5.0 Star Rated on
Window Replacement in Austin, TX
- Driftwood Builders Roofing 12308 Twin Creek Rd. Manchaca, TX 78652
Schedule Your Free Estimate
Tell us which windows are giving you trouble. We measure, inspect, photograph the conditions, and send a written estimate broken out opening by opening.
Prefer to talk? (512) 894-0129
Signs your windows need to be replaced
- Condensation, fog, or moisture trapped between the panes of a double pane unit
- Drafts you can feel at the frame or the sash on a windy day
- Water staining, swelling, or peeling paint on the wall or floor below a window
- Trim at the bottom corners of a window that is soft, dark, or crumbling
- Windows that stick, will not stay open, or no longer lock properly
- A sash that has dropped out of square, or a visible gap at the meeting rail
- Cloudy, etched, or discoloured glass that will not clean up
- Rotted or delaminating sills, jambs, or brickmould around the opening
- Caulk joints around a window that have split, shrunk, or pulled away
- Mildew smell, soft baseboard, or drywall damage under an exterior window
Where window water problems actually start
Most of the failures we open up are not the window itself. They are the water management around the opening. Central Texas gives us long dry stretches followed by hard, wind driven rain, and that combination finds every joint that was sealed with caulk instead of properly flashed.
An opening should shed water on its own: a sill pan or sloped sill under the unit, flashing lapped over the water resistive barrier so gravity carries water out and down, and sealant acting as a secondary defense rather than the only one. When an opening was only caulked, that caulk eventually shrinks and splits, water gets behind the trim, and the sheathing and framing take the damage quietly for years before anything shows up on the inside. That is the same failure pattern behind rotting window trim, and it is why we open enough of the wall to see the real condition before we scope a replacement.
Repair or replace: how we decide
Replacement is not automatically the answer, and a new window set into a bad opening will fail the same way the old one did.
Repair or targeted retrofit often makes sense when the frame and the surrounding wall are sound and the problem is one specific part: worn weatherstripping, a failed balance or sash cord, damaged hardware, split exterior trim, or a caulk joint that needs to be cut out and redone correctly. A single failed component is rarely a reason to replace a whole unit.
Full replacement usually makes more sense when the insulated glass seal has failed and the unit is fogged, when the frame or sill itself is rotted, when the opening has to be opened up anyway to correct flashing, when several windows on the same elevation are failing together, or when the openings are part of a larger exterior project.
What we find on an inspection is not the same thing as a final repair recommendation. We show you photos of the actual condition at each opening and price the options separately so you can weigh them yourself.
Materials, installation, and doing it with the siding
On the installation side, the details that decide how long the work lasts are consistent: a sill pan or sloped sill under the unit, head flashing lapped correctly over the water resistive barrier, proper shimming so the window operates squarely, low expansion foam or backer rod rather than over-packed insulation, and exterior trim that is primed on all sides and sealed at the cut ends.
Frame materials each carry real trade-offs, and the right one depends on your home, the elevation, and your budget rather than on a brand pitch. Vinyl is the most common replacement frame and the least expensive. Fiberglass and composite frames are more dimensionally stable through heat cycling. Aluminum clad wood shows up on higher end Austin homes and on historic style openings. Full frame replacement lets us correct the opening itself, while insert or retrofit replacement is less invasive but keeps the existing frame and its existing flashing. We will tell you which one your opening actually needs.
Coordinating windows with a siding replacement is the single biggest efficiency in this work. When the siding is off, the water resistive barrier and the openings are exposed, flashing can be integrated correctly instead of retrofitted, and the trim and siding go back on as one system. If you are already planning James Hardie siding, doing the windows in the same phase avoids paying twice to open the same wall. Our article on what we find behind siding shows what those walls typically look like once they are open.
How a Driftwood window replacement works
Free on-site assessment.
We look for the water path.
Written scope and itemized estimate.
Installation with the opening corrected.
Operation check and cleanup.
Why Austin homeowners have Driftwood Builders Roofing handle their windows: a locally owned Austin area contractor, GAF Master Elite roofing contractor, James Hardie Siding Contractor, BBB A+ accredited, more than 3,700 completed projects across Central Texas, and one crew responsible for the opening, the flashing, the trim, and the siding around it.
Window Replacement Across the Austin Area
Replacement windows for South Austin homes, with the opening flashed properly rather than just caulked.
South Austin Roofing
Lakeway homeowners call us for fogged double pane glass, drafty sashes, and trim that has gone soft at the corners.
Lakeway Roofing
Window replacement in Round Rock, including the trim, brickmould, and siding repair around the opening.
Round Rock Roofing
We handle Georgetown window openings that show water staining or rot, correcting the flashing before the new unit goes in.
Georgetown Roofing
Free on-site assessments in Salado, with a written estimate broken out opening by opening.
Salado Roofing
Windows done alongside siding on Jarrell homes, so the wall only has to be opened once.
