Free in-home measure and quote - PGT, CGI and CWS impact lines compared on your actual openings, style by style
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AfterCustom Impact Windows in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Custom impact windows in Fort Lauderdale are hurricane-rated, laminated-glass units built to fit openings that standard off-the-shelf sizes simply cannot cover – arched bays in older Colee Hammock bungalows, the wide horizontal casements in mid-century Las Olas Isles homes, or the oversized picture windows in newer Coral Ridge construction where a builder went their own direction with the framing. A properly fitted custom impact window meets Florida Building Code wind-load requirements for Broward County and seals out the kind of driven rain that comes with a Category 2 landfall, all while looking like it belongs there. TruePane Windows & Doors has been fitting glass into non-standard openings across Fort Lauderdale for over 42 years, and every unit we install is registered under The Keystone Standard before our truck leaves the driveway.
If your situation does not fit the catalog, that is exactly where we work best. Our Custom & Geometric Windows in Fort Lauderdale service covers the full range of specialty shapes and sizes – custom impact is one branch of that work, and it is the branch that matters most in South Florida. Call (754) 310-3589 any time, day or night, and a live person will pick up.
When You Need Custom Impact Windows
- Your opening is a non-standard size or shape. If a measuring tape puts your rough opening outside the 24-to-96-inch range that stock impact units cover, or if the frame is arched, trapezoid, or angled, a custom unit is the only path to a compliant, watertight install.
- You have an older Fort Lauderdale home with original wood frames. Houses in Croissant Park and Sailboat Bend built before 1980 frequently have framing that shifted over decades of humidity cycling. Stock impact windows leave gaps at the sill or head that let water track behind the frame – a problem we see regularly in that age of construction.
- You are replacing single-pane jalousie or aluminum windows that predate the 2001 wind codes. Broward County has been phasing these out since the post-Andrew building reforms, and if you still have louver jalousies on a Florida room or a fixed aluminum single-pane on a garage bay, a custom impact unit is the correct replacement – not a retrofit kit.
- Your HOA or historic district requires specific sight-line dimensions. Parts of Rio Vista and the Sailboat Bend Historic District have design-review rules that govern frame width, glass-to-frame ratio, and profile depth. We work within those parameters by building to the spec, not by asking the spec to fit our catalog.
- You have a combination opening – fixed center with operable sidelites. Mulled combinations that span more than six feet in a single rough opening almost always require custom fabrication. The structural mullion placement has to be engineered for the specific unit width and the wind-load rating required at that elevation and exposure category.
- A previous install left visible gaps, fogged laminate, or a frame that rattles in a thunderstorm. If another company put in a window that visibly flexes when the front door slams, the unit was either undersized or improperly anchored. That is a building-code compliance issue, not a cosmetic one, and it warrants a proper custom replacement.
Our Custom Impact Windows Process
- Field measurement and opening assessment. One of our background-checked, uniformed technicians comes to your Fort Lauderdale home and measures every opening twice – width at the top, middle, and bottom; height at both jambs and center; diagonal check for square; and sill condition. We document the substrate material, the anchor zone depth, and any evidence of prior water intrusion. Nothing gets ordered until the field numbers and the as-built conditions are reconciled on paper.
- Manufacturer line selection and side-by-side quote. Based on your opening dimensions, exposure category, and finish preferences, we pull specifications from the manufacturer lines we are authorized to install – including CGI and ES Windows, both of which have strong track records in Broward County’s coastal exposure zones – and give you a written, side-by-side comparison. You see exactly what each unit costs, what its impact rating covers, and what each warranty layer says. No vague ballpark handed over verbally.
- Permit and NOA review. Every impact window installed in Fort Lauderdale requires a Notice of Acceptance (NOA) from the Florida Building Commission and a Broward County building permit. We pull the permit, confirm the unit’s NOA applies to your home’s construction type and wind-speed zone, and schedule the inspection so it does not fall on you to track it down later.
