Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterES Windows Kitchen Remodeling: The Los Angeles Owner’s Guide
If you have an ES Windows product in your Los Angeles kitchen and a component has failed, we stock and install ES Windows-compatible hardware and trim, and a full kitchen remodel around ES Windows openings in LA typically runs $16,520 to $53,100 installed. That price includes the window or door work, adjacent cabinetry, countertop integration, and finish trim, all with a written price before we start. Most homeowners discover the problem the way you probably did: a sash that no longer seals against the jamb, a handle that spins without engaging, or water staining the drywall under a window after the first real rain of the season.
Which ES Windows Models This Applies To
ES Windows (formally Es Windows, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer) produces aluminum-frame windows and doors in several series lines, and the compatibility details matter. The main families you’ll see in LA homes are the 7700 series (residential single-hung, double-hung, sliders) and the 8800 series (wider frames for larger openings and patio doors). The quickest way to identify your unit is to open the sash and look at the silver sticker on the top or bottom rail, or on the edge of the operating panel. It lists the series number, the glass size, and the manufacture date. If the sticker is gone, measure the visible glass width and height, then the frame depth from the outside face to the inside face. A 3-1/4 inch frame depth is characteristic of the 7700 series; a 4-1/2 inch depth points to the 8800.
For the OEM-versus-aftermarket decision: genuine ES Windows replacement parts (locks, handles, rollers, weatherstripping) are cast and machined to the original tolerances, so they drop in without filing or shimming. Quality aftermarket equivalents exist for common wear items like rollers and weatherstrip, but we’ve seen loose handle sets and off-spec roller wheels cause a brand-new part to fail within a year. Our default is OEM for the mechanical parts, aftermarket only for the felt and vinyl wear strips. Penhallow Remodeling is an independent remodeling company, not affiliated with ES Windows, so we’re free to tell you which part actually lasts without a rep pushing one brand line.
Signs Your ES Windows Kitchen Remodeling Is Failing
- The sash no longer locks flush. The locking pawl or keeper has worn, or the frame has shifted slightly out of square. The result is a small air gap at the lock stile, which you’ll feel as a draft and hear as kitchen noise.
- The sliding panel grinds or skips when you open it. The roller wheel housings collect LA dust and hard water film, and when the roller bearings seize, the metal wheel scrapes the aluminum track. Left alone, it gouges the track and a $20 roller replacement becomes a track restoration.
- Condensation or staining appears at the bottom corners after rain. The weep holes at the sill are clogged or the glazing gasket has shrunk. In Los Angeles, the worst of it happens when we get a month of heat followed by a sudden downpour, and the gasket that baked all summer cracks open exactly then.
- The crank, handle, or operator spins without moving the sash. The gear teeth inside the operator body have stripped, or the arm clip has snapped. It’s a common, honest wear failure on casement windows that have been opened daily for a decade.
- The glass fogs between the panes. The seal on the insulated glass unit has failed and the desiccant is saturated. The window still works, but you’ve lost the thermal performance you paid for, and the only real fix is a replacement IGU, not a coating.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
For Los Angeles homeowners, a parts-level repair on an ES Windows unit (rollers, lock, handle, weatherstrip) typically lands between $225 and $650 installed depending on the part and access. When the failure is more structural, like a failed IGU or a twisted frame rail around a kitchen window opening that also needs cabinet and tile work, the number climbs toward a partial or full kitchen remodel, which runs $16,520 to $53,100 in LA. That broader range depends on three things: the cabinet line (we install KraftMaid and Wellborn), the countertop material (Cambria, Silestone, or Caesarstone), and whether the remodel touches the window opening itself or works around it.
Every bid we give in LA is a written line-item price, not a range. You’ll see the part number or material spec, the labor, and the finish work separated. Our 365-Day Done Right Promise covers the work in writing: if the integrated window or the surrounding finish fails within a year, we come back and make it right at no charge.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely do two things on your own: clean the bottom track with a dry brush and check that the weep holes at the sill are clear, and tighten the small Phillips screws on the handle set if it’s loose but still engaging. Anything past that, call us. ES Windows frames use tensioned corner keys, and prying a sash out of the track without releasing the right tab will crack the aluminum or pop the weatherseal retaining groove. A window sash dropping out of a track onto a kitchen counter or a hand is a real injury risk, and it’s not worth saving a service call.
If the frame around the window is moving, or there’s water damage behind the tile, that’s a structural repair decision, not a parts swap. Call (936) 259-2607 and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s a one-part fix or the window has taken the surrounding kitchen with it.
FAQs
Rollers and weatherstripping on ES Windows units in LA typically last 8 to 12 years before they need replacement, with coastal-adjacent homes wearing faster due to salt air and west-facing kitchens in the Valley wearing out gaskets faster from afternoon sun. Locks and operators often last 15 to 20 years if the window is kept clean and the hardware is lubricated once a year. Call (936) 259-2607 and we can look at your specific unit’s condition and give you a real number, not a brochure estimate.
Rollers, weatherstripping, and handle sets are replace-as-an-assembly parts; we don’t rebuild a $30 roller when a new OEM roller is $30 and carries the right tolerance. Some operator bodies can be re-greased, but a stripped gear means a new operator. The honest test is whether the repaired part will outlast its own labor cost; if not, we’ll tell you and replace it. Estimates are free, and the price we quote is the price you pay.
A roller, lock, or weatherstrip replacement on a single window or door usually takes 45 minutes to two hours on site. If the repair requires removing and resetting trim, a drywall patch, or blending a backsplash, plan on a full day or part of two. We’ll give you a written arrival window before the day of the job, and a live person answers our phone if you need to check on the crew.
We stock common ES Windows rollers, locks, keepers, and multiple weatherseal profiles on the truck for the 7700 and 8800 series. Less common parts, like a specific IGU or a discontinued operator, we order and have on site within a few business days. If you’re not sure what series you have, call (936) 259-2607 and we’ll walk you through finding the sticker or measuring the frame over the phone.
The way I see it, and the way we run Penhallow, is simple: give me the whole picture first, then we pick up the tools. You tell us what’s failing, we’ll tell you what it costs to fix, in writing, before any work starts.
Call (936) 259-2607 for a free estimate on your ES Windows kitchen remodel or part replacement in Los Angeles. A live person answers, day or night.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling at Penhallow Remodeling, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas.