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ES Windows Home Additions & ADU: The Fort Worth Owner’s Guide
Home additions and ADU projects built with ES Windows in Fort Worth typically run $45,000 – $130,000 installed, and the window package usually makes up $8,000 – $25,000 of that total depending on how many openings your addition or ADU has. Most owners call us when they’re mid-plan or mid-build and discover their ES Windows order is short a few units, or a window in an existing addition has failed and needs a matched replacement. If you’re holding a tape measure and staring at an opening that’s framed but not filled, here’s exactly how to sort it out without guessing.
We’re an independent Fort Worth general contractor and not affiliated with ES Windows, but we’ve installed, sourced, and replaced their units across home additions and ADUs throughout Tarrant County for years. The window to your addition is one of the few pieces you touch every day, so getting the spec right matters more than getting it fast.
Which ES Windows Models This Applies To
ES Windows builds custom and semi-custom aluminum and aluminum-clad units, and the big difference in home additions and ADUs comes down to frame depth and glazing. Most addition work we encounter in Fort Worth falls into three buckets: their fixed and casement series for natural light, sliding units where an ADU kitchenette or bedroom meets a side yard, and their larger multi-lite configurations for gable ends. The compatibility gotcha that catches owners is frame depth – existing ES Windows on the original structure might be 3-1/4″ frames, while the unit you’re ordering for a new 2×6 addition wall needs to match the rough opening depth, not the old window’s look.
Look for the etched logo in the glass corner and a silver or white sticker on the frame edge. That sticker carries the order number, glass package code, and sometimes the series letter. For ADU work, many Fort Worth builds use their thermally-broken aluminum line, which handles the Texas sun better than non-broken frames – the break cuts heat transfer through the metal so your mini-split isn’t fighting the window itself. If you’re matching existing units, OEM gets you the exact finish. If you’re building new, a quality aftermarket aluminum unit with the same glass spec and thermal break will land you within a few hundred dollars per window and cut lead time by weeks. We install both and will tell you which makes sense for your project.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your ES Windows Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
Addition and ADU windows fail quietly, and by the time you notice, the fix is usually more than caulk. Here’s what we see most often in Fort Worth:
- Condensation between the panes that never clears. The seal has failed and argon (if it was gas-filled) has escaped. The insulated glass unit (IGU) is dead – you’re now running a single-pane window in a double-pane frame.
- Sticking operation on sliding or casement units. Aluminum frames move with heat, and Fort Worth’s summer-to-winter swing will eventually bind a frame that was installed even slightly out of square. If you have to shoulder the sash open, the track or hinge is wearing out.
- Water staining on interior drywall below the sill. This usually means the sill pan or flashing detail at the addition’s rough opening was flashed wrong from day one, and the window needs to come out to fix it properly.
- Drafts you can feel with the window closed. The weatherstripping on ES units is a wear item, and North Texas winds eat it faster than most people expect. When the strip is flat, air moves and your cooling bill climbs.
- Visible frame oxidation or white powder on the aluminum. That’s galvanic corrosion, and it shows up fastest on salt-sprayed frames or where dissimilar metals touch. It’s cosmetic until it’s not – pinholes through the frame mean rot in the rough opening behind it.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For Fort Worth home additions and ADUs, installed ES Windows replacement or new-construction pricing runs inside the broader $45,000 – $130,000 project range, with the window package itself typically landing between $800 and $2,500 per opening depending on size, series, and glass package. A single IGU replacement for a failed seal runs $300 – $700 in most cases, which beats a full unit swap when the frame is still sound.
Every quote we write includes the window or IGU, haul-off of the old unit, flashing and sealing to Fort Worth code, interior trim repair if the opening fights us, and a written line-item price before we touch anything. That’s the Relay Standard – no change orders for work we should have seen coming. The work carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing: if it’s not right, we make it right. Luca Romano still walks the bigger addition and ADU jobs himself, because a window that’s out of square by a quarter inch is the difference between a ten-year window and a two-year one.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely check the sticker, measure the rough opening, and note what the glass looks like from the inside. That’s useful and it helps us quote you faster. What you should not do is pull a unit out of an exterior wall, especially in a two-story addition or anywhere load is sitting on the header. Aluminum windows are heavy, the trim you remove is rarely reusable, and flashing done even slightly wrong is how you get a $2,000 water damage bill behind a $900 window.
If it’s a worn weatherstrip, that’s a $15 part most owners can handle. If the glass has failed, the sash is binding, or water is coming in, call us at (682) 841-6652. We’ll tell you over the phone whether it’s an IGU swap or a full-unit replacement, and a written estimate is free.
FAQs
Expect 15 – 25 years from the frame and 10 – 15 from the sealed glass unit before the Texas heat and UV cycle the seal out. Units on the west and south exposures fail first. Call (682) 841-6652 if you’re seeing fogging before year 10 – some of that’s covered by the original manufacturer warranty we can help you chase.
Yes, if the frame is square and free of corrosion, the IGU can be swapped for $300 – $700 and you keep the original look. Once the frame is pitted or the corners are separating, replacement is the honest call. We’ll show you photos of what we found before we recommend either path.
A single window swap runs 2 – 4 hours on-site. A full addition worth of windows (8 – 12 openings) is a two-to-three-day trim and seal job. We schedule the work, show up at the time we give you, and send photo updates before and after – part of the Relay Visibility Guarantee on every project.
We keep common weatherstrip, glazing beads, hardware, and roller assemblies on the truck for ES Windows-style aluminum units. Full replacement sashes and custom IGU orders run 7 – 14 days from our glass suppliers in Fort Worth. We’ll tell you the lead time before you pay a cent.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner & Lead Remodeler, Sawyer Remodel Fort Worth at Sawyer Remodel Fort Worth, serving Fort Worth and nearby areas.