- Factory fabrication to field dimensions. Your custom unit is built to the exact measurements from step one, not rounded to the nearest catalog size. Laminated glass construction – two panes of tempered glass bonded with a PVB interlayer – is specified to the required impact rating for your opening’s wind-load category. Lead times vary by manufacturer and unit complexity; we give you a realistic date in writing, not an optimistic one.
- Installation, anchoring, and weatherseal. Our technicians remove the existing window, prep the rough opening, and set the new unit plumb, level, and square before a single anchor screw goes in. Anchor spacing and embedment depth follow the engineering drawings that come with the NOA – not guesswork. Florida’s humidity means the weatherseal and flashing details matter as much as the glass itself; we treat both as part of the same task.
- Inspection, warranty registration, and sign-off. After the county inspection clears, we register both manufacturer warranty layers – product and installation – in writing before we leave. You get paper copies with durations stated. The 90-Day Done Right Promise starts the day of sign-off: if anything is not right within 90 days, we make it right, no paperwork fight, no arguing about fine print.
Custom Impact Windows Pricing in Fort Lauderdale
Custom impact window pricing in Fort Lauderdale typically runs between $850 and $3,200 per unit, installed. That range reflects the real spread we see across jobs in this market – not a national average pulled from a home-improvement aggregator.
Several factors push a project toward the higher end of that range:
- Opening size. A standard double-hung replacement in a 36×54-inch opening sits at the lower end. A mulled combination spanning eight feet or more, or an arched transom requiring a curved sash, costs considerably more in both fabrication and installation labor.
- Impact rating required. Homes in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) – which covers all of Broward County – must use units tested to the Florida Product Approval standard. Coastal lots and elevated construction may call for a higher design pressure rating, which affects glass thickness and frame engineering.
- Frame material and finish. Extruded aluminum frames are standard for most Fort Lauderdale impact work. Aluminum-clad or bronze-anodized finishes, which hold up well in salt-air neighborhoods like Harbor Beach and Edgewood, add to the unit cost. PVC-clad aluminum is another option for homeowners who want a painted exterior appearance without bare aluminum oxidation.
- Existing frame condition. If the rough opening shows rot, deteriorated stucco at the buck, or a sill plate that needs rebuilding before the new unit can be properly anchored, that work is scoped and quoted separately – not absorbed quietly into the window price and surfaced on the final invoice.
- Permit and inspection fees. Broward County building permit fees are set by the county fee schedule and are passed through at cost. We do not mark up permit fees.
Seniors and veterans receive a standing 5% discount on all TruePane work. If your repair or replacement comes to more than $250, our $50 Off Any Repair Over $250 offer applies. We do not run limited-time pressure sales or manufacture urgency that is not there.
Call (754) 310-3589 for a free estimate. We will give you a number in writing, not a range that expands after the deposit clears.
Why Fort Lauderdale Homeowners Call TruePane
Dale Kessler started TruePane in 2008 on a principle that has not changed: an out-of-true install and a voided warranty are problems worth fixing permanently, not arguing about later. The company has been serving Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding Broward communities for over 42 years through a family craft tradition that treats every opening as its own problem to solve.
That matters in Fort Lauderdale specifically because the housing stock here is not uniform. The city has Craftsman-era bungalows in Tarpon River, post-war CBS homes in Progresso Village, mid-century flat-roof construction in Coral Ridge, and newer Mediterranean-style builds in Victoria Park – all within a few miles of each other, all with different framing conventions, different substrate conditions, and different HOA requirements - exactly why Custom & Geometric Windows services matter here. A technician who works from a catalog and a price sheet is going to miss things that a second-generation glazier reads in the opening.
We are authorized installers for CGI, ES Windows, and ECO Window Systems, among others, which means we can source units that have a Florida Product Approval already on file for Broward County’s HVHZ designation. We do not have to hunt for an NOA after the unit arrives. That matters for your permit timeline, and your permit timeline matters for your insurance endorsement.
Every technician we send arrives background-checked and in uniform. They measure twice, quote in writing, and register both warranty layers before the truck moves. If the pane is not true, the job is not done – that is the founding rule, and it is still the standard on every job we take in Fort Lauderdale.
