Full-frame and insert window replacement

Most replacement conversations in Spokane are really this decision: leave the old frame in the wall, or take it out. The glass you picked is the smaller half of the quote.

Insert, pocket, retrofit

Three names for the same approach. The new window sits inside the frame that is already there. Interior trim often stays. The job is faster, and it is usually the lower price, which is why national guides separate it from full-frame work. The glass gets a bit smaller because you have added a frame inside a frame. That is fine when the old frame is solid, square, and dry.

Full-frame

The old frame comes out, back toward the studs. The opening gets a new frame, new flashing, and new interior and exterior trim. Choose this conversation when any of these are true:

• The sill is soft, crumbly, or stained underneath.
• The frame is out of square and a new insert would bind or leak at the corners.
• The opening has to change size. A new egress window is the common case.
• The old frame is the draft, not the glass. A new sash in a rotten frame will not fix that.

Full-frame work disturbs more paint and more siding. On a house built before 1978, ask about the EPA lead renovation rule before the opening is demoed. Either install type still has to meet the energy-code U-factor for a replacement window. See the energy page for the 0.30 cap.

Fogged double-pane glass

A cloudy or dripping gap between panes is a failed seal. If a screwdriver handle does not sink into the sill and the frame is square, say "fogged glass, frame feels solid" in the form. If the wood gives, say that too. The contractors are pricing two different jobs, and the cost ranges only make sense once you know which job it is.

Questions about the frame