Guide / Window quotes, United States

Window repair or replacement: what the quote should say

Toshikatsu Oga / October 16, 2026

Repair or replace: what each kind of quote is selling
Window types on the quote, including awning windows
Step 1: count, size and method, window by window
Step 2: the product line, the NFRC label and the ENERGY STAR zone
Step 3: insert or full-frame, trim, capping, disposal, permit
Step 4: houses built before 1978 and the EPA lead rule
Step 5: labor against wages
Warning signs in the wording, not the numbers
What to ask the contractor, in one message
Questions
Sources

A window quote is either fixing parts of a window or replacing it, and it has to say which, window by window. Repair covers the glass, the sash, the hardware and the weatherstripping, and keeps the old frame. Replacement is an insert set into the old frame or a complete replacement that removes the frame to the rough opening (DOE Building America). Once you know which, check four things: the count and sizes, the product line and its NFRC label, where U-factor runs 0.20 to 1.20 and lower keeps more heat in (NFRC); the lead rule, because in a home built before 1978 window replacement is never "minor repair" (40 CFR 745.83); and any tax credit line, because the federal 25C credit "will not be allowed for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025" (IRS).

Repair or replace: what each kind of quote is selling

Window work comes in levels. The Department of Energy's Building America guideline for wood windows names four: rehabilitation of the old sashes with the original frames left in place; sash replacement, which removes the old sashes and keeps the frames; insert replacement, which removes the sashes and reconfigures the frames; and complete replacement, the "removal of the old window, including frame, and reconfiguration of the rough opening" (DOE Measure Guideline, Table 2). Glass replacement sits at the repair end. DOE's companion guide describes swapping single-pane glass in the sash for double-pane glass, typically by a restoration specialist, and repairing or replacing pulleys, cords and weights (DOE Top Innovations profile).

Work on the quote	What stays	What to ask
Glass replacement (insulating glass unit)	Frame, sash, hardware	Size of each unit; double or triple pane; low-E or not; which windows
Weatherstripping	Everything else	Which sashes, and what material
Hardware repair	Frame, sash, glass	Which part on which window, and whether it is a matching part
Sash repair or sash replacement	Frame	Repaired or new sash, per window
Insert replacement	Old frame (trim may be reused or replaced; ask)	Product model and size; how the old frame is sealed
Complete (full-frame) replacement	Rough opening only	Product model and size; flashing and new trim

Neither direction is right by default. The DOE profile treats storm windows as an option when windows are in good working order, says a damaged sill should be replaced, and says damaged sashes, frames or casings "may be an indication" the window needs replacing, "depending on the extent of the damage" (DOE). The question for the contractor is what is failing, and why the quote fixes it the way it does.

Window types on the quote, including awning windows

The quote should name the type of each window, because the type decides which parts can fail and which replacement fits. NFRC's consumer glossary defines them: an awning window is "similar to a casement except the sash is hinged at the top and always swings out"; a casement sash "swings open on side hinges"; a hopper has its "sash hinged at the bottom"; and a double-hung window is "two sashes operating in a rectangular frame" (NFRC glossary).

For an awning window that sticks, will not close or will not stay open, the moving parts are the hinges and the opening hardware, and those can be a hardware line, not a new window. Fogging between the panes points at the insulating glass, which NFRC defines as "two or more pieces of glass spaced apart and hermetically sealed to form a single glazed unit" (NFRC). Drafts point at weatherstripping, "a strip of resilient material for covering the joint between the window sash and frame" (NFRC). If a quote replaces the whole awning window for one of these, ask what else is wrong with it.

Step 1: count, size and method, window by window

Walk the house and list each opening on the quote by room. One window more or less is a whole unit price, plus installation.
Match each line to a window type (awning, casement, double-hung and so on) and a size, width by height.
Mark each window as repair, insert or full-frame. A quote that prices "12 windows" without the method has not said what you are buying.
Put two quotes side by side only when they price the same openings at the same level of work.

Line	Quote A: repair	Quote B: insert replacement
Glass or windows	3 insulating glass units @ $310 = $930	3 vinyl awning windows @ $780 = $2,340
Labor	Service visit, $225	Installation, 3 @ $190 = $570
Trim	None	Exterior capping, 3 @ $85 = $255
Disposal	None	$75
Total	$1,155	$3,240
Per window	$1,155 / 3 = $385	$3,240 / 3 = $1,080

Illustrative quotes for three fogged awning windows, written for teaching. Quote B costs $3,240 minus $1,155 = $2,085 more. In B, one window more or less moves the total by $780 + $190 + $85 = $1,055. Neither is the correct answer. A keeps the old frames, sashes and hardware; B buys a new window with its own label set inside the old frame. The useful question is whether anything besides the glass has failed. Our Teardown 04 walks through 12 windows in Chicago at $16,560 (12 @ $1,150, installation 12 @ $180, capping and trim $600) that never says insert or full-frame.