You can find the full scope of our specialty glass work on our home page, which covers the range of window, door, and glass services we provide across Broward County.
Key Takeaways
- Custom impact windows are required when an opening falls outside standard catalog sizes – arched, oversized, mulled, or historically constrained shapes are all candidates.
- All impact window installations in Fort Lauderdale require a Broward County building permit and a Florida Product Approval (NOA). TruePane handles both.
- Installed pricing in this market typically runs $850 to $3,200 per unit, depending on size, rating, frame material, and opening condition.
- The Keystone Standard means both manufacturer warranty layers are registered in writing before the truck leaves – product warranty and installation warranty, durations stated.
- The 90-Day Done Right Promise covers the work unconditionally for 90 days from sign-off. No paperwork, no arguing.
- A live person answers (754) 310-3589 around the clock, every day of the week.
FAQs – Custom Impact Windows in Fort Lauderdale
Do custom impact windows qualify for Florida homeowner’s insurance discounts in Fort Lauderdale?
Yes – impact windows that carry a valid Florida Product Approval and are installed under a pulled Broward County building permit typically qualify for the windstorm mitigation credit on a Florida homeowner’s policy. The credit amount depends on your insurer and the wind-opening protection rating achieved across all openings in the home, not just the windows we replace. We give you the NOA documentation and the permit clearance in writing so your agent has what they need to run the mitigation credit calculation. Call (754) 310-3589 if you want to talk through the documentation before we start.
How long does a custom impact window order take from measurement to installation in Fort Lauderdale?
Fabrication lead times for custom impact units currently run four to ten weeks from the confirmed order, depending on the manufacturer line, the unit complexity, and seasonal demand – which tends to spike in April and May as homeowners prepare before hurricane season. Permit processing in Broward County adds roughly two to three weeks to the schedule if the inspection queue is not backed up. We give you a realistic timeline in writing at the time of the quote. We do not promise eight weeks and deliver fourteen.
Can a custom impact window be made to match the profile of my original windows?
In most cases, yes. CGI, ES Windows, and ECO Window Systems all offer multiple frame profiles and sightline depths that can be specified to match or closely approximate an existing window’s exterior appearance. For historically designated properties in neighborhoods like Sailboat Bend, we review the HOA or historic district design guidelines before specifying the unit so there are no surprises at the approval stage. A close match is achievable in the majority of Fort Lauderdale homes we work in; we will tell you plainly if a particular opening has constraints that make it impossible.
Is it safe to attempt to remove an old jalousie or single-pane aluminum window before the new custom impact unit arrives?
We would not recommend it. Removing the existing window before the replacement is on-site leaves the opening exposed – in Fort Lauderdale, an uncovered opening during storm season is a serious risk, and in a CBS or stucco-clad home, the buck and surrounding substrate can deteriorate quickly once the frame seal is broken. Beyond weather exposure, older jalousie frames sometimes have concealed structural attachments that require specific removal technique to avoid cracking the surrounding masonry. Leave the existing window in place until our technician is on-site and ready to set the new unit the same day. Call (754) 310-3589 and we will coordinate the sequence so there is no gap between removal and installation.
Written by Dale Kessler, Owner at TruePane Windows & Doors, serving Fort Lauderdale.
Six Reasons Homeowners Choose TruePane Windows & Doors
Impact systems engineered to design pressures up to +/-100, matched to your wind zone - your openings hold when the storm arrives.
Low-E insulated impact glass from our manufacturer lines commonly cuts monthly cooling bills 20-30%.
Laminated impact glass shuts out up to 40% of outside noise - traffic, neighbors, weather.
Monitoring services run $30-90 a month. Laminated impact glass resists forced entry around the clock, with no subscription.
Florida homeowners average around 25% savings on the windstorm portion of their policy after protecting every opening - some homes qualify for more.
A full impact package upgrades curb appeal, buyer confidence and appraised value in one project.