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Window Installation Cost Estimates
Estimating the Costs of Installing
Windows, DIY versus Hiring a Window Installation Contractor
By Mark J. Donovan
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Over the years I have personally installed more windows than I care to
remember. However, in recent years when I’ve needed to replace an existing
window or two in my home, I’ve succumbed to hiring window installation
contractors to install them. I’ve either been simply too busy to install them
myself, or I haven’t had an extra pair of hands to help lift them in place.
Though I shouldn’t have been surprised when I received my first window
installation cost estimate for the installation of a few simple double hung
windows, I was.
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Actually I was somewhat shocked.
However, after receiving a couple of price quotes and letting the sticker shock
sink in, I quickly realized that this was the market price. I also realized that
I had saved myself a fortune over the years installing my own windows when
needed.
To give you some idea of a DIY window installation cost estimate, I summarize
below my costs for installing Anderson 400 series double hung windows back in
2006. Each window itself, including grilles and screen, cost me somewhere around
$300 a piece.
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The windows were fairly large and had
rough opening measurements of 68-7/8” by 31-5/8”. In addition, I had to buy
1”x4” pre-primed lumber to replace the exterior window trims, as well as window
casing molding for the window interiors. I also had to buy several feet of
Z-strip flashing per window, galvanized nails, shims, and exterior grade window
caulk. The total window material costs added up to around $400 per window. My
labor was “free”, so the overall window installation costs for outright
replacing 10 old windows was round $4,000. |
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Rolling forward a few years to 2011, I had similar windows installed by a major
home improvement center whose name I will not mention. The total cost for
installing effectively 5 same size windows, with window trim included, was just
over $8,000. That’s right, half the windows installed, compared to my own window
installations in 2006, for twice the price. Admittedly the windows had gone up
in price to around $500 each, including grilles and screen. However, the rest of
the window installation costs were labor and the home improvement center’s
markup for their “contractor management efforts”, with the latter being the bulk
of the additional costs.
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This said, to be fair to this particular home improvement center, their window
installation cost estimate was on par with the competition. So it was market
price and I was not going in blind when I signed their contract.
If, on the other hand, I had installed the 5 windows myself,
I had estimated my DIY window installation costs would have been somewhere
around $650 per window. The $650 figure included trim and other material
needed. Thus, if I had installed the 5 windows myself my total cost would
have been $3,250, a savings of $4750, or 60% compared to hiring someone to
install the windows for me.
So to summarize, if you have DIY skills and the determination and time you
can save yourself a significant amount of money installing your own windows.
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Photo by Mark Donovan |
If on the other hand you lack the skills and resources to install the windows
yourself expect to see window installation cost estimates around 150% higher
than the cost of the windows themselves.
To break the window installation cost estimate down even more clearly when
hiring a window installation contractor, expect the labor costs for the
installation of just the window to be equal to the cost of the window itself.
Then on top of it, expect to pay an additional 50% of the window cost for the
window trim materials and installation.
For information on
Installing a New Window, see the
Installing a New Window Ebook from
HomeAdditionPlus.com. The Installing a New Window Ebook provides easy to
understand, step-by-step instructions, on how to remove an old window and
install a new one. Pictures are included for every key step in the process.
Related Information
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