Step 2: the product line, the NFRC label and the ENERGY STAR zone

"Vinyl replacement windows" cannot be checked. Ask for the manufacturer, product line and model of each window. Then use the label. NFRC describes itself as the independent, nonprofit certification body for the energy performance of windows, doors and skylights, and as "the official certification body for ENERGY STAR windows, doors, and skylights" (NFRC). Its program evaluates U-factor, solar heat gain coefficient, visible transmittance, air leakage and condensation, and certified products must show the label (NFRC).

U-factor measures how well a product keeps heat from escaping. Range 0.20 to 1.20; "the lower the number, the better it is at keeping heat in" (NFRC).
Solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) runs 0 to 1. "Low numbers resist solar heat, high numbers allow solar heat" (NFRC).
Visible transmittance runs 0 to 1; higher lets in more daylight (NFRC).

NFRC's Certified Products Directory "allows users to verify the rating data seen on a product label": you search by product type, U-factor, SHGC, visible transmittance and manufacturer (NFRC directory). Ask for the ratings in writing before you sign, and keep the labels: ENERGY STAR advises looking for its label for your climate zone next to the NFRC label on the glass, and saving both as documentation (ENERGY STAR).

ENERGY STAR zone	Window U-factor	Window SHGC
Northern	0.22 or less	0.17 or more
North-Central	0.25 or less	0.40 or less
South-Central	0.28 or less	0.23 or less
Southern	0.32 or less	0.23 or less

ENERGY STAR Version 7.0 window criteria, effective October 23, 2023. The Northern zone also allows equivalent pairs, from U-factor 0.23 with SHGC 0.35 or more to U-factor 0.26 with SHGC 0.40 or more (ENERGY STAR V7.0 specification). ENERGY STAR is a label, not a requirement, so a window that misses it is not wrong; the point is that the quote names a product whose numbers you can look up.

One line to cross out: a federal tax credit. Through 2025, exterior windows and skylights meeting ENERGY STAR Most Efficient requirements could count toward the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (25C), limited to $600 total (IRS, 25C page). For property placed in service after December 31, 2025, the IRS says the credit "will not be allowed" (IRS FAQ). Windows installed in 2026 do not earn it. Utility or state programs may exist; ask for the program name and amount in writing.

Step 3: insert or full-frame, trim, capping, disposal, permit

The method changes the job. With an insert, DOE recommends coating the old frame opening on all sides with a liquid-applied waterproof membrane "because the area will no longer be accessible for maintenance once the replacement window is installed", and damaged or deteriorating sills must be repaired or replaced first; with an insert, "the vision area is reduced by an additional window frame with sashes" (DOE Measure Guideline). Complete replacement removes the frame and lets the installation details be "brought up to current installation standards" (DOE). DOE's profile describes lining all sides of a full replacement opening with liquid or self-adhered waterproof membrane that extends 4 inches out on the exterior wall (DOE).

Trim and capping. Ask whether interior trim is reused or new, and whether exterior capping (cladding over the old frame) is included, per window.
Disposal. Ask whether hauling away old windows is in the price or a separate line.
Installation instructions. ENERGY STAR certified windows must come with installation instructions; some manufacturers void the warranty if they are not followed, and some warranties require an installer certified by the manufacturer (ENERGY STAR). Ask whether yours does.
Permit. Whether window replacement needs a permit is a question for your city or county building department; we found no public source that answers it for the whole country. Ask the contractor whether a permit is required where you live, who pulls it, and whether the fee is in the price.

Step 4: houses built before 1978 and the EPA lead rule

EPA says "anyone paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be certified" (EPA RRP program). The rule excludes minor repair: disturbing 6 square feet or less of painted surface per room inside or 20 square feet or less outside, without the work practices the rule prohibits, "where the work does not involve window replacement or demolition of painted surface areas". Jobs in the same room within 30 days count as one job (40 CFR 745.83). So paid window replacement in a pre-1978 home is covered however small the job, unless an exemption applies. Examples: the affected parts tested free of lead-based paint (40 CFR 745.82), or housing for the elderly or disabled, or a studio, with no child under 6 living or expected to live there (40 CFR 745.103). Repair work is covered too once it passes those thresholds.

