Frequently Asked Questions - Windows & Doors in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Straight answers on pricing, timelines, brands and warranties for Fort Lauderdale window and door work, written for homeowners who'd rather call than click. Dale Kessler and the TruePane team have put this together so you know what to expect before the first truck shows up.
Pricing & Cost FAQs
Replacement windows in Fort Lauderdale generally run $600 to $1,400 per window installed, with the final number depending on size, frame material, glass package and how much the existing opening needs repairing. Impact windows - which most Fort Lauderdale homeowners need for both storm protection and insurance discounts - sit at the higher end of that range. In neighborhoods like Victoria Park and Coral Ridge, we see salt-air corrosion on older aluminum frames that adds prep time before the new unit goes in. Rather than a guess from a website, you should get a written line-item quote. Estimates are free, and the number we give is the number you pay.
A new front door in Fort Lauderdale typically costs $1,800 to $4,500 installed, depending on the material, glass configuration and whether the frame needs rebuilding. Fiberglass and steel entry doors with impact glass run higher because the door slab, the threshold and the sidelites all need to be rated and anchored to the same wind-load standard. We regularly see older homes in Sailboat Bend and Riverside Park with frames that have drifted out of square over decades - a quick slab swap won't seal correctly on those. The honest answer is a free in-home measure and estimate. No charge, no obligation.
Yes, impact windows in Fort Lauderdale run roughly 35 to 50 percent more than standard non-impact units with similar dimensions. The cost comes from the laminated glass, the heavier aluminum or vinyl extrusions and the hardware that has to hold the sash together when debris hits it. Fort Lauderdale building codes in the wind-borne debris zone mean most replacement work on the east side of US-1 has to be impact-rated anyway. The long-term offset is real, though: most homeowners see a meaningful drop in windstorm insurance premiums once the installation is documented and submitted to the insurer. We handle that paperwork.
No, not with TruePane. We quote fixed pricing on a written line-item estimate before any work begins, and we do not issue change orders unless you ask for something different or we uncover a structural problem we couldn't have seen during the estimate. Fort Lauderdale concrete block homes sometimes hide rot or termite damage in a buck frame that only appears once the old window comes out. If that happens, we stop, explain what we found, put a number on the fix and get your sign-off before touching anything else. You'll never get a surprise bill at the end. Call (954) 280-4413 and ask for Dale Kessler's team - the estimate is a fixed number, not an opening bid.
Yes, estimates are free across Fort Lauderdale, from Imperial Point to Shady Banks and everywhere in between. We come to the house, measure every opening we're quoting, check for square and plumb issues and put the numbers on paper in a line-item format. You see the cost of the windows, the cost of the doors, the labor and any permitting as separate figures. No charge for the visit, no pressure on the follow-up. When you're pricing a window and door project, the free estimate is the only way to know what the job actually costs. Phone (954) 280-4413 and we'll get it scheduled.
Service & Process FAQs
It starts with a phone call and a free in-home measure. We assess every opening, discuss frame material and glass options, and give you a written quote. Once you approve, we order the units - most Fort Lauderdale impact-rated windows take three to six weeks from the factory. Installation day is typically one to two days for a full house, depending on the count. We remove the old sashes and frames, set the new units square and plumb, flash and seal them and haul away the debris. The final step is a walk-through with you and, where a permit was pulled, the municipal inspection. We don't leave until you're satisfied and the opening is cleaned up.
Most full-home window replacements in Fort Lauderdale take one to two days of installation, with a factory lead time of three to six weeks before that. A typical 1,500 to 2,500 square foot single-story home with fifteen to twenty windows usually installs in two working days with a two-to-three person crew. Larger homes or jobs with extensive frame repair can stretch to three or four days. We schedule the work and tell you the dates up front - and when we say we'll be there, we're there. The permit inspection, if one is required for your neighborhood, happens in the days after installation.
Yes, Fort Lauderdale requires a building permit for window and door replacement, particularly for impact-rated products in the wind-borne debris zone. The permit verifies that the products you're installing carry the correct design pressure rating for your home's location and that the anchoring methods meet the Florida Building Code. We pull the permit, schedule the inspection and make sure everything passes. Some smaller repairs, like replacing a single pane of glass in an existing frame, may not require a permit, but any full window or door opening replacement almost always does. We'll tell you exactly what your project needs during the free estimate.
We repair first wherever repair is the right call. A fogged insulated glass unit can often be replaced without removing the frame, a broken balance or lock can be swapped, and a rubbing sash can usually be re-trued. If the frame itself is rotted, pitted or so far out of square that the glass will never seat properly, replacement is the honest recommendation. We'll always give you the straight answer and the numbers on both options. Our workmanship warranty applies to repairs just like it does to replacements. Call (954) 280-4413 and describe what's happening - we'll tell you if it's worth a service call or needs a full replacement quote.
