Window & Door Replacement in Palo Alto & the Bay Area
Licensed window & door contractor in Palo Alto, San Jose & Bay Area. Energy-efficient windows, doors & sliders. Title 24 compliant. Free estimate: (40
Window & Door Replacement in Palo Alto & the Bay Area
Single-pane aluminum windows are the single largest source of energy loss in most older Bay Area homes — and Palo Alto alone has thousands of homes built before 1990 with original single-pane windows still in place. Replacing them with double or triple-pane low-E units makes an immediate, measurable difference: colder rooms in winter stop feeling drafty, afternoon heat buildup in west-facing rooms diminishes, outside noise drops significantly, and condensation on glass surfaces disappears. It's one of the few home improvements where you notice the difference from the first day.
At Sami & Sons, we supply and install energy-efficient windows and doors for homeowners across Palo Alto, San Jose, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and the greater Bay Area. We work with Milgard, Andersen, Pella, and Marvin — and we help you select the right product for your home's architectural style, your HOA's requirements, California's Title 24 energy standards, and your budget. Every installation is permitted, inspected, and backed by our workmanship guarantee.
What We Look For That Others Miss
Window replacement isn't just about the window — it's about how the window interfaces with your wall assembly. The most common failure we see in window replacements done by less experienced contractors is inadequate flashing: no pan flashing at the sill, no head flashing at the top, and caulk-only sealing around the perimeter. Caulk fails within years. Properly installed flashing that integrates with the weather-resistant barrier behind your siding lasts decades.
On every window replacement, we inspect the existing rough opening, evaluate the condition of the sill framing, install pan flashing at the sill, integrate head flashing with the existing weather barrier, and air-seal the perimeter with low-expansion foam before the interior casing goes back on. These steps take more time — but they're what makes the difference between a window replacement that performs long-term and one that develops moisture problems.
California Title 24 Compliance
All window and door replacements in California must comply with Title 24 energy standards, which specify minimum U-factors and solar heat gain coefficients based on your home's climate zone. We specify products that meet or exceed these requirements, provide the energy compliance documentation required for permit applications, and ensure every installation passes inspection. This protects both your investment and your ability to document energy compliance at resale.
Customer testimonials
Energy-Efficient Window Replacement
We install double and triple-pane low-E windows from Milgard, Andersen, Pella, and Marvin — in vinyl, wood-clad, aluminum-clad, and fiberglass frames — configured for the specific performance requirements of each window in your home. A south-facing picture window in San Jose gets a different glass specification than a north-facing bedroom casement in Palo Alto's fog belt, and we account for these differences rather than applying a single product across the entire house.
Low-E coatings (low-emissivity metallic coatings applied to glass surfaces) are the key technology that makes modern double-pane windows dramatically superior to older double-pane or single-pane units. They work by reflecting long-wave infrared radiation — the heat your HVAC system generates — back into the room in winter while allowing visible light through. Different coating configurations balance winter heat retention against summer solar gain control, and we specify the right balance for your window's orientation and your climate zone.
Argon gas fill between panes further improves thermal performance by replacing air — which conducts heat — with a denser, lower-conductivity gas. Combined with a thermally broken frame and a warm-edge spacer between the glass panes, a quality modern window unit provides five to seven times the thermal resistance of a single-pane aluminum window. The energy improvement is measurable — and so is the comfort difference.
Entry Doors, Sliding Glass Doors & French Doors
Your front door is both the most visible element of your home's exterior and a significant contributor to its energy performance and security. An older wood entry door — even one that's been well maintained — cannot match a modern insulated fiberglass or steel door in thermal performance, weathertightness, or security. We install insulated fiberglass doors with foam cores that provide U-factors rivaling a well-insulated wall, multi-point locking systems that engage the door frame at multiple points simultaneously, and weatherstripped thresholds that seal against air infiltration far more effectively than traditional threshold designs.
For sliding glass doors and French doors, we install units from the same manufacturers as our windows — ensuring consistent performance, finish compatibility, and warranty coverage. We offer standard two-panel sliding doors, French door configurations with one or two active panels, and for homeowners who want the full indoor-outdoor Bay Area lifestyle, multi-panel folding glass door systems (LaCantina, NanaWall) that stack to one side and open the living space completely to the outdoors.
All exterior door installations include proper threshold and weather stripping, door frame adjustment for plumb and level, deadbolt reinforcement plates, and where the scope includes it, new exterior casing and sill work that integrates the new door cleanly with your home's existing trim profile.
Window Repair & Partial Replacement
Not every window situation requires full replacement. Fogged double-pane units — where the seal between the glass panes has failed, allowing moisture into the air space and creating the cloudy appearance that won't clean off — can often be resolved by replacing just the glass unit rather than the entire window frame. This is a meaningful cost saving when your existing frames are in good structural condition.
We also repair or replace failed hardware — operators on casement windows, locking mechanisms, weatherstripping, and balance systems on double-hung windows. A window that's difficult to open and close, or one that doesn't latch securely, is often a hardware problem that's far less expensive to address than a full replacement. We'll give you an honest assessment of whether repair makes sense for your specific windows before recommending replacement.
For homes where only a subset of windows are problematic — single-pane windows on the most exposed elevations, for example, or windows in recently remodeled rooms that were left with older units — we're happy to do partial replacements. We'll match the frame profile and color to your existing windows as closely as possible, and we can often make a selective replacement virtually invisible from the street.
Frequently Asked Questions
Window replacement in the Bay Area typically costs $750–$1,800 per window installed, depending on size, frame material, glass specification, and installation complexity. A full home window replacement for a typical Bay Area house runs $18,000–$45,000. We provide detailed estimates during your free in-home consultation, with pricing broken down by window.
Yes — window replacement requires a permit in Palo Alto and most Bay Area cities. Permits include energy compliance review to ensure the replacement windows meet California Title 24 standards. We handle all permit applications, energy compliance documentation, and inspections as part of every window replacement project.
Window installation for a full home typically takes 1–3 days depending on the number of windows and any complications in the rough openings. Custom-ordered windows require a 4–8 week lead time from order to delivery. Including permit approval, most projects run 6–10 weeks from contract to completion.
For most Bay Area locations, a double-pane low-E window with argon gas fill and a thermally broken vinyl or fiberglass frame provides the best balance of thermal performance and cost. For homes in coastal fog-belt locations, a warmer low-E coating that prioritizes heat retention over solar gain control is typically the right specification. We'll recommend the right product for your specific home and location.
We replace any number of windows — from a single fogged unit to a full home replacement. For partial replacements, we match the existing frame profile and color as closely as possible. Many homeowners do a full replacement of the worst-performing windows in the first phase and complete the remaining windows in a subsequent project as budget allows.
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Schedule a free consultation today and let our family bring your vision to life.
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