real bands, not bait pricing.
The insulated-glass-unit seal failed. Argon escapes, room air seeps in, water vapor settles between the panes.
The frame is almost always sound. We replace the IGU and reuse the existing sash and trim — under $400 a window, no painter back to touch up the casing.
Weatherstrip is compressed, sash balance lost tension, or perimeter caulk failed at the brick mould.
Almost never a replacement. Strip + lubricate runs an hour per unit; the perimeter recaulk is the real fix on most TX retrofits.
Spring balance broke, balance shoes wore through, or the jamb liner pulled loose at the head.
On a vinyl unit under 15 years old, hardware. On a wood double-hung older than 20 years, the cord pulleys are gone and the jamb liner is the real issue — often the unit goes.
Pan flashing was missed at install or sill nosing held water against the wood. Once the sub-frame goes soft, the sash will not square again.
The only one of the five that actually warrants a full window. We cut back to sound framing, sister in pressure-treated lumber, re-flash the opening, then set the new unit. Skip it and the next install leaks at year three.
A summer hailstorm in TX or a spring squall in OH. Dents read as deferred maintenance even when the glass is fine.
Re-screen runs under $120. If the storm caused it, the whole line item rides the roof claim — same deductible, no second visit.
Glass is the part of the window that actually does the work. Below is the plain-English version of the spec sheet — visible light through the glass, how well it holds room temperature, how much summer sun comes through. We make the recommendation on the walk-through; the right choice in Dallas is not the right choice in Cleveland.
For period-correct restorations only
A single sheet of glass. The way windows were built before 1985. Useful only when the house is on a historic register and the trim profile is irreplaceable.
The default on every install we sell
Two panes, an argon-filled gap between them, and a microscopic metal coating ("low-E") on the inside surface that reflects heat back into the room in winter and out of the room in summer. The standard from Andersen, Pella, ProVia, Marvin.
Worth it on the Cleveland north-facing wall
Three panes, two argon gaps, two low-E coatings. Heaviest and most expensive. The math works in cold-climate winters where heating dominates the energy bill — Cleveland and Akron, not Dallas. We will tell you when you actually need it.
VT = visible-light transmittance (more = more daylight). U-factor = heat-loss rate (lower = warmer in winter). SHGC = solar-heat-gain coefficient (lower = cooler under TX sun). Numbers above are NFRC-rated package medians from Andersen, Pella, ProVia, and Marvin spec sheets.
Window installs do not fail at the unit. They fail at the wall behind the unit—a missed pan flashing, a tapered shim under a fastener, a perimeter caulk that cracks at year three. Below is the rail we hold every job to. Photographable, checkable, the same in Dallas and Cleveland.
Every rough-opening width and height. Sash operation. Seal condition. The trim profile around the window (the brick mould, the casing, the sill nosing). Whether the housewrap tape is still tacky behind that trim. The diagnostic walks the house, not the catalogue.
We pull the unit, photograph the rough-opening, probe the sill plate, and call the homeowner before the new unit goes in if rotted framing changes the scope. Surprises that cost money are surfaced before the surprise compounds.
Pan flashing is the bathtub under the window. Without it, the first wind-driven rain in a Texas spring or an Ohio thaw runs straight onto the framing. It costs $14 in butyl and 20 minutes of labor; the post-install leak it prevents costs $4K in drywall and trim.
Plumb in two planes. Level on the sill. Square diagonal-to-diagonal within an eighth. Fasteners through the nailing fin or jamb shims per manufacturer pattern — Andersen, Pella, ProVia, Marvin all spec it differently and we follow the spec, not a generic pattern.
The trim is what the buyer sees from the curb. Profile matched. Joints back-caulked, then face-caulked with an elastomeric rated for 25-year flex (Sashco Big Stretch, OSI QUAD MAX). Reads white at year five; no painter back to chase a hairline crack at the south reveal.
Every unit cycles open. Every lock catches. Trim primed and two-coated to match the existing color. Site swept, drop cloths rolled, the offcuts hauled. We do not leave you with a screen leaning against the garage or a drywall-dust trail.
§ 12Continue the manual — related to this page
§ 03.08Remodeling
The board you see is one of seven layers.
Vinyl, LP SmartSide, and James Hardie — scored against your wall, your climate, and how long you plan to own. Sheathing first, wrap and tape next, rainscreen behind LP, then board, trim, and finish.
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§ 03.10Remodeling
Same paint, four walls, four different jobs.
Two-coat exterior paint scoped per elevation — Sherwin-Williams Duration on the south and west, Resilience on the north, Aura on premium east walls, limewash on stone and brick. Real prep, UV-stable caulks, climate window honored.
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§ 02.01HVAC
Half the no-cool calls are a duct problem.
A 25 Pa pressurized leakage test takes 20 minutes and tells you in CFM how much air your duct system is losing. Cheap fix before expensive one.
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§ 01.06Roofing
A second opinion you can audit.
Seven-checkpoint walk, photos with the report, severity 1–5 on each finding, plain-language scope. Written PDF inside 24 hours. We won't turn the report into a sales call.
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§ 04.01Programs
Your storm. Your scope. Your carrier's check.
Fifteen years on the carrier side. Documented loss, written scope, adjuster meeting on-site. Out-of-pocket: deductible only.
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§ 06Reach the dispatch desk
The carpenter who would do the work walks every opening, runs every sash, checks every seal, and tells you — row by row — which units repair and which units replace. You leave with a real scope. The price comes after the diagnostic, not before.
(214) 578-9961