Yes, removal and haul-off are included in every replacement quote. The crew takes out the old sashes, frames and glass, loads them into our truck and leaves your home cleaner than we found it. We work with drop cloths inside where the work area crosses your floors, and we sweep the outside perimeter before we leave. In Fort Lauderdale homes with established landscaping right up against the house - common in neighborhoods like Rio Vista and Colee Hammock - we take extra care moving old material out without trampling beds. Nothing is ever left for you to haul to the curb.
Brands & Parts FAQs
We work with manufacturers whose products hold up to the South Florida environment, including PGT, CGI, CWS and ES Windows. These are all lines we've watched perform in Fort Lauderdale for years - through hurricane seasons, salt air and punishing summer sun. We quote them side by side on paper so you can see the difference in glass packages, frame construction and price without a sales pitch. The right brand for your house depends on the elevation, the wind-load requirement and your budget. We'll show you the options and let the numbers make the case.
PGT and CGI are both Florida-based manufacturers of impact-rated windows, but they serve somewhat different segments of the market. PGT's WinGuard and related lines cover a wide range of aluminum and vinyl frame options at a broader set of price points, making them a frequent choice for whole-home replacement on a defined budget. CGI builds heavier commercial-grade frames, often specified where the design pressure requirements run higher - think direct coastal exposure in Fort Lauderdale Beach or Harbor Beach - or where an insurance carrier or lender requires a specific product certification. We quote both lines so you can compare the structural ratings and the price in the same format, side by side.
Yes, we replace glass in sliding doors, including fogged or failed insulated units and cracked tempered panels. The most common sliding door issue we see in Fort Lauderdale is a seal failure - condensation or haze between the panes that you can't wipe off from either side. The glass panel can often be replaced without replacing the entire door frame, provided the track, rollers and locking hardware are in serviceable condition. If the frame is racked or corroded from years of salt air, we'll tell you honestly and quote repairing the rolling hardware or replacing the door as the situation demands. A door that binds in the track is an opening out of true - and that's exactly the thing we fix.
The hardware we select for entry doors and French doors is chosen for corrosion resistance first, because Fort Lauderdale's salt air kills cheap hardware in a season or two. We use stainless steel multipoint locking systems and marine-grade hinges on exterior doors, and we match the finish to the rest of your home's existing hardware wherever possible. If you have a specific brand preference, we'll work with it, but we won't install hardware we know will rust and fail. A door lock that seizes up in August is not a job done right. Ask about hardware options when you call for the estimate.
Licensing & Insurance FAQs
Every pro working under the TruePane name is required to hold the license and insurance their state requires for window and door work, and Fort Lauderdale permitting requires a properly licensed contractor for any replacement that goes through inspection. We're happy to provide proof of both before you sign anything - you should never hire a window company that resists that request. Ask for the documentation during your free estimate and we'll have it ready. Work done unlicensed can void your window manufacturer's warranty and create problems when you sell the house. That's not a shortcut worth taking on a Fort Lauderdale home.
Yes, always. For any window or door replacement job in Fort Lauderdale, ask to see the license, check that it's active and confirm it covers the type of work you're hiring for. Florida's licensing system lets you verify a contractor's credentials online through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and we'd encourage every homeowner to do exactly that before signing a contract - with us or with anyone else. A legitimate contractor expects the ask and answers it without hesitation. If you get pushback, walk away. We'll show you ours at the estimate, no prompting required. It's part of a square deal.
Emergency & Response FAQs
We cannot provide 24/7 emergency response. Our hours are Monday through Friday 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM, Saturday 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM and Sunday 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM. If you've had a break-in or storm damage, phone us during those hours and a live coordinator will get you on the schedule as quickly as possible. For immediate overnight security, secure the area as best you can from the inside and keep children and pets away from broken glass. In a true emergency where your home is un-securable, contact local law enforcement or your homeowners insurance's emergency line for interim help. We'll get you a permanent fix through the proper channels.
You'll speak with a live coordinator when you call (954) 280-4413 during business hours, and that person will schedule your free in-home estimate directly with the local Fort Lauderdale team. We work from our real calendar, not a vague window, so you'll know the day and time of the visit before you hang up. The estimate itself is a single visit, and the written quote comes to you within a day of the measure. No call centers spinning your number around, no waiting for a corporate call-back. You talk to a person, and a person shows up to measure.
