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Quote Teardown 04  /  Window replacement, Chicago, IL

$16,560 for 12 windows in Chicago. Do I have 12, and what kind of install?

Toshikatsu Oga  /  October 9, 2026
Two installers leveling a replacement window in the wall of an older house, with the old sash leaning against the wall.
Illustrative photo. Not the house, the crew or the quote in this issue.
  1. The quote
  2. The one line to ask about
  3. The arithmetic
  4. What to ask the contractor
  5. What this does not establish
  6. Questions
  7. Sources

A price per window is only as good as the count and the method behind it. This quote says 12 windows at $1,150 but never says whether they are inserts set into the old frames or full-frame replacements. And the house was built in 1958, so federal lead-safe rules apply to replacing its windows.

$16,560 for 12 windows. Do I have 12, and what kind? Ledger of the illustrative quote with the line to ask about marked.

The card for this issue. The quote is illustrative, written for teaching; it is not any real contractor's quote.

The quote

Illustrative quote. Window replacement, Chicago, IL.

LineQuoted
Vinyl double-hung windows, 12 @ $1,150Insert or full-frame not stated$13,800
Installation, 12 @ $180$2,160
Exterior capping and interior trim$600
Total$16,560

The one line to ask about

Vinyl double-hung windows, 12 @ $1,150: $13,800

Walk the house and count. One window more or less moves the total by $1,330 ($1,150 plus $180 to install), so a quote that counts a basement window you meant to keep is not a small error.

Then ask which method. An insert fits inside the existing frame; a full-frame replacement takes the old frame out to the rough opening. They are different jobs, and the quote has to say which one it prices, window by window.

Because the house was built before 1978, EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule applies. Under 40 CFR 745.83, work counts as minor repair only where it "does not involve window replacement", so replacing windows in a pre-1978 home is covered however small. The firm must be lead-safe certified and must give you EPA's lead pamphlet no more than 60 days before work starts (40 CFR 745.84). Nothing on this quote mentions it.

The arithmetic

  1. Per window, all in: $16,560 / 12 = $1,380
  2. One window more or less: $1,150 + $180 = $1,330
  3. Installation per window: $180. At the BLS May 2025 mean wage for glaziers (SOC 47-2121) in the Chicago metro, $35.62 an hour, that is 5.05 hours of wages per window, before the contractor's insurance, taxes and markup. The 90th percentile wage is $49.22.

Public numbers used above:

  • $35.62: Glaziers (SOC 47-2121), Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, mean hourly wage, May 2025. Source
  • $49.22: Glaziers (SOC 47-2121), Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, 90th percentile hourly wage, May 2025. Source
  • 1978: RRP applies to paid work disturbing paint in homes built before 1978. Source
  • window replacement: Minor repair exception excludes window replacement. Source
  • 60 days: Pamphlet no more than 60 days before renovation. Source

What to ask the contractor

Copy this into a text or an email. A contractor with a reason for each number can answer in a minute.

Before I decide, could you confirm in writing:
1. Which 12 openings are included (a list by room is fine).
2. Whether each window is an insert or a full-frame replacement.
3. Your EPA lead-safe firm certification, since the house was built in 1958, and that you'll give me the lead pamphlet before work starts.
4. The window product name, and what the capping and trim line covers.

What this does not establish

It does not say $1,150 is too much for a window. No public source here prices residential windows. It shows that the count and the method are missing, and both change what you are buying. The glazier wage is an average of pay, not a billing rate.

Your own quote

Get a free teardown of your own quote. Upload it and see every line by kind, the lines nobody can check, and the questions to send. No account. Not a verdict.

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Questions

Does the EPA lead rule apply to window replacement?

In homes built before 1978, yes. 40 CFR 745.83 excludes window replacement from the minor repair exception, so the work must be done by a lead-safe certified firm.

What is the difference between insert and full-frame windows?

An insert goes inside the existing frame. A full-frame replacement removes the old frame to the rough opening. Ask the quote to say which, window by window.

Sources

Every public number on this page links to the record it comes from. Wages were looked up in USCCDB, which carries the BLS file as published. Statutes, codes and agency pages are quoted as published on October 9, 2026; check the source for changes.

  1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program
  2. 40 CFR 745.83, Definitions (minor repair and maintenance activities; renovation)
  3. 40 CFR 745.84, Information distribution requirements (the EPA pamphlet)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, metropolitan area data (oesm25ma.zip)
  5. United States Construction Cost Database (USCCDB) v1.0, doi:10.5281/zenodo.22979157, CC BY 4.0

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