Double Hung Windows

Double Hung Windows in Fort Lauderdale, FL | Winslow Windows & Doors

Double hung windows keep showing up in Fort Lauderdale homes because they do two jobs at once. They give you the traditional vertical-glide look that fits Florida ranch houses, coastal cottages, and Mediterranean-style homes, and they carry the laminated impact glass protection the Florida Building Code demands in a High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. Both sashes tilt inward for cleaning, which is a practical feature when you live near salt air and want to rinse glass from inside the house. Winslow Windows & Doors installs these systems across our PGT, CGI, CWS, ES Windows, ECO, and Mr-Glass lines, and we’ve been doing impact window work in Fort Lauderdale long enough to know the difference between a window that meets code on paper and one that performs when wind-driven rain hits it sideways. Call (904) 747-8989 to talk through your project, or keep reading for the specifics.

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Product Overview - Double Hung Windows

Double hung windows are the classic vertical-glide impact windows with tilt-in sashes on both top and bottom. That profile matters in Fort Lauderdale, where whole neighborhoods of 1950s and 1960s homes were originally built with double hungs and homeowners want a replacement that keeps the same architectural character. The challenge has always been that traditional double hungs were never engineered for hurricane zones. The Impact Series version solves that with laminated glass and reinforced frames that hold up to the wind loads we get here, while keeping the familiar proportions.

We see this product specified constantly in Fort Lauderdale’s older neighborhoods: Victoria Park, Rio Vista, Poinsettia Heights, Sailboat Bend. Homes there tend to have window openings sized for double hungs, and tearing out masonry or reframing for a different window type gets expensive fast. The double hung drops into those openings cleanly. The two operable sashes give you ventilation control a fixed window can’t, and when a storm is coming, you close and lock them and rely on the laminated glass to do its job. No shutters to wrestle, no plywood to store.

The tilt-in feature matters more than people expect. In a coastal climate, exterior glass gets salt haze and grime fast. Being able to tilt both sashes into the house means you can clean the outside-facing glass while standing inside, which is safer than balancing on a ladder against stucco. It also makes sash replacement or seal service simpler years down the road. Winslow Windows & Doors installs these in Fort Lauderdale homes where we regularly see older double hungs with corroded balances and sashes that won’t stay up. The new hardware on these units is built for the humidity and salt exposure we live with, not for a dry inland climate.

Technical Specifications

Here’s what the Double Hung Impact Series is built from and how you can configure it for your Fort Lauderdale home:

• Frame materials: Aluminum or vinyl. Aluminum is the common choice in Fort Lauderdale’s coastal areas for its strength and slim sightlines. Vinyl offers a lower-maintenance thermal barrier and works well on mid-century homes where a wider frame is acceptable.
• Glass options: Laminated impact glass with a PVB interlayer as the storm-protection core. You can add Low-E insulated glass for energy performance, tinted glass for glare control on west-facing walls, or stick with clear glass for maximum natural light.
• Finish options: White, almond, bronze, black, and tan. Each is available in baked-on or factory-applied finishes that resist the salt and UV exposure common in Fort Lauderdale.
• Screen options: Half screen or full screen, both removable from inside. Half screens sit in the lower opening, full screens cover the entire unit.
• Design pressure: Matched to your specific wind zone, up to +/-100, never higher. We don’t sell a Fort Lauderdale homeowner a higher design pressure than their structure requires. It adds cost without adding safety.

Hurricane & Compliance Performance

Laminated Impact Glass
The core protective feature is laminated impact glass with a PVB (polyvinyl butyral) interlayer. When debris strikes the window, the glass fractures but stays bonded to that interlayer, which holds the glass in the frame under impact. The window takes the hit, the opening stays sealed, and wind pressure doesn’t get inside your Fort Lauderdale home to pressurize the roof and blow the place apart from within.

Miami-Dade NOA / Florida Product Approval
Every configuration carries a Miami-Dade NOA (Notice of Acceptance) and Florida Product Approval number, issued per configuration. That means the specific unit you’re buying, including its frame material, glass type, and size range, has been tested and accepted for use in HVHZ jurisdictions like Fort Lauderdale. Verify the exact numbers on your written quote before you submit for permit.

FBC / HVHZ Compliance
These windows are engineered to Florida Building Code (FBC) High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) requirements. Fort Lauderdale sits inside the HVHZ, which is the strictest wind-borne debris region in the state. If your windows don’t carry HVHZ-compliant product approvals, the building department won’t accept them, and your insurance carrier may flag the installation.

