Replacing windows in Los Angeles costs about $700 to $1,200 per window in 2026 for a retrofit vinyl dual-pane unit, and $1,000 to $1,800 per window for a full-frame replacement where the old frame comes out. Fibreglass and aluminium-clad wood run $1,500 to $3,000 per window. A typical 15-window house is $12,000 to $22,000 in vinyl, or $25,000 to $45,000 in clad wood. The two things that move the number are whether the existing frame stays and what the opening is made of.
- Retrofit vinyl, per window
- $700 to $1,200Existing frame stays
- Full-frame, per window
- $1,000 to $1,800Old frame removed to studs
- 15-window house
- $12,000 to $22,000Vinyl, retrofit
- Permit
- Usually yesEnergy code compliance is the reason
What it costs
| What | Typical Los Angeles range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Retrofit vinyl dual-pane | $700 to $1,200 per window | Insert fits inside the existing frame |
| Full-frame vinyl replacement | $1,000 to $1,800 per window | Frame out to the studs, new flashing |
| Fibreglass or aluminium-clad wood | $1,500 to $3,000 per window | Better looking, better lasting |
| Steel-frame replica for a period house | $3,000 to $7,000 per opening | Matching 1920s and 1930s steel casements |
| Sliding or multi-slide patio door | $8,000 to $25,000 | Depends on panel count and width |
| New opening cut into a wall | $3,000 to $8,000 on top of the window | Header, structural calc, patching |
| Stucco patch and re-texture per opening | $300 to $900 | Only on full-frame replacement |
| Whole house, 15 windows, vinyl retrofit | $12,000 to $22,000 | The common whole-house job |
| Whole house, 15 windows, clad wood | $25,000 to $45,000 | Including stucco or siding repair |
Retrofit against full-frame, which is the real decision
A retrofit window, also called an insert or a pocket window, keeps the existing frame in the wall and fits a new unit inside it. Nothing outside gets opened up, so there is no stucco repair, no new flashing and no interior patching. It is faster, cheaper and less disruptive, and for a house with sound frames and no water history it is usually the right answer.
A full-frame replacement takes the old frame out down to the rough opening. You get back the glass area the insert would have cost you, roughly an inch and a half around the perimeter, and you get new flashing and a new waterproofing detail. That matters on a wall that has leaked, on a house where the frames are rotten or rusted, and on anything where the window opening is being changed.
- Choose retrofit when the frames are sound, square and dry, and you want the cost and the speed
- Choose full-frame when there is any water damage, rot, rust, or a frame out of square
- Choose full-frame on steel-frame openings, because the old steel is usually the problem
- Choose full-frame if the glass area matters, for example on a small bedroom window that already feels dark
A contractor who only quotes one of the two is quoting what they like installing, not what your house needs. We walk every opening and tell you which ones can take an insert and which cannot, because on most houses it is a mix.
What the energy code makes you buy
Replacement windows in California have to meet a maximum U-factor and a maximum solar heat gain coefficient set by the Energy Code, part 6 of Title 24. The 2025 code took effect on 1 January 2026, so any permit pulled now is reviewed against it. The inspector reads the NFRC label stuck to the glass, which is why you should not let anyone peel those off before the final inspection.
In practice this rules out single-pane and most clear dual-pane units, and means a low-e coating on essentially every window sold for this purpose. That is not a hardship: the low-e glass is what makes a west-facing room liveable in a Los Angeles August. The exact values change between code cycles, so we confirm the current numbers at permit time rather than quoting them from a brochure.
Historic and overlay-zone houses
If the house is in a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, which covers large parts of Highland Park, Miracle Mile, Hancock Park and others, street-facing windows go through design review. Vinyl is generally not approved on a street elevation in an HPOZ. That usually means a steel replica, a clad-wood unit with the right sight lines, or restoring the original sash, which is sometimes cheaper than people expect and keeps the character the house is valued for.
Do you need a permit?
Yes, in almost every case in the City of Los Angeles. Replacing windows is an alteration that has to show energy-code compliance, and the permit is how that gets documented. A straight like-for-like swap of the same size window is usually permitted over the counter in a day. Changing the size of an opening, or cutting a new one, needs drawings and a structural header calculation before anything gets issued.
The practical reason to pull it: an unpermitted window job shows up at resale, and a buyer's inspector who finds fifteen new windows with no permit treats the whole house as suspect. We pull it under our licence, so it is our name on the permit and ours on the inspection.
Pre-1978 houses and lead
Any house built before 1978 is presumed to contain lead-based paint. Window openings are the single most likely place to find it, because of the friction surfaces. Work that disturbs painted surfaces in those houses has to follow lead-safe work practices, which means containment, a HEPA vacuum and a certified crew. It adds cost and it is not optional.
What moves your number
- How many openings can take a retrofit insert against how many need the frame out
- Frame material: vinyl, fibreglass, aluminium-clad wood and steel are four different price tiers
- Whether the exterior is stucco, which has to be cut and re-textured on full-frame work, or siding, which does not
- Whether any opening is changing size, which brings a header and a structural calculation
- Second-storey access, which means scaffolding or a lift
- Lead-safe work practices on anything pre-1978
- HPOZ or historic review on street-facing elevations
- Tempered glass, which the code requires near doors, in bathrooms and at low sill heights
Los Angeles County figures, reviewed 2026-10-29 by America General Contractors, California contractor licence CSLB 1083262. Planning ranges, not a quote, and not legal advice. We confirm the current rules for your parcel before anything is drawn.
Questions
Is it cheaper to replace all the windows at once?
Per window, yes, noticeably. The crew mobilises once, the permit is one permit, the scaffolding goes up once and the material order hits a better price break. Doing a house fifteen windows at a time instead of three at a time typically saves 15 to 25 percent per window.
How long does a whole-house window replacement take?
Two to four days on site for a fifteen-window retrofit job. Full-frame replacement on the same house runs five to ten days, because of the stucco cutting, flashing and patching. The long pole is the windows themselves: standard vinyl sizes are two to four weeks, and custom clad-wood or steel units are eight to sixteen weeks from order.
Will new windows actually lower my energy bill?
They help, and on a west or south-facing room they help a lot, but they are rarely the cheapest comfort upgrade per dollar. If the attic is uninsulated, insulating it first will do more for less. Where new windows clearly win is on single-pane steel or aluminium frames, which conduct heat straight through the metal and leak air around the sash.
Can I replace windows myself to save money?
You can buy them, but the flashing detail on a full-frame replacement is what keeps water out of the wall, and it is unforgiving. The usual failure is not the window, it is the waterproofing around it, and it shows up two rainy seasons later as dry rot inside the wall. A retrofit insert on a sound frame is a far more forgiving job.
Do you have to replace all the windows to meet code?
No. The energy code applies to the windows you replace, not to the ones you leave alone. You can do the west side this year and the rest later, and each permit is reviewed on what it covers.
Related reading
- What is Title 24?
- How do I get a building permit in Los Angeles?
- Do I need a permit for a kitchen remodel in Los Angeles?