Under the rule, firms that renovate for pay must be EPA certified and must assign a certified renovator to each job (40 CFR 745.89), and must give the owner EPA's lead pamphlet no more than 60 days before work starts, and get a written acknowledgment or mail it at least 7 days before and keep a certificate of mailing (40 CFR 745.84) (40 CFR Part 745, Subpart E). DOE's window guideline notes that "lead is commonly located on old wood windows and trim" (DOE). Lead-safe work adds containment and cleanup, so a certified firm may price higher than one that skips it. How to check a firm is in our guide to the RRP certified contractor.

Step 5: labor against wages

If the quote splits out installation, set the crew hours against wages. The BLS May 2025 national wage for glaziers (SOC 47-2121) is $27.44 median and $43.17 at the 90th percentile per hour; for carpenters (SOC 47-2031) it is $29.12 median and $48.03 at the 90th percentile (BLS OEWS). These are plain wages, not billing rates.

A crew of two for two 8-hour days is 2 x 2 x 8 = 32 hours. At glazier wages that is 32 x $27.44 = $878 to 32 x $43.17 = $1,381; at carpenter wages, 32 x $29.12 = $932 to 32 x $48.03 = $1,537 (rounded to the dollar). Insurance, payroll taxes, vehicles, overhead and profit sit on top, and no public rule fixes how much. Use the figure to ask how many people and days the installation line assumes, not to call it high. There is no public price list for residential windows or glass units, so for the product lines the check is the model and the label, not a benchmark price.

Warning signs in the wording, not the numbers

"Whole-house window package" with no count. Ask for the list of openings by room, and the method for each.
"Energy-efficient windows" with no model or ratings. Ask for the product line, model and the NFRC U-factor and SHGC, and check them in the directory (NFRC).
"Includes your federal tax credit." Section 25C ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025 (IRS).
"Your windows can't be repaired" on one fogged unit or one stuck awning window. Ask what besides the glass or the hardware has failed (DOE).
Nothing about lead on a pre-1978 house. Window replacement is never minor repair under 40 CFR 745.83 (eCFR).
"This price is only good today." A sale of $25 or more made at your home can usually be cancelled before midnight of the third business day under the FTC Cooling-Off Rule, with exceptions such as a genuine emergency waived in your own handwriting, and repairs you asked for (16 CFR Part 429; FTC). See what to do when the price is only good today.

What to ask the contractor, in one message

The openings included, listed by room, with the type (awning, casement, double-hung) and size of each.
For each window: repair (glass, sash, hardware, weatherstripping), insert, or full-frame replacement, and why.
The manufacturer, product line and model, with the NFRC U-factor and SHGC for each.
Whether interior trim, exterior capping and disposal are included, and the crew size and days behind the installation line.
Whether a permit is required here, who pulls it, and whether the fee is included.
If the house was built before 1978: your EPA (or state) lead-safe firm certification, and the pamphlet before work starts.

If you would rather not do it line by line, upload the quote and we lay out every line, mark the lines nobody can check, and write the questions for you. We are paid by homeowners only and take no fee from contractors. Check a quote from $39, or get a free teardown first.

Questions

Should I repair or replace my windows?

It depends on what has failed. Fogged glass, worn weatherstripping or broken hardware can be repaired with the frame left in place. DOE's Building America guidance says damaged sashes, frames or casings may indicate replacement, depending on the extent of the damage. Ask the contractor what is failing and why the quote fixes it that way.

What is an awning window?

NFRC defines an awning window as similar to a casement except the sash is hinged at the top and always swings out. A casement swings on side hinges, and a hopper is hinged at the bottom. If an awning window sticks or will not close, the hinges and opening hardware may be repairable without replacing the window.

How do I check the windows on my quote are the ones I am paying for?

Ask for the manufacturer, product line and model of each window and its NFRC U-factor and SHGC. NFRC's Certified Products Directory lets you verify the rating data on a product label by product type, ratings and manufacturer. Keep the NFRC and ENERGY STAR labels from the glass.

Is there a federal tax credit for new windows in 2026?

No. Through 2025, exterior windows meeting ENERGY STAR Most Efficient requirements could count toward the 25C credit, limited to $600. The IRS says the credit will not be allowed for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025. Utility or state programs may still exist.

Does the EPA lead rule apply to window replacement?

For paid work in homes built before 1978, yes, unless an exemption applies. Under 40 CFR 745.83, window replacement can never count as minor repair. Without an exemption in 40 CFR 745.82 (such as a test showing the affected parts are free of lead-based paint), the firm must be EPA (or state) certified, assign a certified renovator, and give you EPA's lead pamphlet no more than 60 days before work starts.

Sources

Every figure above links to the public record it comes from. Wages were looked up in USCCDB v1.0, which carries the BLS file as published. Agency pages, reports and rules are quoted as published on October 16, 2026; check the source for changes.

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