Jarrell Roofing
Replacement windows for Marble Falls homes, with the opening flashed properly rather than just caulked.
Marble Falls Roofing
Spicewood homeowners call us for fogged double pane glass, drafty sashes, and trim that has gone soft at the corners.
Spicewood Roofing
Window replacement in Driftwood, including the trim, brickmould, and siding repair around the opening.
Driftwood Roofing
We handle Dripping Springs window openings that show water staining or rot, correcting the flashing before the new unit goes in.
Dripping Springs Roofing
Free on-site assessments in Bee Cave, with a written estimate broken out opening by opening.
Bee Cave Roofing
Windows done alongside siding on WestLake homes, so the wall only has to be opened once.
Westlake Roofing
Replacement windows for Manchaca homes, with the opening flashed properly rather than just caulked.
Manchaca Roofing
Buda homeowners call us for fogged double pane glass, drafty sashes, and trim that has gone soft at the corners.
Buda Roofing
Window replacement in Kyle, including the trim, brickmould, and siding repair around the opening.
Kyle Roofing
We handle San Marcos window openings that show water staining or rot, correcting the flashing before the new unit goes in.
San Marcos Roofing
Free on-site assessments in Lockhart, with a written estimate broken out opening by opening.
Lockhart Roofing
Windows done alongside siding on Del Valle homes, so the wall only has to be opened once.
Del Valle Roofing
Replacement windows for Leander homes, with the opening flashed properly rather than just caulked.
Leander Roofing
Cedar Park homeowners call us for fogged double pane glass, drafty sashes, and trim that has gone soft at the corners.
Cedar Park Roofing
Window replacement in Circle C Ranch, including the trim, brickmould, and siding repair around the opening.
Circle C Ranch Roofing
We handle Bastrop window openings that show water staining or rot, correcting the flashing before the new unit goes in.
Bastrop Roofing
Free on-site assessments in Steiner Ranch, with a written estimate broken out opening by opening.
Steiner Ranch Roofing
Windows done alongside siding on Tarrytown homes, so the wall only has to be opened once.
Tarrytown Roofing
What Do Austin Homeowners Say About Our Roofing Work?
These Austin homeowners share their experience with roof inspections, storm-damage claims, repairs, replacements, and how our team communicated along the way.
Join hundreds of satisfied customers who voted us the best roofer Austin has to offer
Why Austin Homeowners Choose Driftwood Builders Roofing
Windows are holes cut through your weather barrier. We approach them the same way we approach a roof penetration, which is why homeowners who have already been through a leak tend to call us for the openings too.
- One contractor for the roof, the siding, the trim, and the windows between them
- GAF Master Elite roofing contractor and James Hardie Siding Contractor
- BBB A+ accredited and insured, with full GL and workers comp on every job
- Photo documented assessments and written, opening-by-opening estimates
- Flashing and water management corrected at the opening, not just caulked over
GOT ANY QUESTIONS
ABOUT Window replacement
Straight answers before you start pricing windows
Do you replace windows on their own, or only as part of a bigger project?
Both. We handle standalone window replacement, and we also do it as part of a full exterior project alongside siding or roofing. If your siding is already coming off, doing the windows in the same phase is usually the better value, because the flashing can be integrated into the wall assembly instead of retrofitted around it. Our article on sequencing roof and siding work covers the same principle.
Will new windows lower my energy bills?
New windows typically seal better than failed units, and closing real air leaks makes a home more comfortable. We are not going to promise you a specific dollar amount or percentage of savings. Actual results depend on your existing windows, your insulation, your HVAC, the orientation of the home, and how you use it. What we can speak to directly is comfort, operation, and stopping water intrusion.
My window is fogged between the panes. Can that be fixed without replacing the whole window?
A fogged double pane unit means the seal between the panes has failed. In some cases the insulated glass unit can be replaced within the existing frame, which is less invasive and less expensive than a full replacement. Whether that is possible depends on the frame type, the age of the unit, and whether the frame itself is still sound. We will tell you which applies to yours after we look at it.
What is the difference between full frame and insert replacement?
An insert, sometimes called a retrofit, sets a new unit inside the existing frame. It is faster and less disruptive, but it keeps the old frame and the old flashing, and it slightly reduces the glass area. Full frame replacement removes everything back to the rough opening so the sill pan and flashing can be done correctly. If there is any water damage at the opening, full frame is usually the honest answer.
Do you handle the exterior trim and siding repair around the opening?
Yes. Damaged trim, rotted brickmould, and the siding or stucco that has to be cut back to reach the opening are part of the same scope. That is the main reason to have one exterior contractor do this work rather than splitting it between a window installer and a siding crew who each stop at the other one at their own edge.
How long does a window replacement take?
It depends on the number of openings, whether the units are stocked or have to be ordered, and whether any framing or sheathing repair is needed once the opening is exposed. We give you a realistic schedule with the estimate, and we tell you up front when lead times on ordered units are the constraint rather than the labor.