Window replacement costs in Atlanta

Georgia runs its own lead rules for renovation work. In 2011 it became the 12th state that EPA authorized to run the renovation, repair and painting program, and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division administers it. For an Atlanta house built before 1978, that's the program that applies.

Georgia's version names windows outright. EPD's summary for contractors lists replacing windows of any size as work the rule covers in a pre-1978 home, when the crew is paid. EPD says both the company and the worker need state certification: a Georgia-Certified Renovation Firm and a Georgia-Certified Renovator.

That reaches a lot of houses. About a quarter of the homes in the Atlanta metro, roughly 650,000, were built before 1980.

The state's energy code gives you two numbers to hold a quote against. Georgia's table sets a maximum U-factor of 0.35 and a maximum solar heat gain coefficient of 0.27 for windows, the same in all three of its climate zones. The first tracks how much heat leaks through in January. The second tracks how much sun gets in during an August afternoon, and lower is better for both. Ask for both numbers on every window in the bid.