TAS 201 / 202 / 203 Testing Context
HVHZ-rated products are tested under the TAS protocol family. TAS 201 is the large-missile impact test, where a length of lumber is fired at the glass at speed. TAS 202 is cyclic wind-pressure loading, which simulates a hurricane’s repeated pressure cycles against the unit. TAS 203 tests forced-entry resistance. If a window passes these, it’s been through more abuse than most storms will ever deliver.

Design Pressure for Your Wind Zone
Design pressures are matched to your wind zone, up to +/-100, never higher. Design pressure is a PSF rating that tells you how much positive and negative wind force the window can take. We calculate your required rating based on your specific Fort Lauderdale address, building height, and exposure category. You should never pay for a higher rating than the calculation calls for, and you should never accept a lower one.

Energy Performance
Low-E and insulated glass options are available on the Double Hung Impact Series. Low-E coatings reflect solar heat while letting visible light through, and insulating the unit reduces heat transfer through the glass. In Fort Lauderdale, where air conditioning runs most of the year, the right glass package makes a real difference in how hard your system works against afternoon sun.

Color & Glass Options

The five finish options cover most of what we see in Fort Lauderdale architecture. White and almond are the most common choices when homeowners want the windows to disappear into light stucco or painted siding. Bronze and black have gotten much more popular in the last five years, especially on modern homes and on older homes getting a darker trim package. Tan suits Mediterranean or Spanish-style homes where you want the window to blend with earthen tones. All finishes are factory-applied and designed to hold up to South Florida sun without the chalking or fading you see on cheap painted frames after a few years.

Glass choice depends on what each room is dealing with. Clear laminated impact glass gives you the most natural light and is the right call on north-facing walls or under deep eaves. Tinted glass cuts glare and heat on west-facing bedrooms and living rooms that get hammered by afternoon sun across Fort Lauderdale. Low-E insulated glass is the upgrade we recommend most often, because it handles both heat gain and keeps the interior pane from sweating against cold AC air. Whichever glass you pick, the PVB impact interlayer stays in the make-up. That’s the storm protection, and it isn’t optional.

Installation by Winslow Windows & Doors in Fort Lauderdale

Here’s the uncomfortable truth about impact windows: the best NOA-rated product on the market won’t save your house if it’s installed wrong. A window that passes TAS 201 and TAS 202 in a lab only performs that way in real life if the frame is anchored correctly, sealed correctly, and set level, plumb, and square. That’s what our installation practice is built around, and it’s why we follow AAMA 2400 and 2410 standard practice for window installation in every Fort Lauderdale job we do.

Our process starts with a pre-install inspection of the opening. We check the rough framing, look for rot or corrosion in the existing buck, and measure in three places to catch openings that aren’t square. Fort Lauderdale homes from the 1950s and 1960s often have openings that drifted out of square over decades, and forcing a new impact window into them is how you end up with a unit that binds, leaks, or blows a seal. We shim and set every unit level, plumb, and square before anchoring, because the frame can’t flex the way a non-impact window can.

Perimeter sealing gets done with AAMA 812 low-expansion foam, which fills the gap between frame and rough opening without distorting the jamb. After anchoring and sealing, we run a water test on the installation and check for any weeping or drainage issues before trim goes back on. In Fort Lauderdale, where wind-driven rain can push water upward and sideways, not just downward, this step catches failures that only show up during the worst possible weather.

Permitting is part of the job in HVHZ jurisdictions. Fort Lauderdale’s building department requires NOA or Florida Product Approval documentation with your permit application, and they’ll inspect the work. We’re set up to provide the correct paperwork for the specific units you bought and to coordinate with the inspection process. Improper installation compromises the NOA-rated system, voids what the testing bought you, and can leave you exposed when a storm actually arrives.

Frequently Asked Questions - Double Hung Windows

Get a Quote - Double Hung Windows in Fort Lauderdale

Ready to see what the Double Hung Impact Series would run for your Fort Lauderdale house? We’ll come out, measure every opening, check your existing frames, and put together a line-item quote with exact product approvals for your permit. Call (904) 747-8989 to schedule your free on-site measurement and project estimate.

Written by the team at Winslow Windows & Doors, serving Fort Lauderdale, FL.