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ES Windows Home Additions & ADU: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
Adding square footage with ES Windows openings typically runs $45,000 to $130,000 installed in Fort Lauderdale when we’re framing for an addition, and $90,000 to $220,000 for a full ADU. That’s the range most homeowners need before we even walk the property. The issue you’re likely dealing with came up fast: a window that won’t seat, a frame that’s pulling away from the block wall, or rough openings that don’t match the ES Windows spec sheet your original builder left behind. In Fort Lauderdale’s salt air and humidity, the window-to-wall connection is where additions fail first, and matching an existing ES Windows product means the opening dimensions, flange profile, and impact rating all have to line up.
We know exactly what you’re up against, because we have corrected a good number of ES Windows installation mistakes around Fort Lauderdale, from Victoria Park remodels to newer additions in Rio Vista. A window that worked fine for years can suddenly bind or leak when the frame shifts, and that’s usually a rough-opening problem, not a window problem. The part you think is failing is often the connection around it. We tell you what we found, what it takes to fix it, and what it will cost, before we touch a thing.
Which ES Windows Models This Applies To
ES Windows product lines in Fort Lauderdale additions and ADUs fall into three main groups: the ES Impact Series (the big, heavy frames built for hurricane zones), the ES 700/500 series (mid-range aluminum that’s common in condos and smaller ADUs), and their operable casement and fixed-picture units that often carry the ES Windows label on the corner gasket. The compatibility gotcha most homeowners miss: ES Windows frames are metric-measured on the extrusion side but installed to imperial rough openings, so a “48-inch” window from one series can have a frame depth that’s off by 3/8 inch from another series that looks identical from the curb. You can’t swap a 700-series sash into an Impact Series frame. You read the tag on the top of the interior sash, the etched number on the glass corner, or the label on the interior of the head frame.
For additions, the bigger decision is whether to match existing ES Windows with new OEM units, or spec an equivalent impact-rated package that meets Miami-Dade or Broward product approval. On an ADU in Fort Lauderdale, you’re not just matching a window. You’re matching the wall assembly, the stucco reveal, and the hurricane-rated opening schedule your plans already show. We spec OEM ES Windows when the homeowner is extending an existing run and the reveal lines have to match. When it’s a new freestanding ADU, we’ll show you the ES option alongside an equal-performance alternative so the cost difference is on paper before you commit.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your ES Windows Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Water staining at the inside corners of the window opening, especially after a driving rain. In an addition, this usually means the rough opening was flashed wrong or the flange wasn’t bedded in sealant. Salt air in Fort Lauderdale accelerates minor seal failures into visible stains within one or two wet seasons.
- Operator cranks that bind or skip teeth. ES Windows casement hardware is sturdy, but the gear teeth wear when the sash is slightly racked from a shifting frame. Forcing the crank is exactly how the operator strips. If it’s grinding, stop turning it.
- Visible gap where the frame meets the interior drywall or exterior stucco, growing over time. This tells me the opening isn’t carrying the header load right, or the frame wasn’t shimmed to spec originally. In block construction, this gap is often the first visible cue that settlement is underway.
- A room in the addition or ADU that’s consistently 5 – 8 degrees warmer than the rest of the house. That’s often not the HVAC. It’s a failed perimeter seal around the ES Windows unit letting humid Fort Lauderdale air migrate through the wall cavity. The window glass can be fine while the seal assembly around it is done.
- Condensation between the glass panes. This is the one failure no field repair can fix. The insulating gas has escaped through a failed spacer, and the sealed unit inside the ES Windows frame needs replacement. The fix is a new insulated glass unit, not a new whole window.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For a single ES Windows unit replacement in Fort Lauderdale, where the opening already exists and framing is sound, expect $800 to $3,500 installed depending on size, series, and impact rating. When we’re talking about the home additions & ADU scope where multiple openings are being built or reframed, the $45,000 to $130,000 addition range and the $90,000 to $220,000 ADU range are the numbers that actually apply, because you’re not swapping one window. You’re building the wall, the opening, the load path, and the waterproofing system that lets ES Windows perform the way the spec sheet promises.
Every quote from us is a written price before any work starts, and it stays that price. You’ll see the line items: demolition, framing or reframing, window package, flashing and sealant, stucco or trim work, and interior repair. No surprise invoices, no verbal estimate that grows at the final walkthrough. The labor side of our work is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the installation isn’t right within a year of completion, we make it right at no cost to you. The ES Windows product itself carries its own manufacturer warranty, which we’ll walk through in plain language before you sign.
DIY or Call Us?
If you have an ES Windows product in an existing addition that’s binding, leaking, or fogging, here’s the honest split. You can safely check the weep holes along the bottom track for debris, look for caulk that’s pulled away from the frame, and verify the sash sits square in the opening by checking the gap width along the top and bottom. That’s a homeowner-level inspection, and it’s useful. What you should not do is pull the sash out of an impact-rated ES Windows frame to clean the track or adjust the shoe, because those sashes are heavy and the balance hardware holds tension. If the frame itself has shifted, no amount of shimming from the inside fixes the header issue above it. That’s when you call (754) 354-3720 and have someone who does this daily put eyes on it. The estimate is free, and you’ll know what you’re dealing with before anything gets disassembled.
FAQs
In Fort Lauderdale’s salt air and hurricane-driven rain, a well-installed ES Windows unit typically lasts 20 to 30 years on the frame, with hardware like cranks and balances failing somewhere in the 10 to 18 year range. The glass seal is usually the first component to go. If the window was flashed incorrectly during the original addition work, the life span can be cut in half. Give us a call at (754) 354-3720 and we’ll tell you whether yours has years left or is failing early.
It depends on which part failed. Operators, balances, locks, and weatherstripping are field-replaceable, and we stock common ES Windows hardware on our trucks in Fort Lauderdale so most repairs are one visit. A failed insulated glass unit gets a new sealed unit, not a repair. A warped or corroded frame on an old 700-series window is usually a replace situation. Call (754) 354-3720 and we’ll tell you which side of the line your problem falls on.
A single ES Windows unit replacement in an existing, sound opening takes one visit, usually 2 to 5 hours depending on size and interior trim work. If the rough opening needs reframing or the flashing was done wrong originally, plan for the opening of a two-day scope so the stucco or drywall can set. We’ll put the schedule in writing before the first tool comes off the truck.
We keep common ES Windows replacement hardware on hand in Fort Lauderdale: casement operators, lock sets, balance assemblies, and weatherstripping. Full ES Windows units are made to the opening, so those are ordered per job and typically arrive in 2 to 4 weeks. Same brand family, but we also work with KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone product lines when the addition or ADU scope includes cabinetry and surfaces. Call (754) 354-3720 for a free estimate and we’ll tell you what’s on the truck and what has to be ordered.
Written by Isaac Pruett, Owner, Mason Remodeling Co Fort Lauderdale at Mason Remodeling Co Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