Yes, we schedule estimates and installations on weekends. Our hours are Monday through Friday 7:30 AM to 7:30 PM, Saturday 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM and Sunday 8:00 AM to 6:30 PM. For working homeowners, a Saturday morning measure or a weekend installation is often the only way to get it done, and we plan for that. Weekend slots fill more quickly during the fall and winter months when snowbirds are back in town, so if you're planning a project, it's worth calling a few weeks ahead. We'll find a time that works around your schedule, not ours.
Warranty & Guarantees FAQs
We work under the Keystone Standard: both warranty layers in writing, durations stated, 90 days on our workmanship, no arguing. The manufacturer's warranty covers the product - the glass seal, the frame and the hardware - for the term the manufacturer states, and we register that warranty in your name before we leave the driveway. Our workmanship warranty covers the installation itself: the anchoring, the flashing, the sealing and the square, plumb and true of the opening. If something we installed isn't right, we come back and fix it. No paperwork runaround, no arguing over the fine print.
Manufacturer warranties on impact windows from companies like PGT, CGI and CWS typically cover seal failure, glass defects and frame defects for stated periods that vary by product line. The critical piece is registration: if the warranty is not registered with the manufacturer, the coverage does not activate on the schedule it should. That's why TruePane registers both the product warranty and our workmanship warranty before the truck leaves your driveway. You get the paperwork in hand with the dates in writing. If a fogged unit shows up in year three, the fix is a warranty claim, not an argument.
The 90-day workmanship warranty is our written promise that the installation itself was done right: the window sits square and plumb, the sealant is applied correctly, the flashing keeps water outside where it belongs and the doors open and close without binding. If any of that fails within 90 days of the install date, we come back and make it right at no charge, no arguing. After 90 days, manufacturer warranties cover the product for the rest of their stated terms. We put both layers - durations stated - in writing on every quote and every final invoice. That's the Keystone Standard, and it's stamped on the paperwork from day one.
Yes, if it's within the manufacturer's seal-failure warranty period, a fogged insulated glass unit is a warranty claim on the product itself. The fog means the hermetic seal between the glass panes has failed and moisture has gotten inside - it's a manufacturing defect, not something the installer did wrong. Call (954) 280-4413 and tell us the brand and approximate install date. We'll look up your registered warranty, confirm the coverage and initiate the replacement through the manufacturer. You shouldn't pay out of pocket for a seal that failed prematurely, and with your warranty registered properly, you won't have to.
Many manufacturer warranties do transfer to a new owner, but the transfer has to be done through the proper paperwork within a set timeframe after closing. The specifics vary by product line - some transfer automatically, some require a fee or a notice period. If you're selling a Fort Lauderdale home with TruePane-installed windows or doors, call us and we'll walk you through what's needed for your exact products. An un-transferred warranty is a missed selling point. A documented, registered warranty with both layers in writing is a real asset when the home hits the market. And a home inspector who sees straight, square, properly sealed windows has less to write up on the report.
Clear the work area inside and out. Move furniture at least three feet from each window or door being replaced, take down pictures or wall hangings near the openings, and clear plants, patio furniture or other obstacles from the exterior side of each opening. If you have window treatments, remove them before our crew arrives or ask us to do it during the walk-through. We'll lay down drop cloths inside and sweep up outside, but the less you have to move on install day, the faster the job goes. For upper-floor windows, we'll need clear ladder access along that side of the house. A little prep saves a lot of time, and time is money on an install day.
Replacing everything at once is usually the more cost-effective path in Fort Lauderdale. You'll get better per-unit pricing on the materials, one labor mobilization instead of several, one permit instead of multiple and a single disruption to your household. Phasing makes sense when budget demands it, but the total project cost runs higher - and you'll live with the mismatch of new and old units in the meantime. The old windows are still leaking air and costing you in cooling load while you wait. If phasing is the only route, we'll help you prioritize the sides of the house that get the most sun and wind exposure. The free estimate will show you the numbers for both approaches.
A replacement window is sized to fit inside the existing opening and the existing frame, which means less demolition and a faster install. A new construction window includes a nailing fin or flange and gets fastened to the rough opening framing itself - meaning it's used when the wall is opened up, as in an addition, or when the existing frame is rotted past saving and must be cut out. In Fort Lauderdale's concrete block construction, most whole-home window work is replacement-style because the openings are set in the block and we're working in the existing openings. If we find frame damage during the measure, we'll tell you whether the job has shifted from replacement territory to needing full frame-out repairs.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving Fort Lauderdale since 2008.
Still Have Questions?
We are happy to help. Call us - same-day and after-hours emergency service available.
(954) 280-4413