Window replacement costs in Fayetteville

In Fayetteville, how much of a window you replace decides which energy rules apply. In a 2018 interpretation, the state fire marshal's office said the state energy code's U-factor and solar heat gain limits kick in only when a complete window, frame, sash and glass, is removed and replaced. Swapping a pane or a sash counts as a repair. So does a specially designed insert set into the existing frame. A repair can use like glass or better.

That gives you a real choice. An insert keeps the old frame and trim in place. A full-frame replacement takes the opening back to the studs, and the replacement must satisfy the code's U-factor and solar heat gain table.

Either way, Fayetteville heat makes the glass worth thinking about. The regional airport sees about 70 days of 90-degree heat in a typical year, and about three that pass 100.

A lot of homes here are rentals: about 39 percent of households in the Fayetteville metro rent. If you own one, the insert-or-full-frame call is the same, just repeated across more windows. Half the metro's homes were built in 1990 or later, and about 35 percent before 1980.