Window replacement costs in Fort Collins

In Fort Collins, a window swap is permit work. The city's window and door guide says replacing windows or exterior doors takes a permit. Only replacing glass inside an existing sash is exempt. The application has to list how many units you're replacing and each one's U-factor and solar heat gain coefficient.

The numbers come from the city's amended 2021 energy code. A like-for-like residential replacement has to rate 0.28 or lower on U-factor and 0.35 or lower on solar heat gain. If glass covers more than 30 percent of a wall on any side of the house, the U-factor cap drops to 0.25. When you replace several windows, an area-weighted average can show compliance, and the guide asks you to submit the math.

Two more conditions ride along. Bedroom and basement escape windows have to keep their minimum opening sizes, though a manufacturer's largest standard unit of the same style that fits the old frame can get by without enlarging the opening, if the original met code when it was built. And for designated Fort Collins landmarks, or apartment buildings over fifty years old, you need written approval from Historic Preservation Services first.

Inspection has one easy trap. The guide says the U-factor and SHGC stickers have to stay on the windows until the final inspection, so tell your crew not to peel them on day one.