Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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AfterFast, Reliable Windows & Doors Across San Diego
Window and door replacement in San Diego runs $5,310 to $17,700 for standard work, and $9,440 to $29,500 for impact-rated installations. We’re Barrett & Sons Construction, and we’ve spent nearly three decades helping San Diego homeowners open up walls and find out what’s actually behind them. When you’re dealing with a 1920s Craftsman in North Park or a 1940s Spanish Revival in Mission Hills, every window job carries unknowns. We handle those unknowns the way Tom Barrett has since 1998: inspection first, any surprise priced in writing, and no hammer swung until you approve the change order. Call (877) 610-1318 for your free estimate.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is San Diego’s Preferred Windows & Doors Company
Most San Diego homeowners we meet have been burned once already. They hired a company that quoted one price on the phone, then handed them a different bill when the old framing turned out to be rotted or the rough opening was out of square. That’s not how we work. Tom Barrett’s name and license number are published and verifiable, and his sons are on-site most days running the crews. You’ll see the same faces at the hardware store on Saturday.
Our reputation in San Diego comes from jobs where we did the hard thing: pulled the permit, opened the wall, found the rot, and fixed it without a surprise invoice. Every price change arrives as a written change order before work happens. We carry premium brands like Simonton, PGT, and Ply Gem, and every job is backed by our 90-Day Done Right Promise, written on the contract, not buried in fine print. If it’s not done right, Tom comes back. One call.
Our Windows & Doors Services in San Diego
Window Replacement
Window replacement in San Diego’s older neighborhoods rarely stops at the window. Canyon-rim homes in Mission Hills (92103) and South Park (92104) often have original rough openings that are no longer square after decades of soil creep on decomposed granite fill. We inspect the framing before we quote, so you know what the permit will require before we start. A typical San Diego window replacement runs $5,310 to $17,700 depending on the number of openings and what we find behind the trim.
Custom Windows & Doors
Older San Diego homes were built for odd openings. A 1930s Spanish Revival in Golden Hill rarely has a standard-size anything. Our Windows & Doors team orders custom sizes, often in Simonton or Ply Gem, to fit the opening as it actually is rather than forcing the frame to accommodate a stock unit. We measure every opening twice, and we account for the fact that canyon-rim houses shift seasonally with wet and dry soil cycles.
Impact Windows & Doors
Impact-rated windows and doors are a serious investment in San Diego, especially for homes within a mile of the coast in Point Loma (92106) or Ocean Beach (92107). Marine-layer moisture corrodes standard hardware fast. PGT and CGI impact units are built for salt air and wind-driven rain. Expect $9,440 to $29,500 for a full impact window installation, depending on the product line and how many openings you have. We’ll walk you through what actually needs impact rating versus what doesn’t.
Door Installation
Exterior doors in San Diego’s pre-WWII housing stock are often original, and they’ve watched 80 or 90 years of marine-layer cycles. Sills rot, jambs pull away from the framing, and water gets in through failed flashing. We reframe openings with pressure-treated lumber, install code-compliant flashing, and hang doors from PGT or Ply Gem that close square and seal tight. A west-facing door within a mile of the ocean takes different prep than a door inland in La Mesa.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Diego
We stock Simonton, Ply Gem, and PGT. That matters because waiting on an out-of-state supplier adds weeks to a San Diego window job. We know which glass packages hold up in the coastal marine layer, which frames survive canyon-rim sun exposure, and which hardware resists corrosion on west-facing elevations. When a part fails under our 90-Day Done Right Promise, we’re not calling a distributor in another state. The fix usually happens fast because the parts are already here.
Common Windows & Doors Problems We See in San Diego Homes
- Rot at the sill and jamb on west-facing walls. Persistent marine-layer moisture in Ocean Beach (92107) and Point Loma (92106) wicks through failed stucco and into the rough opening. By the time you see peeling paint, the framing underneath often needs replacement, not just the window unit.
- Out-of-square rough openings in canyon-rim homes. Mission Hills, North Park, and South Park homes sit on decomposed granite fill. Soil creep of half an inch here and three-quarters there over 90 years means the opening no longer matches the window. We re-frame rather than force it.
