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AfterCGI Window Installation: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
CGI window installation in Fort Lauderdale typically runs $85 to $145 per window for labor when you already have the window on site, with full tear-out-and-replace jobs landing between $900 and $2,400 per opening depending on size and frame condition. We stock CGI-compatible mounting hardware, sealants, and trim on our trucks, so most installations and re-installations happen in a single visit. Most Fort Lauderdale owners call us after a window starts rattling in wind, leaking during afternoon downpours, or refusing to close square after years of salt air and sun.
Which CGI Models This Applies To
We install the full CGI product family, including the Estate Collection, Sentinel series, and the heavier commercial-grade impact lines. The compatibility gotcha most owners miss: CGI’s 2018-and-newer Estate Collection uses a slightly deeper frame pocket than the pre-2018 units, so swapping an old window for a new one of the “same size” often requires new mounting clips and a different exterior trim profile. If you can’t find your model, check the etched corner marking on the glass or the sticker inside the top track. That label gives us the series, glass package, and production date, which tells us exactly what hardware your opening needs. We’re an independent Fort Lauderdale installer, not a CGI corporate entity, which means we match OEM CGI hardware or proven equivalents without being locked into one supply chain. For owners who want to keep costs down, quality aftermarket mounting clips and weatherstripping from trusted Florida suppliers perform as well as OEM for this application, and we’ll tell you plainly when aftermarket makes sense and when it doesn’t.
Signs Your CGI Window Installation Is Failing
- Water staining at the bottom corners or along the sill. This almost always means the original flashing or sealant has broken down, which happens faster in Fort Lauderdale’s salt-heavy air than most manufacturers’ brochures admit. Once water is getting past the exterior seal, the frame is wicking moisture every time it rains.
- The window has shifted and now drags or sticks when you open it. Impact windows are heavy. If the original installer didn’t shim and anchor the frame properly, gravity and building settlement do the rest, and you’ll feel it in the crank or the sash track.
- Air you can feel around the perimeter on a windy day. Stand near the window when a storm front rolls through off the Atlantic. If you feel a draft, the mounting seal has failed, and that window is no longer performing as an impact barrier.
- Visible gap between the interior trim and the wall or cracking caulk lines around the frame. The window and the house are moving independently, which means the anchors are loose or the rough opening was oversize and never properly packed out.
- Condensation or fogging between the glass panes. The sealed glass unit has lost its gas fill, which in South Florida humidity means the window’s thermal rating is gone. This is a glass replacement, often done as part of the re-installation.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
For Fort Lauderdale homeowners, expect $85 to $145 per window for a re-installation where we remove, re-anchor, re-flash, and re-trim an existing CGI unit. A full window replacement including the CGI impact window itself runs $900 to $2,400 per opening, with the spread driven by window dimensions, whether the frame needs reframing, and which CGI series you’re installing. Every quote is a written line-item price: window cost, hardware, sealant, trim, labor, and disposal separated out so you see exactly what you’re paying for. The price we quote is the price you pay unless we open the wall and find rot or code issues, and in that case we stop, show you what we found, and give you a new number before any extra work happens. Our installation labor is backed by the same 36500-Day Done Right Promise as everything else we do: if it isn’t right, we come back and make it right.
DIY or Call Us?
If your CGI window is leaking or loose, there are things you can safely check yourself: look for cracked caulk lines inside and out, test whether the sash sits square in the frame, and check if the weep holes at the bottom of the frame are clear of debris. What you shouldn’t do is try to pull and reset an impact window yourself. These units weigh over 100 pounds at mid-size, and a botched anchor job means the window you rely on to protect your family during a hurricane isn’t doing its job. We’ve repaired plenty of DIY re-installations around Fort Lauderdale, and they always cost more than doing it right the first time. Call (904) 747-8989 and we’ll send an experienced crew with the right anchors, flashing, and sealants already on the truck.
FAQs
Fifteen to twenty years for the frame and mounting, and ten to fifteen for sealants before Fort Lauderdale’s heat, salt, and storm cycles break them down. The glass itself can last 30 years or more if the frame stays watertight. Call (904) 747-8989 and we’ll inspect your existing windows and tell you how much life is left.
Yes, and honestly that’s most of what we do in Fort Lauderdale. If the frame is square, the anchors are solid, and the glass is intact, we can re-seal, re-flash, and re-trim the window without pulling the whole unit. Call (904) 747-8989 for an honest assessment, not an automatic replacement quote.
Most single-window re-installations take two to four hours on site, including removal, prep, anchoring, flashing, and interior trim. A full replacement with reframing is usually a one-day job per window. We’ll give you a time window before we arrive, and the person you talk to on the phone is the same person accountable for hitting it.
Yes. We carry CGI-compatible mounting clips, flashing, sealants, and weatherstripping on our trucks, along with hardware for PGT, CWS, and ES Windows. If your window needs a component we don’t have on hand, our supplier network in South Florida gets it to us fast, usually same week.
Written by Ed Winslow, Owner, Winslow Windows & Doors, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
Six Reasons Homeowners Choose Winslow Windows & Doors
Impact systems engineered to design pressures up to +/-100, matched to your wind zone - your openings hold when the storm arrives.
Low-E insulated impact glass from our manufacturer lines commonly cuts monthly cooling bills 20-30%.
Laminated impact glass shuts out up to 40% of outside noise - traffic, neighbors, weather.
Monitoring services run $30-90 a month. Laminated impact glass resists forced entry around the clock, with no subscription.
Florida homeowners average around 25% savings on the windstorm portion of their policy after protecting every opening - some homes qualify for more.
A full impact package upgrades curb appeal, buyer confidence and appraised value in one project.