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ECO Window Systems Kitchen Remodeling: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
If you have ECO Window Systems windows in your kitchen and are planning a remodel around them, the most important thing to know is this: your windows don’t get replaced during a kitchen renovation unless they’re failing, and when they are, the work typically runs $14,000 – $45,000 in Fort Lauderdale depending on cabinet line, countertop material, and whether the window openings need reframing. Most owners discover a problem during demo, when the old backsplash comes off and the window frame behind it is swollen from years of sink-side humidity. We handle the full kitchen remodel and coordinate any ECO Window Systems window work (we’re an independent contractor, not affiliated with ECO Window Systems) so you’re not juggling two crews.
What you’re really dealing with in a Fort Lauderdale kitchen is the pairing of a good window with a brutal climate. ECO Window Systems builds impact-rated windows meant for coastal Florida, which is exactly what you want on the east side of the house. The trouble starts when the original install didn’t flash the rough opening correctly, or when a decade of salt air and kitchen steam has worked into the frame corners. Trevor Nash has opened enough walls near Las Olas Boulevard and in the older neighborhoods off Sunrise Boulevard to know the difference between a window that’s fine and one that’s quietly rotting behind the tile.
Which ECO Window Systems Models This Applies To
ECO Window Systems manufactures single-hung, horizontal roller, casement, and picture windows, and most Fort Lauderdale installs are impact-rated for hurricane code. In kitchens, you most often see either a single picture window over the sink or a three-lite combination: a picture window flanked by two casements or horizontal rollers. The model number lives on a small silver or white sticker on the inside edge of the frame, usually on the hinge side. Write it down before you call anyone because the replacement glass pack or sash has to match that exact series.
Here’s the compatibility gotcha we run into constantly: a window ordered for a kitchen that’s 36 inches wide will not swap into an opening that’s 35 1/2 inches, and older homes in Victoria Park or Sailboat Bend rarely have the clean dimensions that newer construction does. If the label is gone, we measure the visible glass and the frame-to-frame width and height, not the rough opening. OEM parts lock you into whatever ECO Window Systems charges and however long their lead time runs, which is often 6 to 10 weeks. Quality aftermarket glass packs and hardware exist, but only for common sizes. If yours is a custom size, OEM is the only correct route. We give you both prices before you commit to either.
We also stock and install kitchen remodeling components alongside this: KraftMaid cabinetry, Cambria and Silestone countertops, and the necessary substrates behind them. That matters because when a window needs to come out during a remodel, the countertop and cabinet layout almost always shift slightly.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your ECO Window Systems Kitchen Remodeling Is Failing
- Condensation between the glass panes. The seal on the insulated glass unit (IGU) has failed. Florida humidity will make this permanent in a matter of weeks, not seasons. You’re looking at a glass pack replacement, not just a wipe-down.
- A white chalky residue along the frame corners. Salt air corrosion on the aluminum frame. This is normal wear in Fort Lauderdale, but if the powder coating has worn through to bare metal, water is entering and the substrate behind it is in trouble.
- The sash drags or won’t lock without forcing it. Years of kitchen heat and humidity have warped the frame slightly. Forcing the lock stresses the corners and eventually cracks the welds.
- Water stains on the drywall under or beside the window. The flashing around the rough opening is failing, not the window itself. That water has been traveling for a while, and the fix usually involves pulling the lower cabinets to open the wall.
- You hear wind whistling even when the kitchen is quiet. The weatherstripping is shot, or the original install left a gap between the frame and the rough opening. In a kitchen, this is also how you get sugar ants and palmetto bugs in the dry season.
See the difference
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After
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
A full ECO Window Systems kitchen remodel in Fort Lauderdale runs $14,000 – $45,000. The wide range is honest math: a modest galley kitchen with stock cabinets and a single laminate countertop sits at the low end, while a full gut with custom cabinetry, Cambria quartz, new island, and two or three replacement window units climbs to the top. If you’re only replacing a single failed window without touching the kitchen around it, that’s a separate scope we quote by the opening.
What drives the number more than anything is whether the window opening needs reframing, which is the case in roughly one out of four Fort Lauderdale kitchens we open. Rotted king studs and sill plates from years of slow flashing leaks add real lumber and labor. We give you a written price before any work starts, and that number is the number on the invoice. No verbal ballpark that changes once the wall is open. The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers it: if something fails inside a year, we come back and fix it at no charge.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely handle a few checks yourself. Wipe down the track and confirm the weep holes at the bottom of the frame aren’t clogged with kitchen grease. Check that the window sticker is still legible. Take a photo of the condensation pattern from inside and outside. That tells us a lot before we even arrive.
What you shouldn’t do is remove a window sash or pull the trim around it. Impact-rated windows are heavy, the glass packs are under tension inside the frame, and once you break the seal on an opening in a humid climate, you’ve introduced moisture directly into the wall cavity. We’ve repaired more than one DIY window removal where the owner saved $300 on labor and spent $2,400 fixing water damage. If the window is failing or the remodel needs the opening adjusted, call (754) 551-2922 and we’ll come look at it. Tell me what you need, I’ll tell you what it costs – then we’ll get it done.
FAQs
Twenty to twenty-five years in our climate, assuming the original install was done properly. The IGU seal typically fails first, often between year twelve and fifteen. Frames last longer than seals almost every time. If you’re seeing condensation between panes at year ten, call (754) 551-2922 and we’ll give you an exact replacement cost.
Yes, in most cases the glass pack can be replaced without touching the frame, provided the frame itself is sound. If the corner welds are cracked or the frame is corroded through, the whole unit comes out. Either way, the number goes in writing before we order anything.
Typically four to eight weeks in Fort Lauderdale, depending on cabinet lead times and whether custom windows are on order. The demo, reframing, and substrate work happens in the first week. The written scope we hand you on day one includes the arrival window and the full schedule. Call (754) 551-2922 for a free estimate and we’ll map it out.
We stock common replacement hardware: balances, locks, handles, and weatherstripping for the most frequent ECO Window Systems sizes. Glass packs are ordered per job since they’re size-specific. We also keep standard kitchen remodel materials on hand through our network – KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone among them – so the countertop and window work don’t wait on two different suppliers.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale at Penhallow Remodeling Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
