Window replacement costs in Akron

Most of Akron's houses are old. Over 80 percent of Akron's housing is older than 1980, and a third of it goes back before 1940, Census estimates show. In a house that age, the new window may well be a different material from the one coming out.

Ohio's residential code has a rule written for that. When a replacement window uses different materials than the old one, its clear opening can come out a little smaller. The code allows those minor reductions, even where the smaller opening wouldn't otherwise be permitted.

The same section sets the outer limit. Replacing a part of a house, egress included, has to meet the rules for new construction to the extent of the change. And a replacement can't leave the house less safe or less effective than it was when first built or approved.

That's worth thinking about in a bedroom, where the window may be your way out in a fire. A thicker vinyl or fiberglass frame can trim the opening a little. Before you order, ask the installer to compare the clear opening of the old window and the new one, so you know what you're giving up. Across the metro, more than six in ten homes predate 1980.