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CGI Home Additions & ADU: The Fort Lauderdale Owner's Guide
CGI home additions and ADU construction in Fort Lauderdale typically run $45,000 – $130,000 for a home addition and $90,000 – $220,000 for a detached ADU, depending on square footage, foundation work, and finish level. When a CGI product fails, it is rarely the CGI framing or paneling itself; it is almost always a flashing detail, a fastener that gave up in the salt air, or a sealant joint that dried out and started letting moisture behind the assembly. Most homeowners discover the problem as a damp smell near a wall, a soft spot at a corner, or a water stain that shows up after a hard South Florida downpour. We stock the replacement fasteners, sealants, and compatible trim profiles to put it right, and we quote the repair as a written line item before any work begins.
Which CGI Models This Applies To
CGI manufactures impact-rated windows, doors, and sliding glass systems built for hurricane zones, so most of what fails on a CGI home addition or ADU is not the window itself. It is the integration: the sill pan, the jamb flashing, the perimeter sealant, and the anchors that tie the frame into the concrete block or wood rough opening. Compatibility matters. CGI uses proprietary frame extrusions, and a replacement part from a different series will not seat correctly. Look for the label sticker on the interior side of the frame; it lists the series, size code, and glass type. If the sticker is gone, measure the visible glass width and the frame depth. A CGI Estate series window, for example, does not share trim profiles with a CGI Sentinel sliding door. We are an independent service provider and not affiliated with CGI, but we work with these systems regularly and know which fasteners and sealants the manufacturer calls for in coastal climates. When an OEM part is unavailable or backordered, a quality aftermarket equivalent, matched by spec rather than by brand name, often gets the job done faster without sacrificing the impact rating.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your CGI Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Water staining at the interior sill or baseboard. This usually means the sill pan was never installed, or the sealant bead at the bottom corners has separated. Water follows the path of least resistance, and in Fort Lauderdale, that path is usually through a failed corner joint.
- Soft drywall or bubbling paint below a window. Moisture has been getting behind the wall assembly for months. By the time the paint bubbles, the substrate (the structural surface behind the finish, usually drywall or sheathing) is compromised and needs to be cut out and replaced before re-sealing.
- You can see daylight through a closed CGI window or door corner. The frame has shifted, the anchor has pulled, or the roller assembly on a sliding door has worn out of spec. This is both a leak risk and a wind-load issue.
- The window or sliding door is noticeably harder to open than it was a year ago. Salt air accelerates corrosion on the hardware and track systems. A tired roller or a corroded latch is a cheap fix early and a costly frame replacement if ignored.
- Caulking pulls away from the frame and leaves an open seam. South Florida heat cycles break down sealant faster than the national average. Once the sealant loses adhesion, every afternoon thunderstorm becomes an opportunity for water intrusion.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What's Included
Repair work on a CGI window or door within a home addition or ADU in Fort Lauderdale typically falls in the $400 – $1,800 range for a targeted repair, while a full part replacement on a larger sliding assembly can run $2,000 – $6,500 when the frame, track, or glass requires replacement. A full home addition runs $45,000 – $130,000, and an ADU runs $90,000 – $220,000. The spread comes down to access, the specific CGI series, whether we are replacing a sealant joint or pulling and resetting the entire frame, and whether water damage has spread into the surrounding structure. Every quote includes the part, the labor to install it, the sealants and fasteners required, and disposal. We also put the repair on paper: a written price before work starts and a 365-Day Done Right Promise. If the repair fails inside a year, we come back and fix it with no charge for the second visit.
DIY or Call Us?
There are a few things an owner can safely check: visible cracks in the perimeter caulking, signs of corrosion on exposed hardware, and whether the weep holes at the bottom of the frame are clear. Clearing a clogged weep hole with a soft brush is a reasonable weekend task. That is about where it should stop. A CGI window or door in a Fort Lauderdale home addition is part of the building envelope, and pulling it apart without knowing how the flashing is layered behind the stucco or siding can make a small leak into a structural problem. The hardware on these systems is under tension, and the glass is heavy. In our experience, the expensive repairs are usually the ones that started as a well-intentioned DIY attempt. If you are unsure, call us at (754) 551-2922 and describe what you see. We will tell you over the phone whether it needs a professional and what it should cost.
FAQs
The structural aluminum frames typically last 30 to 40 years in Fort Lauderdale, but the sealants, rollers, and weatherstripping around them usually need replacement every 5 to 10 years in this humidity and salt air. Expect to maintain the peripheral parts long before the frame itself wears out. Call (754) 551-2922 for a free estimate on sealant or hardware replacement.
Yes, in many cases a failed sealant joint, roller assembly, or latch can be repaired for $400 – $1,800, but a cracked frame or compromised glass usually requires replacement. The decision comes down to whether the part is still structurally sound. Call us at (754) 551-2922 and we will inspect it and give you a written line-item answer, not a guess.
Most sealant and hardware repairs are completed the same day once we have the part in hand, while a full window or sliding door replacement typically takes one visit of 3 to 6 hours. If the framing behind the unit is rotted, we add a day for structural repair. We give you a defined arrival window and hold to it.
We keep the common items on hand: fasteners, sealants, rollers, and hardware for the CGI series most often installed in Fort Lauderdale home additions and ADUs. Specialty trim profiles and specific glass packages are ordered per job. We also work with parts from KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone for the surrounding finishes.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale at Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
