New Replacement Windows

Building a Greener and Brighter Future

Cost is Always a Concern.

The cost of replacing windows, except for those that might consider themselves independently wealthy is always going to be a concern, and for the most of us it’s a major concern. There is no getting around it, quality windows cost money, and if your home has lots of windows, that relates to lots of money.

There are a lot of things to consider when talking about what the cost of replacing windows really is. The actual cost of the windows, when comparing apples to apples, shouldn’t be too different from area to area, but installation costs, if you have the work done by a contractor can vary significantly depending on where you live. There are usually three areas where you can expect to pay the highest prices for this type of work. Costal regions, major metro regions and extreme northern regions will usually demand the highest contracted cost for replacing windows.

Two of the areas, extreme northern and coastal areas require special considerations and usually have more stringent building code requirements for windows. Major metropolitan areas, demand higher contract labor costs simply because of the supply and demand aspect of qualified installers.

For the rest of the country the following usually holds pretty true as far as replacement windows cost goes. If the retail price of the window is $300 then you can expect to pay 1.25 times that amount for contractor installation per window. So if your window cost is $300 then you can expect to pay around $675 for the completed job done by a qualified window replacement professional.

Within that figure of $675 there are many things to consider. An average quality window that has a retail value of $300 is usually going to be of average size and moderate design, meaning not overly large or elaborately ornate. So if your particular windows or your personal taste require more then what might be considered average, then expect to pay more than what might be considered the average cost for replacement.

But the rule of thumb for the cost installed should hold true. Whatever the cost of the window is expect to pay 1.25 times that amount for quality professional installation. The average number of windows per home in the United States is around 10. This should make the average, cost using average windows around 6 to 7 thousand dollars. Using higher quality and more ornate windows one would think should only raise the cost of the window, not the labor, but that usually is never the case.

You can test this theory by pricing windows from a retail store such as Low’s or Home Depot, getting a feel for the average price of the windows you want to install. Once you have these figures well in mind, have a window contractor give you a bid on the entire job using the window models and brands you did your research on. Make sure to have information on both average or lower end windows and the more expensive higher quality windows of the same brand. That way you can compare the contractor pricing more readily.

Keep in mind that you may have to scale these figures a bit for the markup difference between your preferred retail outlet and contractor selling price. Just have the contractor price the windows to you separately in the bid and make the necessary percentage adjustments. Don’t be too concerned that you are checking these figures out. Doing this kind of research helps to keep contractors honest and keeps you from paying more then you should for the windows you want. A legitimate contractor should not mind that you compare his prices to anyone else. There is something else to be considered, if the bid is too high you should be able to spot this right away, but just as important if the bid is too low you should be concerned as well

Replacing windows is one area where DIY can pay big dividends, if you have the knowhow and the ability to replace your own windows, your savings could be considerable, even as much as 50% or more. The second advantage to the DIY method might be more important than the money you save. It’s pretty much a guaranteed given that you will know in advance how trustworthy the contractor is.