Replacement Window Cost: What does it cost to replace a window?

What does a window cost?  

You know you need to replace some windows but you really feel you need to get an idea of what windows cost before you let a sales guy into your home.   You do a quick web search, you call a few places, and find you aren’t really getting a straight answer.   Frustrating!     What does a window cost?   It seems like it should be a straight answer.  But it isn’t.   You wouldn’t call a car dealership and ask what a car costs would you?   The last time you wanted a house did you call a Realtor and ask what a house costs?   No – because with those purchases you’ve made them before and you understand that quality, options, brand, and features all make a difference in the bottom line price.

Guess what?  Windows are the same way.  {gallery}double hung{/gallery}

Sure, you can buy a window for $189 but you can also  buy a window for $1500 or more.   That is a wide range and not particularly helpful.  So when you call and ask us what a window costs we can't tell you.   We aren’t trying to be rude.   We need to understand what you’re shopping for so we can be helpful.   The answer to each of the questions below will impact the price of the window. 

How big is the window?

What style is the window?

Are you looking at vinyl, fiberglass, wood, aluminum clad, a composite or a mix?

Do you want the window unfinished, primed, stained, painted, an upgraded vinyl color?

Do you want double pane or triple pane glass?

Do you care about energy efficiency?  You can have air, argon or krypton in the panes of glass

How many coats of Low E do you want?

Which spacer do you want in the glass package?

Does the window need to be tempered glass or egress size to meet code?

Do want the glass obscured?

Do you want to upgrade your screen to a full screen or a smaller weave?

Do you want grids or etched glass?

What is the condition of the existing window frame?   Does the sill need to be rebuilt?

Are we doing the install or are you?

Is the install a pocket / retrofit / replacement or is it a full frame install?

Is nailing fin required?

Will new stops, sills and jamb need to be built?  If yes, are we looking at pine or oak?  Will you paint or stain when we’re done?

How does the interior casing look?  Can we re-use it?

You don't have to know all of these answers right now.   The purpose of an in-home estimate is to help you and your window buying partner understand what these options mean, and decide what you're really buying so we can give you a price.  

Every window replacement job is going to be different, and different factors and decisions will play into the cost.  If you know you need to replace windows in your home and you want to get an idea on what it will cost you, an in-home estimate is the only way.   Let a window consultant come into your home and help you and your window buying partner decide what you want in your home.  In -home estimates should be free, and should not come with an obligation to buy.

Contact Steve the Window Guy today and get started with that quote.  

Author:  Melissa Brager

Want more info?  Check out these blogs:

Choosing a glass package

Choosing window colors and options

Now Hiring: Universal WIndows Direct is Hiring!

Job Fair participants will be interviewed for positions that interest them. So if you are motivated, excited to work and eager for a new opportunity... tell us. Where do you want to work?

Universal Windows Direct is excited to announce a hiring job fair this Tuesday, February 4, 2014.   Job Fair participants will be interviewed for positions that interest them.   So if you are motivated, excited to work and eager for a new opportunity... tell us.    Where do you want to work?

Inside homes:  Selling products.  Running in home sales appointments to educate homeowners on our products, talk to them about their home improvement needs and sell them what they are looking for.   Must be able to learn and execute a proven selling system.

In the public:  Starting conversations with strangers.   Approaching people you don’t know.   Asking them questions.  Listening.   Talking to them about our company and our products.   Asking them to schedule an in home estimate.  Must be willing and ready to take rejection.

On the phone:  Contacting our customers on the phone to schedule appointments.  Confirming appointments.   Rescheduling appointments.  Reaching out to share new products with them.   May include calling to set appointments with people who have given us their information online or in our booth at home shows.

Outside homes: Installing products.   Talking with homeowners at the beginning of the install, or as surprises emerge during the install.  Focusing your time on removing and replacing their windows, doors, patio doors, siding or roofing.   Must be skilled at problem solving and be someone who is truly proud of a job well done.

Reserve your interview time today by calling Melissa at 612-866-2888  or contact us through our website.   Walk in attendees are welcome.

Tour our new office and meet Steve the Window Guy!

Steve The Window Guy sells more than just windows in MN!

Factory Direct Windows: Aren't All Windows Factory Direct?

Window replacement can be a tricky business.  We work a lot of different events and home improvement shows to show our product and talk to homeowners.   I am always surprised when someone walks up to me and says “Universal Windows Direct…. What does that mean?”.  “Well,  it is the name of our company.   We are part of a national group of dealers that offer an exclusive product.  We buy directly from the factory and pass the savings on to you.”   Then the next question comes.  “Doesn’t everybody buy direct?”

Actually, no.   I mean, every window is purchased from some place, but each time it moves from the factory and touches someone else’s hands, the price goes up.   When you buy windows you are involving yourself in one of a few different scenarios.

1)          You are buying from a contractor who is buying from a supply house who bought them from the factory.   The factory just made a bunch of windows and if the supply yard or big box store happened to have them in the size you needed the contractor bought them and resold them to you.   And the price reflects his markup as well as the supply yard markup.   You can see the price getting higher, can’t you?  (Cha-ching!)

2)     You are buying from a big box store because they have a great sale going on.  I bet.   It is no secret that retail markups to consumers are extraordinary.  Constant sales and deep discounts only prove this to you.   Not only that, but even a brand name at a box store can be a lower end version of that brand.   It’s like buying brand name women’s clothing at a low end retail outlet.   The tag might be the same (or close) but you the quality just isn’t there.

3)     Or, you could buy your window from a brand representative who does work directly with the factory.  Every.  Single.  Day.   That’s how it works at Universal Windows Direct.  Not only do we have an exclusive product that no one else in the Twin Cities offers, but over 90% of our business is selling that product.   The volume of work we do, combined with the volume of our group  of dealers throughout the country allows to keep the  costs way down.   The price reflects when you buy direct. Seriously.

So how do you know?   Ask where your new window is right now.   If it is somewhere stacked up with all the other windows just waiting for you to choose it  (like the last Christmas tree on Christmas Eve)  it isn’t factory direct.   It’s warehouse direct.

The price reflects when you buy direct!

When you buy windows from Universal Windows Direct our sales representative discusses the styles, colors and options that you want in your home.   Once the decision is made, we have a trained installer come to your home to get an exact measurement of the size of your replacement window, and then the window order is sent to the factory to be built for you.    It literally has your name put on the window the second it comes off the line.   Here is a window recently made for the Peterson family.   Personally, I think that is very cool.   Higher quality, exactly what you want, the perfect size for the opening in your home.   At a lower price.   What more do you want? Get started today.

Melissa Brager

Operations Manager, Universal Windows Direct, MN

Other Articles you might find interesting:

Why all windows are the same, and different

Why your windows may be fogging up

Why customers love Universal Windows Direct