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PGT Home Additions & ADU: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
Home additions and ADU construction in Fort Lauderdale typically run $45,000 to $130,000 for a standard addition, while a full detached ADU lands between $90,000 and $220,000 depending on size, foundation work, and finish level. We install and build additions that tie directly into existing PGT window and door openings, so your existing impact-rated envelope stays intact where it meets the new structure. Most owners call us after walking a job site or inspecting their own walls and realizing the new addition wasn’t properly flashed, the window rough openings don’t match PGT frame specs, or the tie-in between old and new framing is already moving.
If you’ve got a PGT product in an existing wall and you’re planning an addition or ADU, the failure point is usually where the new construction meets the old. Water finds that seam first. In Fort Lauderdale’s wet season, it finds it within months. What you need is someone who knows how PGT frames are sized and how to build a new opening that doesn’t compromise the impact rating you already paid for.
Which PGT Models This Applies To
This applies to any home in Fort Lauderdale that has PGT windows or doors in a wall you’re extending, a wall you’re cutting into, or a roofline you’re tying into. The most common PGT lines we work around in South Florida are the WinGuard and Eze-Breeze series. WinGuard is the heavy aluminum impact line you’ll see across older Victoria Park and Rio Vista homes. Eze-Breeze is the lighter vinyl vertical-slide setup used on porches and screen enclosures.
The compatibility gotcha most owners don’t know: PGT WinGuard frames are built to specific rough-opening tolerances that are tighter than standard frame construction. A framer who doesn’t have PGT’s spec sheet will over-build the rough opening, shim it with whatever’s in the truck, and the window sits cocked in the hole. You won’t see it the day it’s installed. You’ll see it two seasons later when the caulk line pulls and water tracks down the interior jamb. If you’re adding onto a house with PGT openings, the new openings need to match the same structural load path as the originals, not just the same visual width and height.
We also work with KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone on the interior side of additions and ADUs, which matters if your addition includes a kitchenette, wet bar, or full second kitchen in an ADU. The exterior tie-in and the interior finish should be handled by one builder, because that’s where the schedule conflicts and finger-pointing start.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your PGT Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Water staining at the old-to-new wall junction. This is the number one failure we see in Fort Lauderdale additions. The flashing detail where new framing meets an existing PGT wall wasn’t lapped correctly, and wind-driven rain from an afternoon storm gets behind the siding or stucco.
- Gaps opening at the top corners of PGT windows. When a new roof load transfers unevenly onto an existing wall, the top corners of window frames pull away from the surrounding trim. It’s not a window failure. It’s a structural tie-in failure that shows up at the window first.
- Doors that latched fine last season now stick or swing loose. An addition that wasn’t tied into the existing slab or stem wall correctly will settle differently than the original structure. PGT doors with their heavy impact glass make that differential movement obvious fast.
- Caulk and sealant lines cracking within the first year. Florida sun and salt air are hard on sealant, but cracking at the intersection of new and old work usually means the joint is moving. Sealant can’t fix a moving joint. The joint has to be re-done.
- Humidity that won’t settle in the new room. If your addition is muggy even with the AC running, the envelope isn’t sealed. In Fort Lauderdale, that means the air you’re cooling is being replaced by outdoor air through a seam you can’t see. It’s often at the roofline where new trusses meet the existing fascia.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
A home addition in Fort Lauderdale runs $45,000 to $130,000 on average. That range covers a modest bump-out with one PGT-compatible opening on the low end, up to a full primary suite addition with multiple impact-rated openings, a new roofline tie-in, and upgraded finishes on the high end. Garage conversions sit lower, between $30,000 and $80,000, because the foundation and roof already exist. A detached ADU is a different animal: $90,000 to $220,000 by the time you’ve got a foundation, a new electric service, plumbing, a kitchenette, and all the Fort Lauderdale permitting and inspection sign-offs.
| Project Type | Typical Fort Lauderdale Range |
|---|---|
| Home Addition (bump-out to full suite) | $45,000 – $130,000 |
| Garage Conversion | $30,000 – $80,000 |
| ADU Construction (detached) | $90,000 – $220,000 |
| Impact Window Installation (per opening) | $8,000 – $25,000 |
Every quote includes the written price before any work starts, the permit pull, the inspections, and the written guarantee for 365 days from completion. If the work isn’t right within a year, we make it right at no cost. That’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise, and it applies to additions and ADUs the same as it does to a bathroom remodel.
DIY or Call Us?
You can check the obvious stuff yourself: run your hand along the inside of the old-to-new wall junction after a heavy rain, look for daylight around exterior openings, and watch whether doors in the new space change behavior from dry season to wet season. That’s useful information to share with whoever you call.
What you shouldn’t do is try to re-flash, re-frame, or seal a failing tie-in yourself. If the joint is moving, you’re not fixing the cause. If you’re working off a ladder at a roofline in Fort Lauderdale in August, you’re on a wet, hot surface at height. That’s a fall risk that no amount of YouTube confidence is worth. Structural tie-ins and impact-rated openings are not a caulk-and-hope job. We tell you what we found, what it takes to fix it, and what it will cost, before we touch a thing. Call (754) 354-3720 and we’ll schedule a look.
FAQs
A properly built addition in Fort Lauderdale should last 30 to 50 years before major structural work, but the tie-in details, flashing, and sealant typically need attention every 7 to 10 years because of salt air and hurricane-season weather. The structure outlasts the seams. If your seams fail in year two, that’s a workmanship issue, not a weather issue. Call (754) 354-3720 for an exact assessment.
Most failing tie-ins in Fort Lauderdale additions can be repaired without rebuilding the new space. The fix usually means opening the affected wall or roofline, re-flashing correctly, addressing whatever framing allowed the movement, and re-sealing everything in sequence. Rebuilds are only necessary when water has been getting in long enough to rot framing or sheathing. Call (754) 354-3720 and we’ll tell you which situation you have.
A standard addition runs 10 to 16 weeks from permit approval to final inspection in Fort Lauderdale. A detached ADU typically runs 5 to 8 months because you’re building from scratch: foundation, framing, rough-in, finish, inspections at every stage. Permitting in Fort Lauderdale adds time you can’t shortcut, and anyone who promises to skip that step is putting your home at risk. For an honest timeline on your specific project, call (754) 354-3720.
We don’t stock PGT windows and doors as parts, because every opening is custom-sized to the rough opening we frame for it. What we stock is the flashing, sealant, and structural connectors that make the tie-in correct, and we order the PGT products to spec for each project. We are an independent builder, not affiliated with PGT, which means we size and order what your job actually needs rather than pushing what’s in inventory. Call (754) 354-3720 for a free estimate.
If you need an addition or ADU in Fort Lauderdale and you’ve got PGT products in the house that need to keep doing their job, call (754) 354-3720. We’ll walk the job, take the measurements, and give you a written price before any work starts. That’s how we’ve done it since 2004.
Written by Isaac Pruett, Owner, Mason Remodeling Co Fort Lauderdale at Mason Remodeling Co Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
