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CGI Windows & Doors: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
If you own a home in Fort Lauderdale with CGI windows or doors, you already know the brand carries serious weight down here. We stock and install CGI-compatible replacement parts, and a typical window or door part swap runs $200 to $1,800 installed depending on what failed. Most owners discover a problem the same way you just did: a window that won’t seal after a storm, a door that binds when the humidity spikes, or a latch that stopped catching cleanly. You’re not imagining it. Coastal air, salt, and Florida sun work on hardware faster than manufacturers like to admit. Here’s what you need to know to get the right part, pay a fair price, and not do this twice.
Which CGI Models This Applies To
CGI (Custom Glass Industries, now part of PGT Innovations) builds impact-rated windows and doors across several product lines: Estate, Estate Collection, Sentinel, and Targa by CGI. The model matters because hardware and weatherstripping are not universal across lines. Your CGI product label, usually etched in the corner of the glass or stamped on the frame edge, will show the model name and a manufacturing code. Write that down before you call anyone, including us. A common gotcha: Sentinel and Estate sashes share glass dimensions in some sizes, but their lock mechanisms and keepers do not interchange. We’ve had more than one Fort Lauderdale homeowner buy an Estate lock online, only to discover their Sentinel frame needs a different striker plate entirely. On the OEM versus aftermarket question: for seals, rollers, and weatherstripping, quality aftermarket parts from suppliers like Prime-Line or SWISCO often fit correctly and cost 30 to 50 percent less than OEM. For impact-rated glass, frame corners, or anything that affects structural integrity, stick with OEM or an approved equivalent. Your home’s wind mitigation credit depends on it.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your CGI Windows & Doors Is Failing
- Water staining at the bottom corners of the frame. This usually means the weep holes (the small drainage slots in the sill track) are clogged with salt crust or debris, or the sill gasket has compressed past usefulness. In Fort Lauderdale, we see this most often on east-facing windows after two or three years of direct salt spray.
- A window that slides hard or sticks in humid weather. CGI frames expand and contract with temperature swings. Worn rollers or bent tracks make that movement worse. If you hear a grinding sound when you push the sash, the roller bearings have likely seized from corrosion.
- Air you can feel around a closed panel. Weatherstripping on CGI units loses its compression after about 5 to 8 years in Florida’s heat. You’ll notice it most on the bottom rail of a sliding glass door or the top corner of a casement window.
- A latch that locks but still moves. This points to a worn keeper or a misaligned strike plate. It’s common in CGI doors that get used dozens of times a day, especially in pool-facing installations where the hardware sees constant moisture.
- Fogged glass between the panes. That’s a failed insulated glass unit seal. It does not affect impact rating, but it does mean the glass has to be replaced as a unit, not repaired. Halos or streaks you cannot wipe away from either side are the telltale sign.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
In Fort Lauderdale, expect to pay $200 to $400 for a hardware-only swap (latch, keeper, roller assembly) including the part and our labor. Weatherstripping replacement around a full window or slider typically runs $150 to $350 installed. A full seal and gasket kit for a medium slider lands around $250 to $500. If your insulated glass unit has failed, that’s the big one: $600 to $1,800 per panel depending on size, glass type, and whether your CGI unit is still under its original warranty. What drives the range most is access (second-story windows cost more to reach safely) and whether the frame has hidden corrosion that needs cleaning before the new part seats correctly. Every job gets a written price before work starts. The number on day one is the number on the invoice. Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale is an independent service provider, not affiliated with CGI, and our labor carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the repair fails inside the guarantee period, we come back and fix it at no charge. That includes a free return visit, no service call, no re-inspection fee.
See the difference
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AfterDIY or Call Us?
You can safely check a few things before spending money. Clean the sill tracks with a vacuum and a dry brush. Clear the weep holes with a thin wire or compressed air. Confirm the model name on your CGI label. What we do not recommend: pulling a sash out of its frame if you have never done it before. A CGI sash on a large slider can weigh 80 pounds or more, and the spring-loaded rollers release with enough force to pinch badly. If the part you suspect is inside the frame channel or behind the sash, that is not a Saturday morning project. Trevor Nash learned that lesson early in his career and has the scar to prove it. We’re happy to talk you through the simple checks and be honest if we think you can handle the fix yourself. Call (754) 551-2922 and ask. No charge for the conversation.
FAQs
In coastal Fort Lauderdale conditions, hardware and weatherstripping on CGI units typically last 5 to 8 years before they need attention. Impact glass itself can last decades if the seal holds. Homes closer to the Intracoastal or the ocean will see faster corrosion on rollers and latches than homes further west near Plantation or Sunrise. If you’re past the eight-year mark on original hardware, budget for a roller and weatherstripping refresh. Call (754) 551-2922 for an exact condition check. Estimates are free.
Most failed hardware like latches, keepers, rollers, and weatherstripping gets replaced rather than rebuilt. The metals corrode and the rubber compresses; refurbishing them is rarely cheaper than a new part. Failed insulated glass units cannot be repaired at all, only replaced. We will tell you straight which camp your issue falls into, and we stock common CGI-compatible parts to avoid a second trip. Call (754) 551-2922 and describe what you’re seeing.
Most hardware swaps like a latch, keeper, or roller set take 30 to 60 minutes once we are on site. Weatherstripping a full slider takes about an hour. A failed glass unit replacement usually takes an hour to install, but the glass panel itself needs to be ordered to your exact size, which can take one to three weeks depending on the supplier. We will give you a written time window before we start, and we show up when we said we would. Call (754) 551-2922 for scheduling.
We keep the most common CGI-compatible hardware on our trucks: spring-loaded roller assemblies for Estate and Sentinel sliders, latch and keeper sets, corner seals, and weatherstripping profiles. For less common parts or custom glass units, we order directly for your specific model and size measured from the label on your unit. We also stock compatible parts for KraftMaid cabinetry, Cambria and Silestone countertops, since many Fort Lauderdale homeowners juggle several brands in one house. If we do not have it on the truck, we will tell you before we ever charge a service fee. Call (754) 551-2922.
Get the Right Part the First Time
We know what it is like to order a part, wait a week, and then find out it does not fit. That is why we ask for two things before anything else: the CGI model name from your label and a photo of the failed part. Trevor Nash and the team at Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale have been fixing Florida homes long enough to know that the cheap way is usually the expensive way twice. Tell me what you need, I’ll tell you what it costs, then we’ll get it done. Call (754) 551-2922 for a free estimate. A live person answers, not a voicemail maze.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale at Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
