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ES Windows Home Additions & ADU: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
Home additions and ADUs built around ES Windows products in Fort Lauderdale typically run $45,000 to $130,000 when permitted, framed, and finished by a licensed general contractor. That range covers everything from a modest bump-out to a full detached accessory dwelling unit with its own bath and kitchenette. Most homeowners call us after trying to integrate an ES Windows product into a space that wasn’t originally designed for it, often following a discovery that the existing framing or flashing wasn’t done to South Florida’s wind-load and moisture standards. The part that fails isn’t always the window itself. It’s what surrounds it: the rough opening, the waterproofing plane, the header, or the tie-downs that Fort Lauderdale’s building code demands.
We stock and install ES Windows-compatible components for home additions and ADUs across Fort Lauderdale, and we carry the common flashing, sealant, and anchoring hardware on our trucks. If you’re mid-project and a specific ES Windows part has let go, our team can usually assess it the same week and give you a written number before any work starts. Call (754) 551-2922 and we’ll walk through what you’re seeing.
Which ES Windows Models This Applies To
ES Windows makes several product lines, and the hardware requirements differ between them. Their impact-rated casement and fixed-window lines, which show up constantly in Fort Lauderdale additions and ADUs, use different frame depths and anchoring schedules than their non-impact sliding series. The compatibility gotcha we see regularly is this: a homeowner orders a replacement part based on the glass size, not the frame series, and the new hardware doesn’t seat because the extrusion profile changed between model years.
Look for the manufacturer’s label, which is usually etched into the frame corner or printed on a sticker along the jamb. You want the series code and the glass thickness, because some ES Windows lines carry 5/16-inch laminated glass while others run 9/16-inch insulated impact units. These are not interchangeable in the same frame. If the label is gone, we can measure the frame depth and the glazing bead profile to identify what you have. For Fort Lauderdale additions and ADUs that must pass current wind-load inspection, OEM parts are almost always the right call. Aftermarket equivalents exist for some hardware, but the tolerances on impact-rated frames are tight enough that a generic roller or latch can compromise the rating. We’ll tell you straight if an equivalent part makes sense, and we’ll put the OEM option on the quote next to it so you decide with real numbers.
Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale is an independent contractor. We’re not affiliated with ES Windows, but we’ve installed enough of their products in South Florida to know which parts hold up and which ones don’t.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your ES Windows Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Water staining or bubbling paint below the window sill. In most Fort Lauderdale cases, this isn’t the window leaking. It’s the sill pan flashing or the jamb flashing that was installed wrong or skipped entirely. The window sheds water fine. The opening doesn’t.
- The window is harder to open or close in summer than winter. Aluminum frames expand in South Florida heat, and if the rough opening was framed too tight, the frame binds. This is common in older additions where no one accounted for thermal movement.
- You can feel air moving around the closed sash. Weatherstripping on ES Windows frames degrades faster in coastal salt air. Fort Lauderdale homes within a few miles of the ocean see this in half the time of inland installations.
- Condensation trapped between the glass panes. That’s a failed seal on an insulated unit. It won’t fix itself, and it means the thermal performance is already gone. Replacement glass or a new sash is the honest fix.
- The corner of the frame is separating or the mitre joint has opened. This is structural. Impact-rated frames rely on rigid corners to hold their rating. A visible gap means the unit won’t perform as rated if the next storm hits.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For a full home addition or ADU in Fort Lauderdale, you’re looking at $45,000 to $130,000 depending on square footage, foundation type, finish level, and how much electrical and plumbing rough-in the job requires. That number includes permits, engineered drawings where the city requires them, framing, roofing, stucco or siding to match the existing house, interior finishes, and the ES Windows products themselves. A smaller bump-out stays near the low end. A detached ADU with a full bath pushes toward the higher end, and a two-story addition can exceed it.
When the scope is narrower, like replacing failed ES Windows hardware or correcting flashing inside an existing addition, the price drops significantly. That work usually lands in the $400 to $2,500 range depending on how much of the opening has to be rebuilt. Every quote includes the written price before work starts, the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing, and a clean job site at the end of each day. You’ll know the number before we touch a tool, and that number won’t change once the walls are open unless you ask us to add something.
DIY or Call Us?
There are a few things a homeowner can safely do before calling us. You can identify the window label and series code, which saves us a trip. You can check for visible gaps around the frame with the sash closed and locked. You can look for water staining and note where it starts, because that tells us whether the failure is the window or the opening behind it.
What you shouldn’t do is pull impact-rated glass out of a load-bearing wall or try to re-anchor a frame yourself. If a window is failing in a Fort Lauderdale home built under current code, the fix has to meet wind-load requirements, and an inspector may ask for the paperwork. We’ve also seen homeowners try to caulk a failing frame corner and trap water inside the wall, which turns a $600 repair into a $6,000 rot and mold repair. If the part has failed, call (754) 551-2922. We’ll diagnose it, quote it, and stand behind it.
FAQs
In coastal Fort Lauderdale, expect 15 to 20 years from impact-rated ES Windows frames before hardware, seals, or glass units start showing age. Homes within a mile or two of the beach trend toward the shorter end because salt air accelerates aluminum corrosion and seal degradation. Regular cleaning of tracks and weep holes extends the life, but the salt is relentless.
Yes, in many cases. Rollers, latches, weatherstripping, and balances can usually be replaced without replacing the window. A failed insulated glass unit means replacing the glass or the sash. A failed frame corner on an impact-rated unit generally means replacing the window, because the structural rating can’t be restored with a repair. We’ll tell you which category you’re in before you spend anything. Call (754) 551-2922 for an exact answer on your specific window.
Most hardware swaps take one to two hours per window once the correct part is in hand. If we have the part on the truck, we handle it in a single visit. If we have to order an OEM part from ES Windows, it’s usually a week to ten days out. Full window replacements within an existing addition take a half day to a full day per opening depending on how much of the surrounding flashing and trim has to be redone.
We keep the common ES Windows replacement hardware on our trucks: rollers, latches, handles, weatherstripping, and the flashing and sealant products we use on every South Florida install. Specialized parts tied to specific series or older model years are ordered as needed. If you tell us the series code when you call, we can often tell you right then whether the part is something we already carry.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale at Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
