Installing Home Replacement Windows: How Difficult Is It?

“You can do it yourself,” the home improvement forum poster writes confidently. “Putting in home replacement windows is no big deal.”

With that advice in mind, more than one homeowner has gone out and picked up vinyl home replacement windows, fiberglass home replacement windows, or wood replacement windows to install themselves. After all, how hard can it be?

That’s when the trouble starts. You see, while home replacement windows — especially discounted home replacement windows that one gets at the home improvement center — come in standard sizes, the existing windows in your home — and the openings they fit into — do not. There may be a discrepancy — sometimes of a fraction of an inch, sometimes of several inches — between the rough opening and the window one purchased.

The next problem lies in what you discover when you remove your original windows. Rotted wood and sodden sills have to be replaced — changing a simple ‘in and out’ job into something far more difficult.

Installing home replacement windows yourself often voids some or part of the manufacturer’s warranty. This can be problematic: unless you’re an expert, you might overlook a faulty seal or flaw in a window — yet once you’ve purchased and installed the window yourself, you may have no recourse. This is not the case if you’ve purchased your home replacement window from an authorized window specialist and had your installation done by their manufacturer approved installation team.

There are some physical considerations to take into account when planning home window installation. Replacement windows — whether they’re vinyl home replacement windows, fiberglass home replacement windows, or wood home replacement windows — are heavy. If you’re considering replacement patio doors, french doors, or sliding glass doors, you can count on even more weight. How will you transport the windows to your house and lift them into position? Standard double hung windows on the ground floor may not be problematic, especially if you have strong helpers, but once you move into larger sized windows on second or third floors, maneuvering the windows into place can become problematic.

Finally, consider your time. Trained replacement window installers can do the job quickly and efficiently, as that’s what they do for a living. They’ve practiced their technique and know how to address common problems as they arise.

However, if you opt to do the job on your own, the situation may be different. Chances are you don’t install windows on a daily basis, which means you’ll have to spend some time learning what’s involved and the best way to go about it. Brushing up rusty or creating non existent construction skills will take additional time. You may incur additional expense if you have to purchase tools to make the installation possible.

This all means that your installation will take longer and may cost more than if you have a professional, manufacturer approved crew do the job. Ask yourself: is this really how you want to spend your scarce time off? Is the best use of your time to spend it doing a job someone else could do more efficiently, with far less bother? Sometimes, if you figure out the value of your time and compare it to the cost of installation, it may even save you money to have the windows installed for you.