- Undersized headers from past unpermitted replacements. Some previous owner swapped a window in a 1920s Craftsman without pulling a permit. The header may not meet current seismic code. When we pull a new permit, the city makes us fix that before we close the wall. We plan for it.
- Failed flashing and weep systems. Older San Diego homes often have no weep system at all. Water collects behind stucco, rots the substrate, and migrates into the wall cavity. Our crew opened a 1928 Spanish Revival in South Park to replace a corroded steel casement window, only to find the original rough opening framed with ungraded redwood that had rotted from decades of marine-layer moisture. We re-framed with pressure-treated lumber, installed a Milgard fiberglass casement window, and flashed the new pan to drain into a code-compliant weep system before the city inspector signed off.
Pricing for Windows & Doors in San Diego, CA
A standard window replacement in San Diego typically runs $5,310 to $17,700. Impact-rated installations, which we recommend for homes within a mile of the ocean, run $9,440 to $29,500. What moves the number is what’s behind the wall: rotted framing, undersized headers, or a hillside review triggered by your ZIP. Here’s how that breaks down:
| Service | San Diego Price Range |
|---|---|
| Window Replacement | $5,310 - $17,700 |
| Impact Window Installation | $9,440 - $29,500 |
We give you a written line-item estimate before you sign anything. If we open the wall and find rotted framing that wasn’t visible from the outside, you’ll get a written change order with a price before we touch it. The allowance that isn’t on paper is a surprise waiting for a date. Call (877) 610-1318 for your free estimate. We also offer a Free Second Opinion on Any Written Estimate, and a permanent 10% senior and veteran discount.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Diego
Our Windows & Doors in San Diego service area extends south to Lemon Grove, east to La Mesa, across the bay to Coronado, and down to National City. If you’re in one of the surrounding communities and wonder whether we cover your neighborhood, call us. If we don’t cover your exact block, we’ll tell you straight rather than string you along. Same crew, same written change orders, same 90-Day Done Right Promise.
Serving San Diego, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Diego area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Windows & Doors in San Diego
It almost always triggers a City of San Diego Hillside Review. Mission Hills (92103) homes sit on decomposed granite fill over steep slopes, often with original foundations that have no engineered drainage. Any window replacement that disturbs load-bearing framing can require a soils report and retaining wall engineering before the permit is even issued. We tell you this at the estimate, not after the wall is open. Call (877) 610-1318 if you suspect your canyon-rim home is in this situation.
Yes, if the property sits within the California Coastal Zone, which covers Ocean Beach (92107), Pacific Beach (92109), and coastal Point Loma (92106). That triggers a separate California Coastal Commission permit on top of the standard building permit. It adds weeks to months to the timeline and imposes design restrictions. We handle the paperwork and tell you the realistic schedule before you commit.
Expect the unexpected. In 1930s Craftsman homes across North Park and South Park, we routinely find ungraded redwood framing, no weep system, undersized headers, and rot from decades of marine-layer moisture. What looked like a simple sash replacement becomes a full re-frame. That’s why we write allowances into your contract and issue a written change order with a price before any extra work happens. No surprise invoices, ever.
Coastal windows in San Diego mostly fail from moisture: rotted sills, corroded hardware, failed flashing. Canyon-rim windows in North Park fail from movement: soil creep on decomposed granite slowly shifts the foundation, binding sashes, cracking glass, and pulling jambs out of square. The fix is different too. We re-frame and re-flash rather than simply swapping the unit, and we’ll tell you which failure mode your home actually has.
Yes, and most San Diego homeowners should. Put impact-rated PGT or CGI units on the corrosive west-facing elevations within a mile of the ocean, and standard Simonton or Ply Gem units on the protected east side. The city doesn’t require uniform impact glass across a single-family home. We’ll help you decide which openings actually earn the impact upgrade, so you’re not paying $9,440 to $29,500 for the whole house when only half of it needs it. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll walk your floor plan with you.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving San Diego since 1998.