CGI Window Installation Nationwide

CGI Window Installation: The Miami Owner’s Guide

We install and service CGI windows across Miami, with most replacements running $850 to $2,400 per window depending on frame condition, glass package, and labor involved. If you already own CGI windows and one is cracked, fogged, or leaking, we can usually match the existing frame and glass within a week, often less. Most owners discover a problem after a storm, when water pools on the sill or a crank stops holding, or when the glass fogs between panes and won’t clear.

Call (786) 442-1123

CGI builds a serious product. Impact-rated, Miami-Dade NOA tested, built for the abuse our weather hands out. But hardware wears, gaskets dry out in the salt air, and glass gets struck by debris. When that happens, you’re not replacing the whole house. You’re replacing one window or one part, and you want it matched correctly. Spencer Odell has been reading CGI frame sizes and glass specs across South Florida for nearly two decades, and the biggest mistake we see from general contractors is treating a CGI window like any other window. It’s not.

Key takeaways:

• We install and service CGI windows throughout Miami, including Brickell, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Kendall, and Pinecrest.
• Most CGI window installation jobs run $850 to $2,400 installed, with a written quote before work begins.
• We stock common CGI parts on our trucks: balances, cranks, rollers, weatherstripping, and glass packages for the most common series.
• Every job carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise. If it’s not right, we make it right.
• Call (786) 442-1123 and a live person answers. Always.

Which CGI Models This Applies To

CGI’s product lines in Miami break into a few families you’ve probably seen: the Estate Collection, the Sentinel Series, and the Tropic series, along with their Casement, Single-Hung, Horizontal Roller, and Fixed (picture) models. The Estate Collection is what we see most often in high-rise condos along Brickell and Edgewater, while the Sentinel line shows up in a lot of single-family homes from Pinecrest to Palmetto Bay.

Here’s the compatibility gotcha most people miss: CGI changed frame geometry on several models between 2014 and 2018, so a sash from a 2012 Estate casement will not seat properly in a 2020 frame even if both say “Estate.” You have to read the manufacturing sticker, not the marketing name. Every CGI window has a label on the frame, usually on the upper inside edge of the sash or on the head jamb, with a serial number, glass make-up, and the Miami-Dade NOA number. That NOA number tells us exactly which glass package and frame profile we’re matching. Without it, we’re guessing. We don’t guess.

On the OEM-versus-aftermarket question: for hardware like crank handles, balances, and weatherstripping, quality aftermarket parts from brands like Truth Hardware and Amesbury are often identical in fit and finish, and sometimes outlast the original. For glass, we always recommend OEM-spec laminated glass, because the thickness and interlayer are what hold the Miami-Dade impact certification. A cheaper tempered pane in a CGI frame voids the rating and won’t pass if you ever sell. We also carry parts for PGT, CWS, and ES Windows for homes that mix brands.

Signs Your CGI Window Installation Is Failing

• Fog between the panes. The seal on your insulated glass unit has failed, and moisture is now trapped between the two lites. In Miami’s humidity, once the seal goes, the fog never clears on its own, and the glass’s insulating value drops with it.
• Water pooling on the sill after heavy rain. The weep holes drilled into the bottom track of your CGI frame may be clogged with salt scale or dirt, or the weatherstripping at the meeting rail has compressed. Either way, water that sits against the frame rots the sill and grows mold fast in our climate.
• Crank handle spins without moving the sash. The worm gear inside the operator has stripped. This is one of the most common failures we see on CGI casement windows in Miami, especially in east-facing units where salt air sits on the hardware year-round.
• Sash drifts down when you open it. The block-and-tackle balances have lost tension. On a CGI single-hung or double-hung, these balances are sized by sash weight, so replacing them means matching the exact stamp code on the old one, not just grabbing “close enough.”
• You can feel air moving around the frame on windy days. The compression gasket has hardened or torn. In a Miami summer, a failing gasket means hot, wet air comes in and your AC bill climbs. In a storm, it means water intrusion under wind pressure.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

In Miami, a single CGI window installation typically runs between $850 and $2,400, labor and parts included. Here’s how that range breaks down:

• Glass replacement (insulated unit only): $450 to $1,100 per window, depending on size and whether the unit is laminated impact or standard insulated.
• Hardware replacement (crank, balance, roller, lock): $120 to $380 per window. Any of these jobs counts as a repair, not a full installation, and carries our written repair guarantee.
• Full sash replacement (frame intact, sash rebuilt): $700 to $1,600 per window. This is our most common installation job when the glass is broken but the frame is still sound.
• Full frame-and-sash replacement (rough opening to finish): $1,500 to $2,400 per window. We do this when the frame itself has rotted, been struck, or was installed wrong originally.

Every quote is written. Before anyone touches a tool, you have the line-item price in your hands: parts, labor, haul-away, and any trim or flashing work. No change orders on the back end, no “we found something else once we opened it up.” If the work doesn’t hold, our 365-Day Done Right Promise kicks in, and we come back at no charge. Free second visit if a repair fails. That’s the deal on every CGI job we touch in Miami.

DIY or Call Us?

What you can safely do on your own: note the serial number and NOA sticker on the frame, take a photo of the glass line from the corner, and check for blocked weep holes you can clear with a paper clip. That’s about it. What you should not do is pull the sash. CGI sashes are heavy because of the laminated glass, and the balances on a single-hung or double-hung are under real tension. One wrong move with a screwdriver and the sash drops, the glass shatters, or the balance spring flies loose. If the issue is a stripped crank or a hard roller, let us handle the extraction and reassembly with the right tools and the correct torque specs.

We tell every Miami homeowner the same thing: if you have to force the window to open or close, stop forcing it. Call (786) 442-1123. We’ll tell you over the phone what we think it is, and what it’ll likely cost, before we ever send a truck.

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