CGI Window Replacement Nationwide | Winslow Windows & Doors

CGI Window Replacement: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide

CGI window replacement in Fort Lauderdale usually runs $850 to $2,400 per window installed, depending on the series and size, and we stock the common CGI parts on our trucks so most swaps happen in one visit. Owners typically discover they need this work two ways: either a window that won’t seal or operate smoothly, or a post-storm inspection that found stress cracks in the frame or glazing bead. The good news is a failed CGI window rarely means replacing the whole opening. Most of the time it’s a sash, a balance, weatherstripping, or a glazing component, and we match it to your exact CGI series and install it the same day we’re out there. Ed Winslow’s crew has been doing this in Fort Lauderdale long enough to know that salt air and summer humidity don’t give a window any grace period.

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Which CGI Models This Applies To

We work on the CGI product lines most common in Fort Lauderdale homes: the Estate Collection, the Sentinel series, and the newer CGI aluminum impact lines often specified on coastal and intracoastal properties. Each series uses different frame depths, glazing beads, and balance hardware, so the part that fits an Estate double-hung won’t necessarily fit a Sentinel casement. The fastest way to identify what you have is the AAMA label on the frame edge or head jamb; it lists the series, the impact rating, and the manufacturing date. If that’s worn off, we measure the visible glass and frame pocket on site. On the OEM-vs-aftermarket question for CGI specifically: we prefer OEM or spec-equivalent components because CGI’s coastal ratings depend on the whole assembly matching original tolerances, not just the visible part. A generic balance or weatherstrip can pass a glance inspection and fail the next wind test. We’re an independent shop, not a CGI factory affiliate, which means we stock both factory-spec parts and quality equivalents and install whichever keeps your warranty intact and your window square.

Signs Your CGI Window Replacement Is Failing

• You feel air movement around the closed sash. In Fort Lauderdale, this usually means the wool pile or bulb weatherstripping has compressed from years of sun and salt exposure. The seal looks fine until you put your hand near the meeting rail on a windy day.
• The sash drops suddenly when you release it. The block-and-tackle or constant-force balances inside the frame have lost tension or snapped. This is the single most common CGI service call we get on double-hungs older than about eight years.
• The lock no longer lines up or engages cleanly. Over time the sash shifts out of square, often because a balance is wearing unevenly. The keeper and lock are fine; the geometry of the window isn’t.
• Condensation or haze between the panes. The insulated glass seal on the CGI unit has failed. Here’s the humidity reality: once that seal goes in a Fort Lauderdale climate, the fog never fully clears on its own, and the gas fill is gone, so the window loses both clarity and thermal performance.
• You notice a crack at the corner of the glass that grew slowly. Impact-rated glass can develop edge cracks from frame movement or prior stress, and that’s a safety and performance concern even if the crack hasn’t spread across the pane.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

We price CGI window replacement as parts plus labor, and the line items are on the quote before you approve anything. A typical full-sash or full-window replacement in Fort Lauderdale is between $850 and $2,400 installed when it’s a standard-size Estate or Sentinel unit. Larger openings, custom geometry, or upgrades to a higher impact rating push toward the top of that range. The spread mostly comes from glass package and frame finish. We don’t bid one number and hope. We break out the component cost, the labor, and the disposal, then honor that number unless we open the wall and find something genuinely hidden. The work is covered under our 36500-Day Done Right Promise, and nobody in the industry stands behind a window swap like that.

DIY or Call Us?

You can do the diagnostic part yourself: check the AAMA label, note where the air comes in, and look at whether the sash sits level in the frame. That helps us bring the right part on the first trip. The installation is where I’d stop you. CGI windows are heavy, some sashes hold glass rated for a Category 5 envelope, and the balances inside those frames are under constant tension. A balance that releases wrong can take a finger off, and a sash pinched mid-removal will crack the glass you’re trying to save. This is not a job for a YouTube afternoon. Call us at (904) 747-8989, tell the live person who answers what series you have and what the window is doing, and we’ll bring the part and the right hands for it. My name’s on the truck. That’s the only guarantee you need.

FAQs

Get Your CGI Window Replaced Right the First Time

If you’re in Fort Lauderdale and your CGI window is showing its age, don’t wait until the next hurricane season to find out the hard way. Call Winslow Windows & Doors at (904) 747-8989 for a free estimate on your replacement. We’ve been handling impact windows in this market since 2011, our technicians are background-checked and arrive in uniform, and you get a live person on the phone whether you call at noon or 2 a.m. We’re the one down the road, and we’ll stand behind the work long after the truck pulls away.

Written by Ed Winslow, Owner, Winslow Windows & Doors at Winslow Windows & Doors, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.